Add Content to Your Hub

8. Add Content to Your Hub#

Your Hub is set up and your homepage is designed — now it’s time to populate the catalog. This chapter covers how to publish content to AGOL, complete metadata, and share items so they appear on your Hub.

8.1. Content Publishing Workflow#

Content flows through a standard process before appearing on your Hub:

Create/Upload → Add Metadata → Share to Working Group → Review → Share to Catalog Group → Visible on Hub

Stage

Who

Action

Create

Contributor

Upload or create content in AGOL

Metadata

Contributor

Complete all required fields

Stage

Contributor

Share to Working Group

Review

Curator

Verify quality and metadata

Publish

Curator

Share to Catalog Group

Important

Content only appears on your Hub after it’s shared to the Catalog Group. Uploading to AGOL alone is not enough.

8.2. Supported Content Types#

Your Hub can display various AGOL item types:

Content Type

Use For

Hub Display

Feature Layer

Geospatial data (points, lines, polygons)

Searchable, downloadable

Web Map

Interactive maps combining multiple layers

Viewable, embeddable

Dashboard

Data visualization with charts and maps

Viewable, embeddable

Web App

Custom applications (Experience Builder, etc.)

Viewable

Story Map

Narrative content combining maps and text

Viewable

Notebook

Python analysis workflows

Viewable (for technical users)

Document

PDFs, reports, spreadsheets

Downloadable

Image

Photos, diagrams, graphics

Viewable

8.3. Upload Content to AGOL#

8.3.1. Option 1: Upload a File#

For data files (shapefiles, CSVs, GeoJSON, etc.):

  1. Sign in to https://geowb.maps.arcgis.com

  2. Go to Content > My Content

  3. Click New Item > Your device

  4. Select your file and click Next

  5. Configure publishing options:

    Setting

    Guidance

    Create a hosted feature layer

    Yes (for geospatial data)

    Publish as feature layer

    Enables editing, querying

    Keep original file

    Optional backup

  6. Click Save

8.3.2. Option 2: Create in AGOL#

For maps, dashboards, and apps:

  1. Click Create in the top navigation

  2. Select the item type:

    • Map — Web Map Viewer

    • Dashboard — ArcGIS Dashboards

    • App — Experience Builder, StoryMaps, etc.

  3. Build your content using the respective editor

  4. Save with a clear title

8.3.3. Option 3: Reference External Services#

For data hosted elsewhere (ArcGIS Server, external APIs):

  1. Click New Item > URL

  2. Enter the service URL

  3. Select the item type (Map Service, Feature Service, etc.)

  4. Add as reference (data stays at source)

8.4. Complete Item Metadata#

Every item needs complete metadata to be discoverable and usable.

8.4.1. Required Fields#

Field

What to Include

Example

Title

Clear, descriptive name

“Nigeria Admin Boundaries Level 2”

Summary

1-2 sentence overview

“District-level administrative boundaries for Nigeria, sourced from OCHA CODs.”

Description

Detailed information

Purpose, methodology, limitations, update frequency

Tags

Searchable keywords

Nigeria, admin_boundaries, foundational_data, COD

Credits

Source attribution

“OCHA Common Operational Datasets, 2024”

8.4.2. How to Edit Metadata#

  1. Open the item in AGOL (Content > My Content > click item)

  2. Click Edit on the item details page

  3. Complete each section:

    Overview tab:

    • Title, Summary, Description

    • Thumbnail (upload a representative image)

    Details tab:

    • Tags, Credits, Terms of Use

    • Access and Use Constraints

  4. Click Save

8.4.3. WB Metadata Standards#

Follow these standards for consistency across the Hub:

Field

Standard

Tags

Include: Country/CMU, Scorecard Outcome Area, content category

Description

Include: What, Why, Source, Limitations, Update frequency

Credits

Format: “Source Organization, Year”

Thumbnail

Use map preview or representative image

Required tags for WB Hubs:

Tag Type

Examples

Country/CMU

Nigeria, NGA, AFCE2

Category

foundational_data, thematic, operational, product

Sector

health, education, infrastructure, poverty

Scorecard

Relevant Outcome Area tags

Note

Refer to your tagging guidelines spreadsheet for the complete list of standard tags for your Hub.

8.5. Share to Groups#

8.5.1. Share to Working Group (Staging)#

For content under review:

  1. Open the item in AGOL

  2. Click Share

  3. Select your Working Group from the list

  4. Click Save

The item is now visible to Working Group members but not on the Hub.

8.5.2. Share to Catalog Group (Publishing)#

After review and approval:

  1. Open the item in AGOL

  2. Click Share

  3. Select your Catalog Group

  4. Set organization visibility if needed:

    • Organization — visible to all WB AGOL users

    • Public — visible to anyone (if Hub is public)

  5. Click Save

The item now appears in your Hub catalog.

Important

An item can be shared to multiple groups. Sharing to the Catalog Group doesn’t remove it from the Working Group.

8.6. Bulk Operations#

For multiple items:

8.6.1. Bulk Sharing#

  1. Go to Content > My Content

  2. Select multiple items using checkboxes

  3. Click Share in the toolbar

  4. Select the group(s)

  5. Click Save

8.6.2. Bulk Metadata Updates#

For updating tags or other fields across items:

  1. Select multiple items

  2. Click Update > Tags (or other field)

  3. Add or remove tags

  4. Click Update

Tip

Use consistent naming and tagging from the start. Fixing metadata across many items later is tedious.

8.7. Content Categories#

Organize your content using the catalog structure from Before You Start:

Category

Tag

Content Examples

Foundational

foundational_data

Admin boundaries, settlements, basemaps

Thematic

thematic + sector tag

Health facilities, schools, roads

Operational

operational

Project footprints, field assessments

Products

product

Dashboards, apps, story maps

Templates

template

Reusable map series, dashboard templates

8.8. Maintaining Content#

Published content needs ongoing maintenance:

Task

Frequency

Who

Check broken links

Monthly

Data Curator

Update outdated descriptions

As needed

Data Curator

Refresh data layers

Per update schedule

Contributor/Automation

Review and remove stale content

Quarterly

Hub Steward

8.9. Troubleshooting#

Issue

Cause

Solution

Item not appearing in Hub

Not shared to Catalog Group

Share item to Catalog Group

Item visible but not searchable

Missing tags

Add required tags

Can’t share to group

Not a group member

Request group membership

Upload fails

File too large or unsupported format

Check file size limits; convert format

Data not displaying on map

Projection issues

Reproject to WGS84

8.10. Outcome#

After completing these steps, you have:

  • Content uploaded or created in AGOL

  • Complete metadata for all items

  • Items shared to appropriate groups (Working → Catalog)

  • Content visible and searchable on your Hub

  • Understanding of the staging workflow

8.11. Next Steps#

With content published, proceed to Quality Checklist to verify your Hub meets quality standards before launch.

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