Is Your Content Crap?

dlrowgaoB ​ Hello Indiana,​ I have a question for you. How come organizations seem quite happy to spend money on redesigning their websites or even migrating to a new content management system, and yet they so often fail to address their content, instead migrating it from one version of their site to the next? Why do people think they can write their content themselves or fail to maintain it until it is consumed with ROT (redundant, out-of-date, and trivial content)? Do you struggle to get design approval, find yourself trapped in iteration hell, or feel like you have been reduced to a pixel pusher? If so, join me for an online Masterclass in the design process being held this November. Learn more What is wrong with spending money on content? You know, that most important part of any website. Nobody visits a website to see what content management system you run or to bask in the light of your glorious design. No, they come for your content, yet we all seem reluctant to invest in it. Our content is everything. Our content dictates search engine findability. Our content determines whether people act on our website and complete our call to action. So how do we invest in our content? Well, I can offer three pieces of advice. Get a professional to write your content. Don't migrate content blindly from one site to the next. Carry out occasional content audits to identify pages that can be improved. Let's quickly look at each of these recommendations, starting with hiring a professional copywriter. Hire a Professional Copywriter It is easy to think you can write copy for your website. However, writing good online copy is much more complicated than you think. A professional copywriter will bring so much to your site, and although I have produced a guide on writing for the web, it is always good to get somebody who does this for a living. Don't Migrate Your Content Blindly My second piece of advice is to avoid the wholesale migration of content from one version of your website to the next. Redesigning a website without addressing the content is like slapping lipstick on the proverbial pig. It might look better, but it still stinks. If your website is underperforming, the answer is rarely a new design. Yes, usability could be the issue, but more often than not content needs addressing too. Instead, go back to the basics and ascertain whether your content is addressing user objections and questions. A top task analysis is an effective way to identify these. Review Your Content Regularly My last piece of advice is to review your content regularly. Over time content becomes out of date or completely redundant. This content makes it harder for users to find relevant and up-to-date information if it is not removed. Most of the time this can be achieved by having an owner for each piece of content and requiring them to review it regularly. However, all too often this does not happen. In these situations, it may be advisable to carry out a content audit, where you review each page based on criteria such as relevancy, tone of voice, and readability. This is also an opportunity to remove redundant and trivial pages, as well as update pages that are out of date. So whether you are considering a redesign of your site, or your content has not been reviewed in a while, I would encourage you to take a look at your content and give it the priority it deserves. Of course, if this is something you would like advice about or even if you need help acting upon my suggestions, feel free to email me at paul@boagworld.com. I am always happy to chat. Thanks, ​ ​ If you no longer want to hear from me, I completely understand and you can unsubscribe from all emails here. Alternatively, if you need to update any of the information about yourself you can edit your profile here. ​ ​