Content Strategy & Architecture

Content Strategy (CS) and architecture is slowly, but steadily climbing the ladder and becoming a respected process in website development.

With CS, you have a well “architectured” website that is clean, consistent and easy to use. Without CS, you’re stuck with a website that either has too much, or too little content that makes it impossible for a user to find the information they’re looking for.

So what is CS and how do you achieve it? CS is defined as “the practice of planning for content creation and delivery”, meaning before you even start to write or re-write your web content, there’s a plan put into place.

Achieving a good content plan can be tough and is not easily achieved without a professional. A good place to start with CS is to think about:

How often will my web content need to be updated? How often (and think about this question VERY carefully) will I have time to update my web content?

• Answering this question will help you understand and plan for the amount of (if any!) dynamic content on your website.

How many videos, PDFs, external links etc. do I want to include on my website?

• Content on your website is not and should not be all about text. Web content can be comprised of videos, animations, photos, PDFs, slideshows and a whole lot more. So don’t get stuck just on writing.

What communication opportunities are possible with your customers or clients?

• Answering this question will help you recognize what dynamic content types (example: Blog, Events or a Press Room) could be included on the website or if there is a need for a newsletter sign-up.

CS is important. Not only will CS help you launch a clean and aesthetically appealing website, CS will help you achieve your business goals because you’ve maximized the impact of your content.

So don’t overlook the importance of CS during website development…after all, that’s what the web is all about – shared content.