An idea can come within a split-second or developed over time. But any idea is only as good as how well it can be presented. Studies on preferences, test groups, several QA sessions and even more revisions are often necessary to get everything just right.
Not to advocate judging a book by its cover, but the reality is that with so many sources of stimuli all around a viewer, it’s easy to get distracted. That’s why so much money is invested on how to best present specific content. Any idea suffers greatly from the lack of interest.
Creating compelling content for websites is imperative because it influences website traffic on search engines and relevant impression on page visitors. A lot of business owners assume that a visually appealing website can already go a long way for their brand.
What they don’t realize is that the visual impact is not enough to maintain interest from site visitors.
What’s the difference between Website Design and Website Content?
Content that represents what a business’ services tend to gain more relevant appeal from audiences. For the purpose of this article, “content” will be referred to in a broad sense; front end content like text, images, video and/or audio plus back end content like the metadata required for SEO. “Web Design” in this discussion will be color schemes, layout, compatibility and navigation.
Content has been the reigning king of the internet for the simple fact that people have an inborn curiosity that refuses to be satisfied (and is easily distracted). That’s how a person starts off researching on free web templates online to suddenly learning about skeuomorphism only to find himself watching videos of nematodes coming out of spiders and praying mantises (or researching on what the plural of “mantis” really is – mantes??).
Web design, and in fact all designs, compliment content mainly by making sure a person’s curiosity (or potential customer/user) does not end up losing to distraction. A great design aims to create a sense of focus and presence that minimizes a site’s bounce rate.
What makes a good website content?
Good and effective website content provides an excellent first impression on the site visitors, making them want to learn more about a business and the services it offers.
It is not skewed towards a one-dimensional output—good content but with an outdated design or an excellent web layout with little to no relevant information about the brand it represents.
Here is a checklist of the characteristics that help determine what a well-crafted website must be like:
- Uniformity of Layout — Consistency is one factor that defines good user experience in websites. By using certain elements and attributes in the website repeatedly and distributing the said elements thoughtfully across the site’s pages, it prevents confusion on the part of the site visitors.
Consistent layouts likewise reinforce the brand’s trademark, particularly when the main colors of its logo are used as the website’s main theme throughout the entire site.
- Concise, substantial, and consistently updated content — Short, easy-to-read and straight-to-the-point web content always goes a long way. Visitors have a short attention span, and keeping things simple yet informative helps capture and retain their interest.
Constantly updating content, especially if the website has a blog page likewise contributes in boosting page rankings, external linking with other websites and attracting more visitors.
- Proper content formatting and arrangement — Most site visitors check out or scan web content in a certain way — they briefly read the first few sentences at the top of the page, then skim through the body to try and find the information that they seek. In other words, it is rare to have someone read a site’s content from top to bottom.
The trick to ensure visitors remain hooked even after quickly scanning the website is applying the right formatting and arrangement of content. This is where bulleted lists, headings and subheadings come into play.
Lists casually group together ideas and suggestions, while headings and subheadings arrange content by order of importance, making it easier for the readers to go over it and find the information they need.
- Use of relevant graphics — Combining text-based content with images or graphics is effective in increasing a website’s appeal.
A word of caution, though: Try not to overload a page with graphics that are not really related to the topic or content being discussed. Keep the graphics to a minimum of 2-4 and always make sure that it still represents the brand or the page’s main topic.
- Excellent use of color and contrasting elements — The saying, ‘opposites attract’ holds true for web design. Contrasting background colors and text colors blend well together when strategically paired together. It becomes more pleasing to the eyes and more user-friendly.
A dark blue backdrop on a website surely should not have text that’s formatted in the same color, whether in a darker or lighter hue. Instead, putting a white text over the said shade would make the content readable to the audience.
- Clean code and valid mark up — The trends in web design and creating web content are constantly being restructured to fit market demands and search engine parameters. Staying up-to-date with the latest and most relevant practices for web design along with implementing the mark-up validation tools effectively enhance the fluidity, accessibility and consistency of the entire website.
- Easy to navigate — When a visitor takes over 3 or 5 minutes to find the information they need on a website, this means that the page or site is not navigable enough. A website that is easy to navigate is a breeze to scroll through, effortless to comprehend has a well-organized hierarchy of information and exhibits a fast loading time.
Finding middle ground to produce remarkable and highly relevant content for web designing
Web design and content should work fluidly together in what can be called the “perfect form”; the end result does not overload the senses nor underwhelm the viewer. It’s all about finding the middle ground which at times would mean sacrificing some design elements in favor of the content and vice versa.
The middle ground of course has its limits, there are some features and elements that cannot be sacrificed or overlooked like the ease of navigation, SEO compliance, responsive design and cross-browser compatibility. This is a matter of effective content and functional web design.
Below are some of the most helpful tips and steps on how website content and design can be merged to deliver a cohesive final output that will both appeal to site visitors and adhere to search engines guidelines.
1. Audit Website Content
Auditing a web content means checking whether previously created and published content has successfully resounded well to target audiences or captured the essence of the brand it represents. It likewise involves keeping track of the performance of each content to determine which need rewriting from those that are effectively generating higher traffic.
By actively putting in order the details in a website, the brand stays relevant among its competitors and generating new ideas for content becomes more in-tune with what speaks well to the business as well as to the customers.
2. Knowing the Target Audience
Knowing the population or group of individuals being targeted by a website contributes to producing well-thought-of design and content. A business or website with a younger target audience would have to incorporate a touch of fresh and contemporary elements to the design, along with getting familiarized with specific terminologies that reflect the culture of today’s youth.
On the other hand, websites whose audience is comprised of individuals belonging to the business sector or the older age bracket would focus on developing a clean, elegant design and a simplified content.
3. Explore Different Forms of Content
Variety of content helps maximize a website’s function and usefulness. By not limiting content to a single type or form, a wider audience can then be reached. Blogs, infographics, video content, case studies, reviews, landing page content, product information, e-books, and FAQs each have a specific purpose and approach to disseminating information to people.
It is therefore vital to leverage the advantage of each assortment of content into an effective extension of a business’ digital marketing efforts.
4. Keep Track of Audience Reach
Although creating compelling and relevant content is an essential component of outstanding web content, that alone won’t make the cut in the long run. The performance and success of a website’s design and content can be tracked through checking site performance.
Website performance can be measured through audience reach or site traffic. Determine what pages and designs get the most visits as well as what parts of the website get the most frequent bounce rates.
Doing so helps generate a well-crafted content design plan.
5. Create Content Schedule
Content schedules are useful in mapping out different types of content that will be used for the website. It aids business owners in choosing what product, topic, trend or service to focus on first. Based on the desired contents that need to be produced, a schedule can be drafted and constantly enhanced as more topics and new goals branch out in the future.
This will enable a clearer perspective on how content can be developed and improved to complement the website’s overall design and adhere to what the audience demands.
6. Implement Responsive Design
Responsive designs are able to adapt to any device that the website is being viewed on. That being said, the quality of the pages, the overall design and the structure of the content are not affected when the website is browsed using different devices.
Not only does a responsive website initiate better end-user experience, it also serves as a manifestation of how a well-coordinated web content and design can do wonders for a brand.
7. Enable Content Sharing
Content sharing on social media is one of the most prevalent methods people use to exchange and gain knowledge and ideas. Providing readers and site visitors the option to share an article, infographic or multimedia content found on a website boosts the site’s exposure, attracts higher referrals and ultimately pushes for audience retention.
Design and content are similar to two puzzle pieces, in such a way that when both are carefully matched and connected, a beautiful and more meaningful image (in this case, a website), is created. All-in-all, creating the “perfect form” is a mix of balanced content and design with full consideration of user/consumer preferences.
Want to get started creating the perfect, outstanding website for your brand? Talk to us.
