The Importance Of Content Before Creating A Website

The user, their needs, and the desired consequence of a website visit should all be considered while designing a website. It should concentrate on the user's problems and the website's capacity to resolve them.

It should not be preoccupied with coding trends or ready-made templates.

 

Design Trends Come And Go, But A User-Centered Approach Should Remain Constant

People will send me emails about their website design needs, and many of these lists will focus on particular project criteria such as infinite scroll, hamburger menus, hero photos, video backdrops, and motion.

Rarely do people approach a design company with statistics based on their website visitors, user demands, and ultimate website goals.

Design trends, competition websites, and what they perceive are modern and current design aspects all influence website owners. They lose track of the real website visitor as a result of this.

People frequently choose a website design or blog theme based on the graphical presentation or bells and whistles it provides. It's an emotive purchase that takes precedence over the need to assist genuine website visitors.

They force their material to fit within the template's available content blocks after they purchase the stock theme. Worse, they may need a bespoke design to follow the same style and appearance of a prominent competitor's website.

In the vast majority of situations, this results in disappointment and buyer's regret.

This happens because this process goes through the steps of purchasing, designing, developing, and eventually publishing material. That route is in the incorrect sequence. The procedure is moving backwards, which is frustrating.

 

Content Comes First, Which Leads To Informed Design Decisions

Following the completion of the graphic design, you should document your ideal user flow, visitor pathways, and call to actions. Unfortunately, this is the wrong strategy since it requires you to adapt content to the theme or appearance of the website. It should be the complete opposite.

Before you fall in love with a competitor's website, want a standard WordPress template, or contact a graphic designer, you should consider your website's or blog's aims and objectives.

You should write out your user personas, their unique difficulties, your solution offering, and the pathways you want these visitors to travel on your website.

While visual design is vital, it must be done at the correct point in the project to ensure that the website, content, and service are presented in the best light possible.

The website's building elements and foundation are messaging and content. This implies that they should be thoroughly examined and recorded before any colors, typefaces, or layouts are considered.

The design components should complement, accentuate, and highlight the most crucial messaging and information. This is the value of content before website design in most cases.

Concentrate On The Correct Content

While I believe that you should have some material prepared before you start designing, I do not believe that you must have all of your content written. For most website owners and businesses, that would be a daunting undertaking to do.

I advise clients to concentrate on the most important parts and pages of their websites. During the sales process, I normally check over their website and search for places where I believe custom design templates may be beneficial. These will differ depending on the customer, industry, and demographic target.

 

Striking A Balance

Not all scenarios will allow for a content-first approach to website design. You must strike a balance and pick and choose your conflicts.

If this is going to be a challenging approach, I recommend starting with common aspects like navigation, SEO, and call to actions. Then, by examining user personas and their visitor pathways, start narrowing down the emphasis.

Focus on well-known components and incorporate them into the design by starting with the home page and allowing the design to grow from there. Keep your attention on the visitor, what they need, and what action you want them to do at the end of the process.

The procedure may appear daunting at first, but like anything else in life, you must break it down into manageable bits and assess the lengthy list piece by piece.