When businesses approach us at PowerCMS for Drupal website design, one question consistently shapes the success of the entire project:
"What format should our content take?"
Content modelling is what happens before any coding or layout occurs. If it is done correctly, your Drupal site will be flexible, scalable, and ready for the long-term. If it is not done correctly, it will make it difficult for even the most attractive site to work.
In this guide, we’ll explain what a content model is in Drupal, why content modeling is important, and how to plan a content model for a Drupal site the right way, before development begins.
Content Models in Drupal
A content model in Drupal defines how your content is structured, stored, and related across the website.
In layman's terms, content models define:
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What types of content will exist on the site?
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What information does each content type need?
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How do different pieces of content relate to each other?
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How will content be reused across pages, channels, or platforms?
In Drupal, content modeling is achieved using:
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Content types
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Fields
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Entities
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Taxonomy
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Relationships and references
A strong content model ensures content is structured, reusable, searchable, and adaptable, whether it’s displayed on a website, mobile app, or third-party platform.
Why Content Modelling Is Important in Drupal
Drupal is powerful because it’s structured by design. That power only works when the content model is thoughtfully planned.
Here’s why content modelling is important in Drupal projects:
1. It Prevents Structural Rework Later
A lack of planning for the content may lead to having to redo content types while developing, which will lead to increased costs in development and delays in launch.
2. Improving efficiency for editors
Editors work faster and more confidently when content fields are clear, purposeful, and consistent.
3. Supporting the scalability of content
With a properly designed content model, new content types, languages, or sections can easily be added, without them being disruptive.
4. Allowing users to deliver content in multiple channels
The content given here describes how structured content can be shared across websites, mobile applications, APIs and headless configurations.
5. Providing a better foundation for both SEO and Accessibility
Clear metadata, taxonomy, and content hierarchy improve search visibility and user experience. At PowerCMS, we see content modeling as the foundation of Drupal content architecture planning, not a technical afterthought.
Step 1: Start With Business Goals, Not Drupal Features
Before touching Drupal, we begin with strategy.
Ask the right questions:
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What is the purpose of the website?
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Who is the primary audience?
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What actions should users take?
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What content drives business outcomes?
Your content model should support real business goals, not just technical possibilities.
The design of your Drupal website is aligned with your overall goals of growth and marketing on day one.
Step 2: Identify and Define Your Core Content Types
Once goals are clear, identify your primary content types.
Examples include:
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Pages
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Articles
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Case Studies
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Events
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Services
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Products
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Team Members
Each content type should represent a distinct real-world object, not a page layout.
This is a key Drupal content modelling best practise: avoid creating content types based on visual design alone.
Step 3: Design Fields With Purpose
Fields are where structure truly takes shape.
For each content type, define:
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What information is essential?
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What content needs to be reusable?
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What should remain optional?
Examples of common field types include:
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Text fields for structured copy
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Image and media fields
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Entity reference fields for relationships
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Taxonomy reference fields for categorisation
Don't give in to the temptation to use long WYSIWYG fields because they provide less control, flexibility, and reusability of content than using structured fields.
This is central to how to design content structure in Drupal effectively.
Step 4: Use Taxonomy to Organise and Connect Content
Taxonomy is more than tagging, it’s a strategic tool.
When planned properly, taxonomy helps:
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Group related content
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Improve site navigation
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Support advanced filtering
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Strengthen SEO and internal linking
Instead of embedding categories as plain text, structured taxonomy terms create meaningful relationships across content.
This plays a vital role in any Drupal content architecture planning guide.
Step 5: Map Relationships Between Content
Drupal excels at handling complex relationships.
Examples include:
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A case study linked to multiple services
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An article connected to authors and topics
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An event associated with locations and speakers
Using entity references, you can create rich, interconnected content ecosystems that scale gracefully over time.
This approach is especially important for enterprise-level Drupal website design projects.
Step 6: Plan for Editorial Experience Early
A content model isn’t successful if editors struggle to use it.
We always consider:
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Logical field order
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Clear field labels and help text
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Consistent naming conventionss
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Reduced cognitive load for editors
Tools like Layout Builder and Paragraphs work best when built on top of a clean content model, not used as a replacement for structure.
Good editorial experience starts with good modeling.
Step 7: Think Beyond the Website
Modern Drupal sites rarely exist in isolation.
Your content model should support:
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APIs and headless frontends
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Mobile applications
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Third-party integrations
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Multilingual and multi-regional content
Structured content makes "create once, publish everywhere" a reality, and Drupal is exceptionally strong in this area when planned correctly.
Common Content Modelling Mistakes to Avoid
From our experience delivering Drupal projects in London and beyond, these mistakes come up often:
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Designing content types based purely on page layouts
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Overusing flexible fields instead of structured data
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Ignoring future content growth
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Skipping documentation during planning
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Not involving content editors early
Avoiding these pitfalls saves time, budget, and frustration.
Conclusion: Content Modelling is Strategy and not Just Structure
When considering what a content model is within a Drupal site, much more than just technical configuration needs to be considered. It involves creating a single coherent system composed of content, business objectives, workflow and future enhancement options concurrently.
At PowerCMS, we have a strong belief that all great Drupal Websites are built on strong content architecture. When you invest in your content architecture during the design phase, you create a Drupal site that is not only operational at launch but is built for future growth.
If you are currently working on a new design for a Drupal site, or re-architecture of an existing Drupal site, content modelling should be one of your smartest investments.
