Finding a project management tool that works for your team

A successful website is rooted in well-planned content workflows; from planning and strategising and creating an editorial calendar to integrating platforms like Mailchimp or implementing automated systems for social media to boost your site readership. Workflows can be as vast or as focused as your website needs, but having one in place is vital.

Here at ALHAUS, our team is international and works primarily online, meaning our internal communication is key. We use carefully-selected tools to make sure our team of content managers and editors can communicate quickly and efficiently. As a company, we manage many large websites, and it's essential for our team to be able to see the status of every project at any time. We take time to plan ahead for each website - taking into account client asks while allowing space for creativity and flexibility as client's needs inevitably evolve and change. Our team works in a structured yet collaborative way - content managers evaluate and plan, controlling the flow of content on any given site; copywriting tasks are delegated to our writers; and new and existing content goes through our content editors and SEO specialists before upload and again for final proofing before client sign off and publication. 

It's important to choose a system that will give you an aerial view of the many elements of your website - allowing all team members to input into each aspect of the workflow while helping individuals understand where their work fits into the bigger picture.

We use Asana to plan and delegate all tasks and this system allows us to take an aerial view of the many elements of any website - allowing all team members to input into each aspect of the workflow while helping individuals understand where their work fits into the bigger picture. An online tool helps us work to in real time together, with integrated sharing sites like Dropbox and Google Drive a plus. It’s a perfect space to create detailed content strategies and editorial calendars. 

Our content workflow means we work more efficiently; there's no ambiguity over who's doing what and everyone is in the loop. Using a workflow tool that streamlines information means we avoid hundreds of emails and lessen the risk of things being missed or lost in a sea of well-meaning flagged mails. For us, it's a no brainer and our clients really reap the benefits.

This particular software works for us, but there are many options out there - it's a matter of finding the right one for your website. There are some great project management tools available including Basecamp, Wrike and Trello to name just a few. It's worth testing the tools and assessing if they make life easier or more complicated. If you find yourself spending more time managing your project management than actually completing work, it's probably the wrong tool for your business.

In this workflow series, we're going to share some of the most effective ways we've found to manage your content and next up - how to create a great content strategy.

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