Handle asset replacement

Nick Margaritondo, Jan Cerman
2 minutes
Assets like images and documents are often reused across various content items. When an asset needs replacing, it can have cascading effects on the content that it is used in.This cheat sheet explores different options for managing and replacing assets in Kontent.ai, helping you choose the approach that best fits your needs and workflow.

Why is this important?

Content creators often need efficient methods to update images, documents, or other files without manually editing each content item where the asset is used. For example, when marketing materials like logos or banners change, these assets must be updated. This changes the asset URLs, which can break any hard-coded links to the previous materials. It’s necessary to update content items that reference the materials to reflect your change. Having a plan to deal with this situation is important for a few reasons:
  • Authoring experience: Going through every item that references an outdated asset can be time-consuming for your editors. Having a plan for this scenario saves them time and effort so they can focus on important tasks.
  • Brand consistency: Ensure customers see your current branding and prevent outdated assets from being displayed to your end users.

Available solutions with Kontent.ai

Choosing the right approach depends on the volume of asset replacements, your need for versioning, and the importance of maintaining direct URL links. Each method has unique strengths, so weigh these options against your team’s workflow to find the most efficient solution.

Approach A: Native asset management

Use Kontent.ai’s native asset library to upload new assets. Manually update each content item where the original asset is used and re-publish them to reference the new asset URLs.
ProsCons
  • Simple and straightforward
  • No additional setup is required
  • Assets can’t be edited, they must be re-created
  • Time-consuming for bulk updates
  • Potential for errors in manual updates
  • No asset versioning

Approach B: Fast asset replacement

Fast asset replacement, available through Innovation Lab, allows you to replace assets directly in the asset library.
ProsCons
  • Automatically updates assets and asset links across all content items
  • No need to manually re-publish content
  • Replacement is immediate and cannot be undone
  • The replaced asset is unavailable from the UI but remains available through its original asset URL
  • Comes with limitations
  • No asset versioning

Approach C: Assets as content items

Model your assets as content items for more control over the information attached to your images. Use linked items or rich text elements to include them in content items.
ProsCons
  • Changes are versioned and trackable
  • Centralized asset management
  • No manual updates to multiple items
  • Adds complexity to content creation
  • Requires creation and maintenance of an asset content type
  • Requires organizing additional content items to avoid asset duplication