Project Snapshot
Timeline: 2023-Present (initial build and ongoing updates)
Role: US systems & page architecture, component governance, accessibility (WCAG), authoring guidelines, and documentation
Partners: AEM dev team, content authors, designers, stakeholders
The Challenge
Teams were building content-heavy landing pages in various ways. This created inconsistency, extra review cycles, and confusion for new designers/content authors, especially within the constraints of a component-based CMS.
We needed a repeatable landing page structure that still left room for flexibility, plus clear documentation so pages could be built faster and more consistently without relying on tribal knowledge.
My Contribution
• Designed a modular page framework from reusable sections and components that cover the majority of use cases, with flexibility for special use cases.
• Defined information hierarchy patterns and layout rules so pages stay consistent across teams and authors.
• Created detailed component guidelines (CTA usage, character limits, image guidance, accessibility considerations, responsive behavior).
• Partnered with the content team to build a simplified Word Doc template that "bakes in" the rules (character counts, section limits, content expectations) to reduce back-and-forth.
• Socialized and iterated the system with designers, content, and developers to ensure it was realistic to implement and maintain.
• Defined information hierarchy patterns and layout rules so pages stay consistent across teams and authors.
• Created detailed component guidelines (CTA usage, character limits, image guidance, accessibility considerations, responsive behavior).
• Partnered with the content team to build a simplified Word Doc template that "bakes in" the rules (character counts, section limits, content expectations) to reduce back-and-forth.
• Socialized and iterated the system with designers, content, and developers to ensure it was realistic to implement and maintain.
Key Improvements
• Consistency at Scale: A shared section framework reduced one-off layouts and made pages feel more cohesive across the experience.
• Faster Authoring & Fewer Revisions: Content authors had a clear template and constraints up front, which reduced rework during design and build.
• More Accessible by Default: Guidelines reinforced heading structure, contrast, and readability checks, and responsive behavior so teams weren't "adding accessibility at the end" of projects.
• Onboarding Support: New team members could ramp faster with documentation that explained both the how and the why.
• Faster Authoring & Fewer Revisions: Content authors had a clear template and constraints up front, which reduced rework during design and build.
• More Accessible by Default: Guidelines reinforced heading structure, contrast, and readability checks, and responsive behavior so teams weren't "adding accessibility at the end" of projects.
• Onboarding Support: New team members could ramp faster with documentation that explained both the how and the why.
Impact
This system has become an ongoing tool that teams use to plan and build pages with a shared structure. It has helped standardize how content-heavy pages are authored, designed, reviewed, and built, while still allowing flexibility when a page truly needs a custom approach.
Next Steps
• Continue refining guidelines based on real author feedback and component evolution.
• Expand the framework as new modules/components become available in AEM.
• Expand the framework as new modules/components become available in AEM.
Confidentiality note: This wireframe is a simplified, sanitized representation of the framework. Branding, real content, and internal documentation have been removed to protect proprietary information. The goal here is to show the modular structure and how the sections work together in a component-based CMS.
