Preparing content for a website is one of the most important stages of working on an online resource. After all, no matter how beautiful and modern the design is, unprofessional or inappropriate content can spoil everything. We have already told you what to do with outdated content. And now let's talk about where to start when preparing content, and how to optimize the process.

What is primary — content or design?

Often the work on the site is built in this order: first the design is drawn, and then the content is filled. Moreover, content managers and copywriters often do not even see the layout of the site before they need to provide content. After preparing the design, they are confronted with the fact — what size pictures are needed, and how much text to write in each block. 

In fact, this is not entirely true. The site will perform its functions much better if you immediately determine what content should be in each block, and what role it will perform. Moreover, some design elements may directly depend on the content. 

For example:

The orientation of the photo in the blocks and the aspect ratio. If an important product or an object of the company looks bad in a horizontal orientation, it is necessary to ensure that its photos in the blocks are vertical.

The size of the text in the descriptions. If the company's goods or services must necessarily have a specific description, this should be reflected in the design.

Icons, banners and infographics. These graphic elements illustrate certain features of the product or company — in order for the designer to correctly select or draw them, he must know what will be discussed;

The location of the blocks as a whole. For example, a marketer knows better which advantages of the company need to be put in the foreground, and a copywriter knows which phrase to place on the main banner and what to highlight so that it catches the eye.

The style of the content can also help the designer in developing the style of the site. For example, if you plan to upload dark photos to the site, then the light style is not a fact that it will be in harmony with them. Or if a lot of text content is planned, then the design should be as concise as possible. 

At the same time, it is not necessary to fully prepare all the content before developing the site — it is enough just to imagine what and where it will be placed, what the volume of texts and the style of the photo will be approximately. It is important that the people responsible for the content work closely with the designer and provide the necessary content for insertion into the layout in a timely manner. So the designer will be able to suggest how the text or images are better positioned visually, and the client will be able to check whether the meaning that he wants to convey with the help of the site is not lost.

Even 10 years ago, most designers put "phish" (placeholder text) on layouts instead of real texts: "Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisking elit, sed do eiusmod tempor i...", etc. This was the norm. But, firstly, with the "phish" content, the site does not look the same as with the real one, and secondly, it is impossible to correctly place semantic accents in this way. Now, according to the "phish" content, you can accurately recognize the work of a beginner who is just learning web design.

We always use real content for the design of the site pages. If there are no texts for the main page, we help clients prepare them. For photo content, we write detailed technical tasks for photographers.

Who takes part in the content preparation

Content is the headache of the project manager on the client side. He needs to set a task for the designer and coordinate the result with the manager, issue a technical specification for writing texts to responsible employees, and then shake out the finished materials for transfer to the designer. The following specialists can take part in the preparation of the content itself:

Marketing specialist. He will be able to tell which content blocks will be the most important, which texts or images to pay special attention to, which advantages of the company or product to highlight. A marketer does not always have to take a direct part in the development of the website design, but he will definitely participate in A-B testing of solutions that affect conversion.

Full-time designer of the company. He can prepare banners, pick up and process photos and, thereby, provide the site with decent content. If necessary, the designer sets the task to the photographer, who takes photos according to the provided references.

PR manager. You may need it if you need to post customer or partner reviews on the site. The PR manager must agree with the client /partner on the possibility of posting a review, receive and edit the text of the review itself and provide a photo of the client or the partner's logo.

Copywriter. They are responsible for the stylistics of the texts. It can also tell you which slogans and titles will cause a response from users, which inscriptions on the buttons will lead to the result, and what is better to write in the tooltips. A copywriter can have a direct impact on the design. For example, some texts or inscriptions can be illustrated in the design.

At the same time, it is important that all these specialists work with a responsible project manager who will provide them with high-quality technical specifications and feedback, as well as control the timing of content issuance. If each specialist will communicate with the designer separately, it will be much less effective.

In Anchante experience, the best texts on the site are written by company executives. If they can find the time for it. According to such texts, it is immediately felt that they were written by an expert. There are the right accents and interesting stories about the company. Especially if a person is passionate about their business. Sometimes they need to be combed a little by an editor or a copywriter, but it is better to edit at a minimum. 

The website is the face of the company, so it requires high-quality content. And if your company does not have professional copywriters, designers, operators, it is better to order content from contractors. At the same time, to begin with, you will need to prepare the following materials:

• The preliminary structure of the site which blocks should be on it, what needs to be specified in these blocks. You will clarify it with the studio at the stage of aggregation of requirements;
• Suggestions on the style of texts, references to copywriting;
• Rough drafts of texts;
• Content from the company's specialists — instructions for products, their features, the procedure for conducting services, etc.;
• References for photography and for banner design;
• Technical specifications for infographics;
• Scenarios or descriptions of the desired videos.

The company can prepare the general direction of the content, collect reference materials and rough sketches, and select references. If the stylistics and approximate layouts of the site are ready, it will be useful to give them a link.

How to prepare content for a website

We are determining the structure of the site. This stage is usually attended by responsible employees from the client's side (project manager, marketer) and designer, analyst and agency manager. Together, this team determines the structure of the site and the approximate location of the content. First, the complete structure of the site is signed in the form of a mindmap at the stage of aggregation of requirements, after which interactive prototypes are developed for key pages.

We check and proofread the available content. If you have an old website, or you have prepared presentations, brochures and other documentation, you can check the existing content for relevance and, if necessary, send it for revision.

We are compiling a table of content. It should indicate all the blocks where the content is required, the approximate volume (for text) or dimensions (for visual content), the person responsible for the preparation, the deadline and the status of the task (in progress, ready, under review, added to the site).

We add information to the table: which content is already available, which can be prepared by the company, and which will need to be ordered.

We determine the budget for contractors and set deadlines for completing tasks.

We draw up a technical specification for the missing content and distribute tasks among internal specialists or contractors.

The finished content should be collected by the responsible project manager, who checks it for compliance with the TOR and approves it with the head. After that, the content is transferred to the designer.

• Example of a content preparation table
• What problems may arise when preparing content
• It is unclear what content should be on the site

If this is your first experience in preparing content for a site, or the old site does not suit you at all in terms of content, then the easiest way is to look at examples of large competitors. So at least you will decide on the structure. 

If you have an old website, a little analytics will help. Look at the metrics to see which content your users pay the most attention to — it needs to be used first.

No time to prepare content

It happens that all employees are busy, and it is impossible to allocate one person to conduct a content project. Then the head of the company can take on this role. But in order to have enough time for other workflows, you can assign priority to the content. For example, usually first of all you need content on the main page, then on the pages of goods or services, etc.

Have never worked with content contractors

In fact, it's much easier than it seems. The main thing is to find a really good contractor and give him a detailed technical specification on the style and volume of content. And here's how you can recognize a professional: 

• They will ask you to fill out a brief or ask additional questions about the content, perhaps he will ask you to look at the structure of the site.
• They will readily show you several works on your or similar topics.
• The services of a professional will not be cheap.

If you are contacting a contractor for the first time, it will be useful to search for or request feedback on his work.

Prepare content yourself or with the help of contractors

Pros:

• You are better versed in the subject;
• Less financial costs;
• More control over the preparation process.

Cons:

• Employees may not have enough time to prepare content;
• If you don't have a full-time copywriter and designer, the content may look unprofessional.

Help from professional contractors

Pros: 

• They will cope with the task professionally;
• They will try to complete the tasks as soon as possible to get paid. 

Cons:

• Less control;
• More financial costs;
• It will take your time to accept the result of the work and compile a list of adjustments;
• It may take time for the contractor to figure out the subject and "get" into the right style.

At first glance, it may seem that working with contractors has more minuses than pluses. But still, we emphasize once again that if there are no professionals in your staff who deal with content, it is easier to transfer this work to contractors. Just plan a normal budget for this item of expenditure, so that you can then post really professional content on the site. Yes, there is cheap copywriting, but it is better not to make a website at all than to put such texts there.

What data do specialists need when preparing content

Ideally, if you have references — examples of how you see the text and visual component of the site. Life hack: the technical task for photographing can be prepared by the developers of the site. It is also necessary to give specialists already available materials on the basis of which you can make content. In addition, specialists will need additional input data.

To the copywriter:

• Subject;
• Description of what should be in the text;
• Stylistics of texts (Tone of Voice);
• The volume of each text fragment.

To the designer:

• Corporate identity or desired colors;
• Dimensions of visual elements.

Photographer /retoucher:

• Website style or dominant colors;
• The desired mood of the photos (strict, playful, "childish", etc.);
• Examples of photos or their clear descriptions.

 To the operator / editor:

• The script of the video;
• Stylistics;
• Timing and dimensions of the video.

Conclusion

Preparing high-quality content is a long and time-consuming process. Sometimes it can be even more difficult than the development of the site itself. Therefore, it is necessary to treat it with all responsibility. If you don't have a recognizable brand, high-quality and unique content is the only thing that will distinguish you from your competitors. And not only for users, but also for search engines.