Website Design: 4 Reasons to Start with Content

Website design is paramount for businesses looking to make a splash in their industry. A great website can dictate the difference between a customer making a purchase or going elsewhere for what they need. In this article, we’ll be going through why we should be placing more emphasis on the content that’s placed on a website before the design is even contemplated, so why should you start with content? Here are four reasons why:

1. Content determines what’s important & what isn’t

Content is a great way of showcasing design elements that have some sort of meaning. You have to ask yourself whether the content you have is powerful enough to build a particular visual element. When it comes to the content for a website, it will do the following:

• Shape the way you think about website presentation, visually
• Dictate how ‘calls to action’ and other clickable elements are planned for
• Help to show you which content and design elements you do not need

2. Content could change the design of the website as whole

Content changes the design of your website, whether it be through the amount of copy you have, the photos you want to include or even the font you’ve chosen to display on headers, footers and in the body of the text. It can be the difference between looking professional and failing to look professional. What you need to do is plan the content based on how you want your website to look. 

If you don’t want streams of text, then have a maximum word count in place. If you’re looking to use lots of photos, keep them small in size and make sure that they won’t impact how quickly your website loads up for visitors. You need to consider the design elements for every type of content that will be going on your website, including, but not limited to, the following things:

• Blog posts
• Articles
• Editorials
• Calls to action
• Product reviews
• ‘About’ pages 
• Photographs
• Images
• Gifs
• Videos
• Moving images
• Podcast clips
• Infographics

3. Content tells everyone what they need to know

Without website copy, your visitors won’t know anything about you. They won’t know what you’re selling or the services you’re offering. They won’t know anything about your business, they’ll know nothing of its history or the USPs you have to offer, all of which is information that a potential customer needs in order to make a decision on whether or not to make a purchase through you or your competitor. 

If you don’t have much content on your site and your competitor does, the customer will go with the business that they trust the most and that will be your competitor. Without content, a website is simply a load of pages with nothing on it. It won’t contain any images or photos and there won’t be any written content on it either. Content is designed to tell a story, which is another reason why you need some content ready to go before you focus on your website design. 

4. Content dictates how well the site performs

Content involves many things. Usually, people’s minds will go straight to website copy, blog posts and articles, otherwise known as written content. However, content could be videos, podcasts, images, photographs, infographics and so much more. Content covers a wealth of visuals that you might see on a website, so it’s important that we aren’t just referring to one type of content.  

Content can dictate how well a website performs in a number of ways. The first is that a website needs to look the part. The images and photographs need to be up-to-date and modern, the logo needs to undergo a rebranding if it’s old, the copy needs to be accurate and so much more. Where the website designer will have the power to make the website look sleek and contemporary, the content has a big part to play in that sense. 

According to CXL, it only takes an internet user 50 milliseconds to make a judgement on your website and the value it holds and they do this based on the design of your website. The same source claims that by having a modern site with up-to-date content is a great way of:

• Driving engagement
• Exposing your brand in a positive light
• Telling the story of your business
• Generating leads, conversions and sales

As well as making sure that people are clicking on your site, seeing and reading what they find valuable and making a purchase, content can dictate how well your site performs in another way and that’s SEO. From photographs to the website copy, content is essential for driving great results from an SEO perspective. This is done through keywords and phrases as well as metadata, descriptions and even e-commerce copy (also referred to as micro-copy). No matter the type of content you’re publishing, you’ll be surprised to learn how much of a difference it can make to SEO. 

Kumo is a dedicated digital marketing agency with over two decades in the field of digital marketing. We have a wealth of services available to you if you’re looking to set yourself apart from your competitors and propel your business into the spotlight. For SEO, PPC, content writing and website design services, to name just a few, look no further than us here at Kumo. For further information, get in touch with a member of our friendly, professional team today – we’re always pleased to hear from you.