Chapter one
Welcome to the course. This training is designed to help you understand how the content you enter into your website affects everything from search engine performance to user accessibility.
You won’t be learning how to write code. You won’t need to know how HTML works behind the scenes. But you will be learning how to make smart, purposeful choices using the tools you already interact with.
This course is for anyone who publishes content using a CMS, regardless of technical background. If you’ve ever added a heading, uploaded an image, or filled out a content field, you’ve already made decisions that affect how people use and find your content - even if you didn’t realise it at the time.
This training will help you make those decisions with greater clarity, consistency, and confidence.
How it works
The course is structured into clear, themed modules (like “Orientation” and “Structure”), each with a number of short lessons. Each lesson builds on the last, using plain language and real examples drawn from typical content scenarios.
At the end of each lesson, you’ll find a few questions to test your understanding. These are a mix of multiple choice and short written reflections. You’re encouraged to copy and paste your answers - along with the included prompt - into ChatGPT to check your understanding and get instant feedback.
Progress tracking
As you move through the course, your browser will automatically remember which lessons you've completed. Progress is saved when you click the Up next button at the bottom of each page. Progress is not saved if you navigate to a lesson using the menu.
On the course overview page, completed lessons will appear with a check mark so you can easily see what you have and have not completed.
Please note: Progress is only saved on the device and browser you’re using. If you switch devices or browsers, your progress will not transfer across.
What you’ll get from this course
By the end of the course, you’ll:
- Understand why your role in content entry matters
- Know how to create content that’s more findable, accessible, and trustworthy
- Be confident using a CMS in ways that support SEO and accessibility without needing to write code
- Spot common traps and know how to avoid them
- Be able to review your own work with greater clarity and intention
A note on SEO
We must be clear about something from the outset:
There is no silver bullet for SEO.
There is no magic plugin, clever hack, or third-party service that can "fix your SEO" overnight - no matter what they promise. Anyone who claims otherwise is likely trying to sell you something, and more often than not, it’s snake oil.
Why? Because SEO isn’t a one-time task. It’s not a checkbox you tick. It’s the result of every decision made across your site - by content editors, designers, developers, and everyone in between.
- Developers influence SEO through page speed, structured data, and how a site is built
- Designers influence SEO through information hierarchy and visual clarity
- Content editors influence SEO through headings, link text, alt text, and the words that actually show up on the page
Everyone has a role. No one gets to opt out.
It’s easy to believe that there’s a "fix" out there - a tool, an expert, a setting. But the truth is, search engines reward consistency, clarity, and quality over time. There’s no quick fix because there’s nothing broken in a single place. SEO is a game of inches, not metres. And every inch matters.
That’s why this course exists: to give you clarity over the part you control - and to help you do that part with more confidence and purpose.
And while it’s tempting to think that it’s too late to make a difference - that your content’s already been written or your site’s already been around for a while - remember the saying:
The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second-best time is right now.