Best practices for managing assets

Organizing assets in Content hub takes more than creating folders, especially in large projects. You need to create a well-structured system to help editors keep their projects maintainable. The following best practices will help you build and maintain a structure that works for everyone.

Use workspaces to manage access and scope

Workspaces are where you define who can use and edit assets. Use them to protect brand-critical assets and allow teams to share standardized resources across teams or only among themselves using dedicated workspaces. For example, limit editing rights in a Brand assets workspace to only the company’s graphic designers, but allow website editors to use those assets in their work.

Use folders for organization, not permissions

Folders are only for grouping assets to make them easier to find. They don’t control access or editing rights.

Use smart folders to filter relevant content

Smart folders let you group assets based on filters, such as tags, status, or modification dates. They update automatically as assets change, which is useful for tracking campaign materials, reviewing drafts, or managing recently uploaded files. Use them to create views over content that you are responsible for.

Publish catalogs or galleries dynamically

Developers can use the dynamic content delivery in smart folders and feed media catalogs or galleries directly to your website channels. For example, you could maintain a New products smart folder or a Featured campaign folder, and the website or app will automatically display the right assets without manual updates.

Keep folder names clear and meaningful

Choose simple, descriptive folder names so anyone can understand where to find an asset, for example, use Credit cards instead of CC2025_Materials. Clear names save time and reduce mistakes.

Avoid deep folder structures

Two or three levels of folders are enough for most projects. Complex hierarchies make navigation slower and harder to maintain, especially for new team members.

Review and clean up folders regularly

Embrace temporary folders, such as those for campaigns. At the same time, to prevent clutter, put a process in place to regularly review and clean up folders that are no longer needed.