Give me all your content!
What some clients don’t realize when they begin their web site project is how much work it’s going to be for them. A lot of my clients are starting from scratch—with no established logo or brand. So they face several difficult tasks, but one that doesn’t get enough attention is: developing their site content.
What is site content?
By site content I mean text and images that appear on the site, not as part of the design. For most sites I’ve done, this includes (but is not limited to!):
- Your company or site name
- Your marketing slogan or tag line
- Your “about me” or “about the company” information
- Your contact information
- A photo of the individual(s) behind the site (psst…don’t skimp—get a professional to take a nice headshot)
Those are the just basics. The more involved material is:
- For a business, descriptions of its services, experience, pricing, etc.
- For an artist, author or musician, examples of his or her work
- Important! For either, the overall structure and organization of this content: what will your main navigation items be, will there be secondary navigation? Will you use categories, tags, or dates to organize content?
Why do I need it?
The more of this material I can get up front, in the beginning stages of the design process, the shorter, more efficient, and more effective the development process will be. Establishing the structure and organization early is particularly important, as this will influence not only the design but also the set up of the CMS. Things like contact information are less important, but site slogan and “about me/us” info can tell me more about the intended tone and personality.
Planning and preparing the content for your site is an important task, and the time it takes shouldn’t be underestimated. If you’re not comfortable with your writing skills, consider hiring a copy writer. If you’re on a budget, at least get one or two disinterested parties to proofread your copy. I am happy to do proofreading or copy editing as well.
Comments
Perfect timing since we’re working on my website now. I knew it was important to get the contents of the site to you as early as possible, but I thought that was for my benefit to speed up the process. I didn’t realize that you use it to determine the intended tone and personality of the site as well. Your knowledge and creativity is amazing!
Sue Anderson Nov 28, 12:11 am
So true!
I remember when we were about to start working together to design my site, you told me that most of the delays wind up occurring because the client is slow to act, not the designer.
Knowing this, I tried to get my content in order as quickly as possible. I think it helped me to get going, and also to realize I couldn’t automatically blame all the delays on the designer :)
Thanks for a great site!
Jacqui Nov 26, 11:04 am