--- url: 'https://metadrop.net/en/articles/the-content-first-module-a-tool-to-support-ongoing-content-workflows' title: 'The content first module: a tool to support ongoing content workflows' author: 'Jorge Tutor' date: '2025-03-26T14:39:25+00:00' updated: '2026-08-04T08:13:03+00:00' type: article summary: 'Learn how the content_first Drupal module helps teams quickly access and reuse the actual text content on any page—making it easier to write, edit, or share content in active projects.' tags: - 'Drupal Planet' - UX/UI - Drupal - Contribution - 'Drupal modules' published: true og: determiner: Automatic site_name: Metadrop 'image:alt': 'The content first module: a tool to support ongoing content workflows' street_address: 'Calle Manuel Luna, 12, 3 Dcha' locality: Madrid region: Madrid postal_code: '28020' country_name: España email: hola@metadrop.net phone_number: '910053180' schema: '@context': 'https://schema.org' '@graph': - '@type': Article '@id': 'https://metadrop.net/en/articles/the-content-first-module-a-tool-to-support-ongoing-content-workflows#article' name: 'The content first module: a tool to support ongoing content workflows' headline: 'The content first module: a tool to support ongoing content workflows' description: 'Learn how the content_first Drupal module helps teams quickly access and reuse the actual text content on any page—making it easier to write, edit, or share content in active projects.' about: - UX/UI - Drupal - Contribution - 'Drupal modules' datePublished: '2025-03-31T17:00:00+0200' dateModified: '2026-08-04T10:13:03+0200' author: '@type': Person name: 'Jorge Tutor' publisher: '@type': Organization '@id': 'https://metadrop.net/#organization' mainEntityOfPage: 'https://metadrop.net/en/articles/the-content-first-module-a-tool-to-support-ongoing-content-workflows' - '@type': Organization '@id': 'https://metadrop.net/#organization' url: 'https://metadrop.net/' name: Metadrop sameAs: - 'https://www.drupal.org/metadrop' - 'https://twitter.com/metadrop' - 'https://asociaciondrupal.es/partner/metadrop' - 'https://www.linkedin.com/company/metadrop' logo: '@type': ImageObject url: 'https://metadrop.net/themes/custom/mdrop_radix/logo-metadrop-500-500.jpg' width: '500' height: '500' - '@type': ItemPage '@id': 'https://metadrop.net/en/articles/the-content-first-module-a-tool-to-support-ongoing-content-workflows' breadcrumb: '@type': BreadcrumbList itemListElement: - '@type': ListItem position: 1 name: Home item: 'https://metadrop.net/en' - '@type': ListItem position: 2 name: 'Expert Drupal & Tech Articles' item: 'https://metadrop.net/en/articles' publisher: '@type': Organization '@id': 'https://metadrop.net/#organization' --- 1. [Articles](https://metadrop.net/en/articles) # The content first module: a tool to support ongoing content workflows Monday, March 31, 2025 Learn how the content\_first Drupal module helps teams quickly access and reuse the actual text content on any page—making it easier to write, edit, or share content in active projects. ## What “content first” means and why it matters The **Content First** approach comes from content strategy and UX design. It means building websites around the content they need to deliver, not around a visual design. Instead of starting with wireframes or templates, teams begin by identifying what content users need—then create structure, layout, and code that supports it. This approach helps avoid misalignment between content and design. It also improves usability, because content is what users come for. The design exists to support that content, not to shape it in isolation. But in practice, applying Content First often gets blocked by basic issues—like **accessing and working with the actual content on a live page**. That’s where the [**Content First module**](https://www.drupal.org/project/content_first) comes in. ## Where Content First comes from Content First developed as a response to design-led processes that treated content as filler. In traditional workflows, designers would build full layouts using placeholder text (like *Lorem Ipsum*). Content creators would then write copy to fit those templates. This created problems: - The content didn’t always match the layout - Messages were shaped by design, not user needs - Teams had to go through multiple revisions when the content didn’t fit Content First flips this. The key idea: > **Content is not an afterthought—it's the foundation.** This model began to spread through UX and product design communities. It’s now used widely in content-heavy projects, including government websites, media sites, and platforms like Airbnb, Monzo, and HubSpot. Content First also fits well with Drupal’s strengths: structured content, reusable components, and separation of content from presentation. But Drupal sites still face a day-to-day problem—**how to quickly access and reuse real content once it’s published.** ## Problem: content is hard to extract once it’s live After launch, content doesn’t stop changing. Pages evolve. Messages shift. Teams update headlines, revise text, and run new campaigns. However, the process of working with *existing* content is clumsy. To review or rewrite content, someone needs to: - Open the page and select the text manually - Copy field by field from the backend - Browser extensions (not integrated in the platform) - Ask a developer to extract it This **slows down** writers, editors, and project managers. It also increases risk—someone might copy the wrong version or miss an important update. ## What the content first module does The **content first module** adds a new tab to every node page. That tab shows a clean, structured text version of the page content. From this tab, you can: - **View** all rendered text content - **Copy** it with one click - **Download** it as plain text This is not backend field data. It’s the real content, as the user sees it—stripped of layout, menus, and blocks. No configuration. No views to build. Just access to the content. Content First module example screenshot Content First module in action. ## Who uses it and why The module supports people who need to work with live content, including: - **Writers** preparing copy updates - **Editors** reviewing content for translation or QA - **Designers** checking how much text is used - ***Anyone*** reviewing site content This removes the dependency on technical users to extract content and speeds up collaboration between roles. ## Why does this support real content-first workflows The Content First model depends on real, usable content at every step—not just at the beginning. In active sites, content changes regularly. Teams need to: - See what’s currently on a page - Share it with others - Use it as a starting point for revision or planning The content first module makes this possible without extra steps. It supports ongoing content work by making published content easy to review and reuse. It also fits into a modular content model—where content is broken into reusable parts, managed through a CMS, and updated by different roles at different times. ## How to use it 1. Download and install the module from [Drupal.org](https://www.drupal.org/project/content_first) 2. Enable it and grant permission to desired roles 3. Click the “Content First” tab of any content-type 4. View, copy or download the full-text content of the page No code to write. Just the content, ready to use. ## Conclusion The [**content first module**](https://www.drupal.org/project/content_first "Content First module") solves a common content workflow problem: how to extract the full content of a live page—cleanly, quickly, and without technical steps. It supports the core goal of Content First: keep content at the center of every decision, even after launch. By giving teams access to real, current content, this tool helps close the gap between strategy and execution. [UX/UI](https://metadrop.net/en/articles?text=UX/UI) [Drupal](https://metadrop.net/en/articles?text=Drupal) [Contribution](https://metadrop.net/en/articles?text=Contribution) [Drupal modules](https://metadrop.net/en/articles?text=Drupal%20modules) - Jorge Tutor CIO [Module development and third-party integrations with Drupal](https://metadrop.net/en/services/drupal/integrations " See Module development and third-party integrations with Drupal") Metadrop connects Drupal to your CRM, ERP, payment, and marketing stack — Salesforce, Microsoft Dynamics, BBVA virtual POS, Workday, and Keepeek — with custom modules and secure, GDPR-compliant APIs. See more