GatherContent alternatives for small agencies (2026)

For years, GatherContent was the tool many agencies used to get website content written and approved before a build. A lot has changed since. Bynder, the digital asset management company, acquired GatherContent in 2022, and in late 2023 the GatherContent brand was retired. The product is now sold as Content Workflow by Bynder, and it's aimed mainly at larger content teams.

If you're a small agency or a freelancer building websites for clients, you may be looking for something lighter. This roundup covers the main options in 2026, what each is good at, and where each falls short.

A note before we start: we make DraftBay, which is one of the tools on this list. We've tried to be fair to the others, and we've left out prices because they change often. Check each vendor's website for current pricing.

What to look for

Small agencies tend to need a few specific things from a website content tool:

• A view of every page. A sitemap or page list, so you can see what's missing.
• One owner and one status per page. Who is writing it, and where it stands.
• Clear approval. A record of who approved what, and when.
• Easy for clients. Clients shouldn't need training to contribute.
• A clean hand-off. Something the designer or developer can build from.
• Pricing that suits small teams. Especially if clients and freelancers need access.

No tool is best at all of these, so decide which matters most.

1. DraftBay

What it is: a web app for planning a website's content in one flow. You map every page in a sitemap, get the copy written, review and approve it, and hand it off to the designer or developer.

What it does well:

• The sitemap is the backbone. Each page shows whether it has copy, who has it and whether it's approved, in a mind-map or a table view.
• Copy can live anywhere with a link (Google Docs, SharePoint, Word online), so clients and writers keep using what they know. DraftBay tracks status, comments and sign-off.
• Roles per person: sitemap manager, writer, reviewer, approver, designer, developer and client. One person can hold several.
• A per-project Board where DraftBay's checks and its AI find missing pages, pages without copy and copy waiting for approval, and ask the team clarifying questions.
• Named website versions, so pages planned for after launch stay visible without holding up the first release.
• A hand-off to the designer's “Your work” list, plus a one-click spreadsheet export with every page, its address, the approved copy link and redirects.
• Priced per workspace ($19 a month) with unlimited people and projects.

Limits: there's no built-in writing editor, so copy is written in your own documents. Publishing connectors for Webflow, Framer and WordPress, and client review links that work without an account, are coming soon but not available yet. It's also a young product.

Best for: agencies, freelancers and small businesses that want the sitemap, copy, approval and hand-off for each website in one place.

2. Content Snare

What it is: a tool for collecting content and information from clients. You send the client a link to a portal where they upload files, answer questions and complete requests at their own pace.

What it does well: automated reminders by email and SMS on a schedule you set, which stop once everything is complete. Clients don't need to create an account, work auto-saves, and reusable templates make repeat requests quick to set up.

Limits: it's built around requests and forms, not around a website's structure. It isn't a sitemap tool, and it isn't designed as a page-by-page review and approval workflow.

Best for: gathering logos, photos, documents and questionnaire answers from clients, for website projects and beyond.

3. Google Docs and a spreadsheet

What it is: the setup most teams already use. One document per page and a spreadsheet tracking writer, status, due date and link.

What it does well: it's familiar, flexible and usually already paid for. For a five-page site, it may be all you need.

Limits: nothing connects. The spreadsheet's statuses go stale unless someone updates them by hand, approvals end up in email, and there are no reminders unless you send them yourself. It gets harder to manage as the number of pages and people grows.

Best for: small sites, tight budgets, and teams with one organised person who keeps the tracker up to date.

4. Slickplan

What it is: a website planning tool with a visual sitemap builder, a diagram maker for user flows, a content planner and design mockups. Plans can be shared with clients as a PDF or a link.

What it does well: designing and presenting site structure. If your discovery phase ends with a sitemap and user flows the client signs off, Slickplan is built for that job.

Limits: its strength is structure, so teams needing detailed page-by-page client approval may want something focused on sign-off.

Best for: UX-led agencies where the sitemap and user flows are a key deliverable.

5. Relume

What it is: an AI site builder that generates sitemaps and wireframes from a short description, using a large library of components. Wireframes can be exported to Figma or Webflow.

What it does well: getting from a blank page to a structured sitemap, wireframes and a first copy draft very quickly.

Limits: it's a design kick-off tool. It isn't built to manage who writes each page, collect client feedback on copy, or record approvals.

Best for: design teams that want a fast start on structure and layout.

6. Octopus.do

What it is: a fast visual sitemap builder. Pages are made of content blocks, which work as low-fidelity wireframes, and sitemaps can be shared for comments and exported in formats such as PDF, PNG and XML.

What it does well: quick, visual structure work, with an early sense of what goes on each page.

Limits: like most sitemap tools, it isn't designed to run copy requests, reminders and formal sign-off.

Best for: quick sitemap and page-structure work early in a project.

7. Staying with Content Workflow by Bynder

It's worth saying: for some teams, the right answer is to stay. Content Workflow by Bynder has structured content templates, customisable multi-stage workflows, built-in AI writing help and CMS integrations. If you produce a lot of structured content for many channels, or you already use Bynder for digital assets, it's still a strong choice.

Quick comparison

How to choose

Three questions narrow it down quickly:

1. Where does your project get stuck? If it's getting files and answers out of clients, look at a collection tool like Content Snare. If it's knowing which pages have approved copy, look at a workflow tool like DraftBay. If it's agreeing the structure, look at a sitemap tool.
2. Where do your writers want to write? If they're happy in Google Docs or Word, pick a tool that links to documents rather than replacing them.
3. Who needs access? If clients, freelancers and subject experts all need to take part, check how each tool prices extra people.

Many agencies combine two tools, one for structure or assets and one for copy and approval. That works, as long as one list of pages stays the source of truth.

If you want to see how DraftBay compares in more detail, read DraftBay vs GatherContent and DraftBay vs Slickplan.