In short
- Record one task per video: publish a post, change an image, edit the menu. Clients look for a task, not for a course.
- Use demo content, so you can save and publish for real without touching the live site.
- Go slower than feels natural, say every click out loud, and always show the result on the public site.
- Name the videos as tasks and number them, so the client finds the right one in a folder in seconds.
- Keep the files somewhere the client owns, and re-record a video when the CMS or the site changes.
A good CMS training video for clients teaches one task, start to finish, on the client’s own site: publish a post, change an image, edit the menu. Record each task as its own short video with demo content, go slower than feels natural, show the result on the live site, and name the file after the task. Then put the series somewhere the client will look for it in three months.
This works the same on WordPress, Webflow, Shopify or any other CMS. We won’t describe each one’s menus, because they change and every site is configured differently; this is how to plan, record and deliver videos that actually get used.
Why one task per video
Clients don’t watch training videos the way you’d watch a course. They open one when they need to do something: the week after launch, or six months later when the person who knew how has left. They’re looking for a task.
So make each video answer exactly one “how do I…”:
- how do I publish a news post;
- how do I change the photo on the homepage;
- how do I add a page to the menu;
- how do I change a product’s price.
One task per video makes each one short, easy to find and easy to re-record when something changes. A single 30-minute training session is none of those things.
Pick the tasks that matter
Ask the client what they’ll do in the first month, and look at what the site needs to stay alive. You’ll usually end up with five to ten tasks. Some typical ones, at task level:
| Kind of site | Tasks clients usually need |
|---|---|
| WordPress site with a blog | Publish a post, edit a page, replace an image, edit the menu, manage comments or forms |
| Webflow site | Edit text and images on a page, add a blog post or other collection item, publish changes |
| Shopify store | Add a product, change a price or stock, create a discount, check an order |
| Any site | Log in, find your way around, undo a mistake, who to ask for help |
Skip anything they’ll do once a year or should ask you to do. A video teaching a client to edit theme files is an invitation to a broken site.
For the platform features you didn’t customize, point the client to the official help: WordPress documentation, Webflow University and the Shopify Help Center. Your videos cover what’s specific to their site.
Prepare demo content
Recording on live content is risky: you might publish a half-finished change or show real customer data. Set things up first.
Before you record a training series
- A demo post, page or product you can edit, save and delete.
- An image ready on your desktop to upload, with a sensible file name.
- A user account with the same role and permissions as the client’s, so they see what you see.
- Real orders, form entries and customer names hidden or out of the frame.
- Browser cleaned up: no other tabs, bookmarks bar hidden, zoom set so text is readable.
The permissions point is easy to miss. If you record as an administrator and the client logs in as an editor, half the menu you show won’t exist for them. Our screen recording privacy checklist covers the rest of what to hide.
How to record each video
Every video follows the same shape, which helps the client know what to expect.
- Say the task and where you start. “In this video we’ll publish a news post. We start from the dashboard, after logging in.”
- Do the task at a calm pace. Say each click as you make it, using the names the client sees on screen. Pause on any screen where the client has to choose something.
- Fill in the fields the way they should. Title, image, category, whatever their template needs. Mention the field people forget.
- Save or publish, then show the result on the public site, desktop and phone if it matters.
- Close with the common mistakes. “If the image looks cropped, it’s usually the size: use a horizontal photo.” Then stop.
Pacing
You know the CMS; the client doesn’t. What feels painfully slow to you is about right for them.
- Move the mouse slowly and let it rest before each click.
- Leave a second of silence after each step, so they can pause and catch up.
- Don’t use keyboard shortcuts without saying them, and prefer the visible menu over shortcuts anyway.
- Don’t apologize for small stumbles. Saying “let me go back” and going back is fine, and closer to what the client will do. If restarting is a habit, our guide to recording a client video in one go helps.
Most task videos land at two to five minutes. See how long should a client video be for other types.
CMS training: publish a news post
One task in a training series · About 3 minutes
In this video we’ll publish a news post on your site. We start from the dashboard, right after logging in.
Open the news section and create a new post. Write the title first: keep it short, because it also appears on the homepage. Then the text. You can paste it from a document, but check the headings after pasting.
Now the image. This one matters: use a horizontal photo, or it gets cropped on the homepage. Then pick the category, News.
Now publish it. Let’s open the site and check: here it is, on the homepage and on the news page. If something looks wrong, you can edit the post and update it at any time. And if you get stuck, send us a short screen recording of what you see.
The steps in this script are an example: use the names and fields on the client’s own site.
Name the series so it can be found
A folder of files called “Recording 14” helps nobody. Name and number each video by task, in the client’s language:
- 01 Logging in and finding your way
- 02 Publishing a news post
- 03 Changing an image on a page
- 04 Editing the menu
- 05 Undoing a mistake
- 06 Getting help
The numbers give an order for the first watch; the task names make each one findable later. Use the same names in the written summary you send with the series.
Where the client keeps them
Training videos have a long life. The client will come back to them months from now, often a different person from the one you trained. Decide together where they live:
- A folder the client owns, on their shared drive or intranet, with the MP4 files and the written summary.
- A link list in their handover document, if you host the videos somewhere permanent.
- Not only in an email thread, where the next person will never find them.
If you send the videos with links that expire, deliver the files too. Our guide to website handover videos covers how training fits into the full handover.
The message with the series can ask for that directly:
Hi Paolo, here are your training videos, one task each. Start with 02, publishing a news post, since that’s the one you’ll use every week. The files are also in the Training folder on your shared drive.
After watching it, try publishing the demo post “Test news”. I’m around on Thursday afternoon if a step isn’t clear.
https://justrec.app/v/k3f9Qa
Keep them up to date
CMS interfaces change, and so does the site you built. When a video no longer matches the screen, re-record that one task. With one task per video, it takes minutes, and the rest of the series stays valid.
At handover
Send the series
Numbered videos, the written summary, and the files in a folder the client owns.
The same week
The client tries one task
On the demo content, while you're available.
Months later
Someone new opens one video
Often a different person, looking for one task by name.
When the CMS or the site changes
Re-record only that task
Replace the file in the client's folder under the same name.
For the other kinds of video you send clients, from quotes to bug reports, start from our guide to async video for client communication.
Sources
- WordPress Documentation, WordPress.org, checked November 2026.
- Webflow University, checked November 2026.
- Shopify Help Center, checked November 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How long should a CMS training video be?
As long as one task takes, usually two to five minutes. If a video needs more than one goal, it's two videos.
Should I make CMS training videos for each client or reuse them?
Reuse the structure, not the recordings. Each client's site has its own templates, fields and names, so a generic video often shows screens they don't have. Record on their site, with their content types.
Where should clients keep their training videos?
In a place they own and already use, like their shared drive or intranet, as numbered files with task names. A link that expires is fine for sending them, but the client should also have the files.
Do I need to update training videos?
Yes, when the CMS changes its interface or you change the site. Re-record only the affected task: that's the advantage of one task per video.
