Take Up the Content Strategy Torch

Content is a very important element in designing web pages. Content is the reason most people get on websites since most of the time they are going to a webpage to gain information. In the article “The Discipline of Content Strategy” by Kristina Halvorson, she says that nobody seems to be asking the questions about the content such as “What’s the point?” and “Who cares?” and that’s why most content out there is “crap”. As messy and difficult as it is as web designers to worry about content for the web, Halvorson says, “And yet, the web is content. Content is the web. It deserves our time and attention.” As designers, we need to quit pretending that content is somebody else’s problem and take up the torch for content strategy.

It’s important to have a strategy when it comes to content, according to Halvorson. Not only does a content strategist need to explain what content will be published, but also why it’s being published. Some of the things that a content strategy defines is key themes and messages, recommended topics, purpose, content gap analysis, search engine optimization, and implications of strategic recommendations. Overall, content strategy’s main goal is to use words and data that create content that is a meaningful and interactive experience. This can be done by being knowledgeable in all areas of communication. Some of these areas include editorial strategy, web writing, and content management strategy. A big area in content design is being able to keep it up to date as information is constantly being added or changed. The importance of content needs to be clearly defined and defended to companies and clients so they will realize this need to do content right.

I agree with this article completely as I think content is very important in web design, even possibly more important than the design itself. Whether or not a web page is visually engaging, people will most likely still get on a web page to read about the information that they are wanting to find out. It’s good content that makes the person continue reading and then come back again to the site another time. Good writing is memorable, and I think content that is well written, precise, and easy to read is the best type of content. In this busy day and age, people want their information like they want their fast food; they don’t like to sit there and read words that seem to have no end. So as a web designer, the best way to give people what they need is to have efficient and to-the-point content.

-k

References

Halvorson, Kristina. (2008). The Discipline of Content Strategy. A List Apart: For People Who Make Websites, 

               274. http://www.alistapart.com/articles/thedisciplineofcontentstrategy/