Producing Quality Web Site Content:

One of the worst mistakes a web design client can make is providing their web designer with poor quality site content. Your web designer is responsible for the overall design of your web site but unless you have also contracted them to create your site content, this is your responsibility. This means that the content itself, all text and non-stock photos, is provided by you. No matter how good the overall design of your site is, if the quality of the content is poor visitors will not stick around. To make sure your site content retains site visitors, follow the basic steps below.

Look at the flow of other web sites before organizing your content. You'll notice that web site content has a certain flow. That means that site visitors expect your web site to be organized in a certain manner. While it is important to make your site stand out, organizing your site content in a non-traditional manner is not the proper way to do this.

When you are reviewing other sites it is important to remember that you are there to get a general idea of the web site organization and ideas for content categories. Don't get tempted to just steal web site content from another site. Your web site design and content should be different from other sites. Also, don't be tempted to take the easy way out and use free content that is specifically related to your field. There is nothing original about this content, which means site visitors won't stick around to read it. Also, you will never get good search engine placement using unoriginal content that lots of other sites have. It is common for companies that produce template-based sites to offer ready-made content for people searching for the easy way out. Buying a template-based web site and using ready-made content will never allow your web design project to be successful.

Write a list of information that must be included within your site content. Use the sites that you examined above as examples and draw from personal experience. Your list should contain information that most people would expect to be on a similar web site, as well as any information you feel is absolutely necessary. For instance, if you are a local restaurant you should write down anything that is relative to a guest's dining experience. At minimum, you should have a copy of your menu, dress code, hours of operation, street address, contact information, and a map. Other things often included on similar sites would be a wine list, menu background information, online gift cards etc.

Begin grouping things into like categories prior to writing site content. Now that you have compiled a list of mandatory web site content, you need to group them according to which page they will go on. Your content should be arranged in a fluid manner and it should be grouped into sections of like items. Don't be tempted to place unlike items together because of space issues- purchase more pages from your web designer instead. It is a waste of your money to pay a professional web designer to build your site if your intention is to cram all your information into the smallest site possible. Small sites are fine if you only have a small amount of information and if you are able to organize that information into just the basics. For best results though, the size of your site should depend on the amount of your content- not the other way around. Site visitors expect to be able to locate certain information, under certain tabs. If they are unable to locate it, they lose interest and find a site with better organized content.

Now that you know what goes where, write your content! Since your information is organized, the hard part is over. Take what you have completed and turn it into easy to read sentences. Write your content in a professional manner, avoid using bad grammar, and always use a spell checker. Once you have written your site content, reread it the next day to check for typos or other issues (or have someone else read it).

Submit your content to your web designer via email (faxing brochures for them to retype will cost you extra). You're finally finished with your site content but now you need to submit it to your web designer in a way that tells them where you expect the content to go. My advice is to send all your content to your web designer at one time, in one editable document. This method is the easiest because it reduces the confusion of where you want the content placed. Break the documents into sections, with the name of the intended page at the top of the section, with the content following.

If you are unable to organize your content in the above manner, then at least submit it in a way that clearly indicates what page the content goes on. For instance, if you are sending your content via email, one page at a time, then in the subject of the email indicate the name of the page (not just a page number). If the content is intended for the home page, type "Home Page Content" in the email subject. This will make your intentions clear and allow your web designer to easily find your content when they need it.

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