When content becomes outdated or irrelevant, it could be a paralyzing decision whether to archive old content or simply delete it. It's good to know you can recover deleted files in Cascade, but deleted files are only kept for 30 days.
Many times, simply archiving the content is a much easier decision if done correctly. Improper archiving of information can lead to surprises down the road—surprises any web content manager would hope to avoid.
If you simply unpublish your content or remove links, there are more steps to ensure the content won't be published again, appear in your sitemap or get pulled into a dynamic list.
Here are some common mistakes web content managers might make when attempting to archive content:
- Removing a page from the navigation but leaving it live, albeit unlisted
- Removing a profile from a block but leaving it live, albeit unlisted
- Unlinking a document from one page and leaving it linked on another page
- Unlinking a document from all pages but leaving it live, albeit unlisted
- Unpublishing a page without setting it to be unpublishable
Deleting old or unwanted files and pages is the best way to ensure your content isn't available on the web.
If deleting your file or page either isn't an option or feels too extreme, we recommend using the following instructions.
Creating an archive folder
A properly created archive folder will reduce clutter and ensure your outdated assets remain hidden from the public. To create an archive folder:
Create a folder at the root or top-level of your website called _archive.
Make sure to set the following settings:
- Metadata Tab > Enable Hide from navigation
- Metadata Tab > Enable Hide from sitemap
- Properties Tab > Disable Include when indexing
- Properties Tab > Disable Include when publishing
- Properties Tab > Disable Include in Stale Content report
Archiving content using your archive folder
1. In the directory on the left side of your screen, find the asset you want to archive, right-click and select Move.
If you're looking to archive a page, make sure to select its folder and not just the page asset. If you select a folder, all contents of that folder will be moved.
2. Select the _archive folder as your New Folder destination and click Move.
That's done. What's next?
If these steps are followed correctly, it will ensure your archived content is unpublished and won't be able to be republished. It also removes files from their original location avoiding confusion about why old content is appearing in a live folder.
Removing your content from Google Search results
Although the pages or documents have now been unpublished, they may continue to appear in search results until Google can to recrawl the site. This can take up to 14 days.
However, Google provides different ways to update or remove search results.
- Remove a page hosted on your site from Google
- Clear your search result snippet in Google Search results
- Remove your personal information from Google