What Comes First? Content or Website Design
Every website development project revolves around two components, content and design. However, the age-old debate between content creators and website designers regarding these two highly significant components is just like the age-old question of what came first; the chicken or the egg—leaving ruffled feathers all around the web development and design industry. Whether you are a doctor searching for qualified healthcare web designers, or an inventor trying to sell your latest invention, knowing which you should pursue first will help ensure the successful launch and continued growth of your business.
Let’s pretend for a moment that we live in a world of absolutes and divide the process of website development into two categories:
- Begin with the design, and draft the content later.
- Start with the content, then design around that content.
During a web development project, the designers generally want the content already drafted, or at the very least, be given a rough estimate of how lengthy it will be. On the other hand, the content creators ask for the entire mockup, or at least some form of layout, before they begin drafting and utilizing their creative juices.
There’s no right or wrong here, but let’s look at both ends of the content-design continuum, get more into the specifics of the content-first and design-first approaches, and see if we can find a possible solution.
Content-First vs. Design-First Approach
The content-first approach is one in which the content of the website development project determines the structure of the website. In contrast, a design-first approach implies that the first step of every endeavor is to go through the design process, and once completed create content that accommodates the areas that are called out in the design.
Before we delve deeper and explore both approaches to figure out what is good and what is best, it’s important to mention that content and design are closely connected and go hand in hand. While the answer to the question of content vs design cannot be clearly defined as do this before that due to this fact, one approach can, and should be made the priority in terms of development order.
So, What Should Come First, Content or Design?
Content is king, and with any website, its purpose is to distribute relevant, consistent, and valuable information to attract potential customers, retain the targeted audience, and drive profitable customer action.
Design components on the other hand are there to back up the content, to present content in a way that is visually appealing. This means that without content, the design is not a design; it is only an adornment. The idea is simple: you first need to attract the audience to visit your website before you can hope to “wow” them with the design.
Google’s algorithms strongly favor content, which is closely related to content marketing (a strategic approach that depends on unique content and original ideas). Thus, the content aspect of your website development project must be prioritized if you want it to be successful. In simple words, this approach is an efficient marketing technique that caters to the search engines and drives visitors to your company’s website.
Please note that the content-first approach does not necessarily mean that every phrase has to be written down before the design process can get underway. Instead, it implies that the critical pages of your website should have the content prepared in its entirety and be ready before the designer works their magic. Can you edit the content after the design is completed? Absolutely, but having a good idea of the content before the designer works their magic helps ensure a good final product.
The Problems with the Design-First Approach
Beginning with the design rather than the content means the layout you spend days on will go through multiple rounds of modification to expand or reduce the total number of words, add or eliminate various sections, and make size adjustments.
In the end, the vision you had in mind will have transformed significantly from and become a mere shadow of what you wanted it to be. However, with the content-first approach, you’re free to concentrate on presenting the content in a manner that appeals to the targeted visitor and is in line with what you have envisioned.
Final Take-a-way
In response to the question, “What comes first, content or website design?”, we at Website Development Done Right believe that a content-first-design approach leads to successful website development in every way. Content should be what starts the creative process, but once content is ready (or at least has been roughed out), the design is what finishes the process out and produces the final, amazing web design. A product that will wow your site visitors and lead to an increase in business for your company!
Have Content in Mind? Leave the Rest to Us
Now that you know why the content-first approach is the star of every successful website development project, write down your quality web content and let us take care of the final steps: design and development. Based in Pocatello, Idaho, we’ve been in this industry for over 25 years and have all the experience necessary to design and develop a website you’ll be pleased to call your own. So, what are you waiting for? Contact us today for a free consultation.
