name: content-modeling-best-practices
description: General principles for structured content modeling that apply across CMSs, with Sanity-specific guidance. Use when designing content schemas, planning content architecture, or evaluating content reuse strategies.
license: MIT
metadata:
author: sanity
version: "1.0.0"

Content Modeling Best Practices

Principles for designing structured content that's flexible, reusable, and maintainable. These concepts apply to any headless CMS but include Sanity-specific implementation notes.

When to Apply

Reference these guidelines when:
- Starting a new project and designing the content model
- Evaluating whether content should be structured or free-form
- Deciding between references and embedded content
- Planning for multi-channel content delivery
- Refactoring existing content structures

Core Principles

1. Content is data, not pages — Structure content for meaning, not presentation
2. Single source of truth — Avoid content duplication
3. Future-proof — Design for channels that don't exist yet
4. Editor-centric — Optimize for the people creating content

Resources

See resources/ for detailed guidance on specific topics:
- Separation of content and presentation
- Reference vs embedding strategies
- Content reuse patterns
- Taxonomy and classification