A programmatic website is a method of creating a large number of pages using a consistent template, with content dynamically populated from a data source. In this example, we'll use US Census data containing information about towns and cities, including population and estimated income.
Tools You'll Need
- Airtable
- Make (formerly Integromat)
- WordPress
- Yoast SEO Plugin
Step-by-Step Process
1. Prepare Your Data in Airtable
- Import your dataset (in this case, US Census town and city information)
- Create a checkbox column called "Uploaded" to track content creation
- Create two views:
- One for un-uploaded records
- One for uploaded records
2. Set Up WordPress
Before connecting Make to WordPress, you'll need to:
- Install the Make plugin
- Install Yoast SEO plugin
- Configure permalink settings (choose a custom structure like "/blog/%postname%")
- Create a draft post template with meta title and description fields
3. Configure Make Automation
- Connect Airtable to Make
- Create a featured image for your posts
- Map data fields to WordPress post elements
- Set up automation to:
- Create a media item
- Generate a post
- Update Airtable record status
4. Create Post Templates
Example post template:
- Title: "What is the Population of [City Name], [State Name]?"
- Content: Dynamically generated population information
- Meta Title: Optimized for SEO
- Featured Image: Programmatically generated
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Quickly create large numbers of SEO-focused pages
- Automate content generation
- Easy to experiment with different content strategies
Cons
- Limited template customization in WordPress
- Potential for timeout issues with large datasets
Tips for Success
- Start with a small batch of records
- Use unique file names for featured images
- Consider sorting your data for varied content creation
- Monitor SEO performance
Important Technical Details
When setting up your programmatic website, pay special attention to:
- Permalink settings in WordPress
- Unique file names for featured images
- Meta title and description configurations
- Make automation limits and scheduling
Next Steps
- Experiment with different data sources
- Consider more flexible platforms like Webflow for advanced templating
Conclusion
Programmatic websites offer a powerful way to generate content at scale. While this method has some limitations, it provides an accessible entry point for creating large, data-driven websites using no-code tools.
