When building a website, it is important to have your content before you start designing. The reason being that content determines the necessary elements of the page. Organizing your content well also plays an important role in the outcome of the design.
Step 1 – List Your Pages
Start by writing a list of all the pages for which you need to write content. Don’t forget any subpages or less obvious content, like disclosures.
Step 2 – Set One Goal per Page
For each page, write out the main goal you want this page to achieve. Ask yourself, what is the most important thing you want visitors to know or feel after visiting this page. Here are some examples:
Homepage: Highlight our work and articles
About Us: Build trust and connect with visitors
Services: Show the benefit of working with us
This is a great way to ensure you are writing content with a purpose, and keeps you on track.
Step 3 – Set One Action per Page
Like the goal, write out the action you want your visitor to do after visiting this page. The action goes in hand with the goal, helping turn a visitor into a client. These examples match the ones above:
Homepage: Signup for our newsletter
About Us: Provide path to hire us
Services: Persuade to hire us
If you’ve done the work to persuade the visitor, you want to give them a course of action to take, or you’re wasting an opportunity.
Step 4 – Bullet Point Your Content
Write out a list of content that you’d like to cover for each page. The items shouldn’t be limited to text, include images and other items you’d like to see. For example, your About Us might look like:
- Summary of who we are, what we do, and who we do it for
- Photos of us in action
- Our story
- Collage of office environment
- Our values
- Call to action to hire us
If you find this difficult, use other websites as inspiration. See what your competitors say, and pick out what you like, and rework it to add your own unique personality.
Step 5 – Build It Out
Now that you have your list, start building out the content for each section. Doing this will not only keep your content organized but will break it down into manageable sections, and help keep you on point.
