COM271, Week 11

Content Strategy
Putting the Writer Back in Charge

Syllabus | Table of Pages | Assignments | References and Useful Links

Nielson's concern with web usability reminds us that web development is ultimately a set of technologies subservient to the task of writing. The fundamental task for web developers (as both content directors and page producers) is to identify target users, to clarify the purpose of web content in terms of behaviors of those users, and to serve the users well. Keeping in mind that web sites need to have a clear purpose, so too does the design of sites and pages. Clarifying how web pages act to accomplish these purposes (to get users to behave the way the site director wants them to behave) is the goal of thinking strategically about content.

Halvorson's Content Strategy for the Web (2010) identifies the challenge and several ways to deal with it.

For web content to be successful, it needs to meet users' needs and support key business objectives. But visit any website, and you'll discover that much of the content doesn't remotely accomplish either of these goals. It's unnecessary. Overwritten. Irrelevant. In the way.

Up to this point, we've treated content as an amorphos Lorem Ipsum. After all, we're just the producers and someone else will eventually replace our place-holders with real messages and real images.

Seriously?

Web developers need to engage content. True, content may be initially an unknown: hence, the placeholder. But real content is coming, nevertheless. And the developer needs to prepare for it.

Content is Political

When we wait until the last possible moment to ask for stakeholder input, stakeholders panic. And get defensive. And irritated. And possibly even straight-up angry. For example:

Yikes.

Who's in charge here?

Halvorson, p. 18

In outlining steps for website redesign, Kelly Goto and Emily Cotler suggest that it is critical to identify contacts in the client survey. I go one step further and suggest that you identify one single contact so that you, as web developer, are answering to as few masters as possible. And who should that contact be?

My suggestion to you is that you get your client (the people paying you to develop their website) to connect you closely with the people in charge of developing content. That is, try to put the writers in charge. We are, suggests Halvorson, in the publishing business, and we need to act as though we understand that. And publishing begins with the person who holds the final text, the publisher. As a producer, you need to hug that person tightly.

You also need to remember that you are an agent of publishing. And content is your stock in trade. It is not something that already exists, words written in a trade journal somewhere, text already stocked on the old website all ready to be cut and pasted.

There are no Shortcuts

Creating useful, usable content requires user research, strategic planning, meaningful metadata, web writing skills, and editorial oversight. It requires people. With experience. And insights. And judgment. It requires planning. And input. And time. And money.

It will not happen automatically.

Done well, content can build your brand, close the sale, improve retention, and win loyalty. Done poorly, it will cause you to lose your audiences' attention and trust.

Content should be your first thought. Not an afterthought. There are no shortcuts. No matter what your've read, no matter what the "experts" are telling you:

Halvorson, p. 22-23

Halvoron is warning against a few specific pitfall into which novice developers can easily trip.

It is tempting to include news feeds or links to elements of content from other sites. We'll fill our pages with content from all over the place, and our site will become the Walmart of the Web, a one-stop shopper's paradise!!!
Whoa, Sam Walton! As you master the technical skills to span the web for content, don't forget that your goal is to create a difference between your client and your client's competitors, to bring a unique brand and feel to your messages. You want to create differences and distinctions, and that takes work.

It's also tempting to open up your site for user feedback through forums or comments. People will post problems and other people will post solutions: genius! Content will write itself!!!

Quality writing requires quality people. You can't offshore your texts to India!

What is Content Strategy?

Let's face it. We've started to think of ourselves as web developers, the gang that can code. We run the technology that makes a web site work. Except, we don't. The website will never succeed without good content. Have a horrible website? It doesn't get better because you improve the style sheet, tighten up the html, and add some scripts. It gets better with content. And did I say that takes work?

One last time: a good website is built from good content.

Let's break it down.

A stratgy is a carefully considered, well-articulated plan of action, achievable and executable. It's a roadmap that gets us from where we are now to where we want to be.

Halvorson, p. 32

Halvorson (p. 33-35) suggests that there are recognizable subdisciplines within content strategy:

Of these, information architecture and web writing are, to me, the most important.

Information architecture: Information architecture involves the design of organization and navigation systems to help people find and manage information more successfully. It's typically considered a subset of user experience design, with a focus on content categorization, user flows, labeling, and so on. These days, most information architects don't dig deeply into specific, detailed content requirements and structure beyond content models, site maps, wireframes, and page templates. An information architect with a clear focus on the content itself will define the content requirements for all pages or content components of a website. This includes structural, messaging heirarchy, source content, maintenance requirements, and so forth.

Web writing: Web writing is the practice of writing useful, usable content specifically intended for delivery online. This is a whole lot more that smart copywriting. An effective web writer must understand the basics of user experience desgin, be able to translate information architecture documentation, write effective metadata, and manage an ever-changing content inventory.

Halvorson, p. 34.

Halvorson's book breaks down process into critical large chunks, including: auditing of existing content; analysis of content; strategy for creation, delivery, and governance of content; and creation of new content itself. With a small site, such as the portfolio of in-class tasks that you completed this semester, it may be easy to overlook the details and nuances covered by Halvorson, but as you consider expanding your professional scope, this is a line of design thinking that you now need to pursue.

A Suggestion

Having completed most of a portfolio of techniques this semester, why not revisit all of your pages from the perspective of content strategy. Consider a visitor to your site, someone who has no context for understanding what each page was intended to demonstrate. For each page in your site, add a brief explanation of what you have done, why it is a useful technique, etc. Don't let your user wander through your wall hangings. Provide an explanatory text for each, creating a learning experience for your user. What would you say? How would you convey a sense of why any of this matters? What is your goal with your user? What is your strategy for meeting that goal? Start to think about these questions, and you've started down the road toward content strategy.

References