Important Steps in Planning Website Content
Many articles on the web directly offer writing tips or designing effective online content. But there is one important aspect of website development that is often overlooked or neglected: Content Planning. This process, which is part of a system called information architecture, makes your website “user-livable” and makes it easy for them to find what they are looking for.
First of all, it is important to note that you primary objectives of setting up a website are:
1. To use it to promote and meet business objectives 2. To cater to users’ needs and build a relationship with them 3. To interact with users in a consistent way 4. To keep it updated and managed properly
These are the steps you need to do before building a website:
1. The website should be aligned with your business objectives
The success of a website is measured by the amount of help it gives to achieve your business goals and objectives. It should serve as a show window of what your business can offer. It should be a reliable source of information. It should provide value to your readers in order to earn their trust.
2. A website should position itself from the view of its users
A website that is dedicated to cater to the needs of a specific audience is likely to succeed. In order to achieve this objective, you have to position yourself as one of the users. Interview them or get into forums to know their problems and needs, and make a list of all their questions.
3. Use research data to accomplish your content objectives
Armed with research information, you now have an idea how your website can meet your users’ needs, solve their problems and answer their questions.
4. Optimize your home page
A home page is intended to provide users with “information at a glance.” It should be simple yet compelling. It should be able to say something about your site, just as a title says something about a story. Your home page should be able to guide its users to the other places in your site.
5. Who will provide your site’s content?
Many website owners prefer to use their time on more productive jobs than getting stuck in their desk writing content for their websites.
In order to have this accomplished, many website owners rely on their own staff or team of writers who have ample knowledge of the company business and the site’s objectives.
When you decide to have a team of writers provide content for your site, discuss with them how frequently you want your site to be updated. Emphasize to them the importance of original content, and have them submit unique articles that contain back links to article directories. This will help to make your website reach a wider audience.