How would you prioritize Website Design/Structure and Content when launching a new website?
I have launched a website but there are still a lot of aspects that need to be worked upon, including the content and design/structure of the site. I have made a fair amount of progress in both. I am curious to know if you were me, what you would prioritize to work on and finish first? The website I am working on is: www.readandfix.com
Expert Answers
Sort by Date
Sort by Votes
Jan 13, 2015
Focus on creating great experiences that help users to achieve their goals. This is a great article to help get you started ( http://alistapart.com/article/the-core-model-designing-inside-out-for-better-results )
Jan 12, 2015
I've found that the formula that works best for me is: Structure, Content and then Design.
1)Structure: This is the basic layout of how I want my website to work. Which information goes where, the webpage hierarchy, categorizations. Basically I create a skeleton design of my website and then decide the type of information that is going into it.
2)Content: Now that I know what type of information I need, I start working on the content. Make it sweet and relevant, think of both desktop users and mobile users at the same time. Although you could create a separate website for the mobile platform only. The basic layout lets me fill in the correct data and makes it replicable over the entire website.
3)Design: Once all of my information is placed, the links are pointing to the correct place and the website looks clean and professional, then I start making it more visually appealing. Finally, I can experiment on my designs and even change the layout a little, or a lot, depending on the situation.
This simple formula has helped me create beautiful, useful and relevant websites. At the same time I can work on my SEO, SERP and SEM so as to make my website easier to find and classify by search engines like Google or Bing.
Jan 12, 2015
well, as you said: prioritize...means, start with the concept and concept will show you where to start and where to finish and how to grow.
Jan 10, 2015
Great idea for a site! As for your question, I could imagine a wiki section rounding out the reference materials as that would add some design and structure. As for content so far it looks great but you will definitely want to improve the navigation system as it grows. Consider adding categories and subcategories in a way that allows quick reference; i.e. PC > Linux > MultiSeat > HowTo (etc) as for the wiki idea there is an open source system called Tiki-Wiki that would be fairly painless to integrate and might make a nice future addition to your site.
Jan 10, 2015
Hi Govind,
Make sure that you know exactly what your purpose is for making a website. List any possible content ideas that is relevant to that purpose.
And I agree with what everyone else mentioned on their comments. Content first, design will follow.
Send me a message. I am more than happy to give you some feedback and help you out with your web development. Let me know!
Tricia
Jan 10, 2015
As a web designer it was tempting to say Website Design/Structure over Content. But I would be wrong given your circumstances. As stated by you; you have made a “fair amount of progress” in both. I think you have done better than that. Congratulations!
Where I quibble with you is your thought that either one will ever be “finished.” At an extremely basic level, every website consists of two components: content (what you’re writing about: who, what, when, where and why) and style (details of presentation: imagery, navigation and layout). Those aren't technical definitions of content and style, but they’re one way to understand those terms in the context of websites.
Ideally you want both strong content and strong style on you website. I’d prefer not to argue here that content is more important than style; rather, I will point out that content can make up for seemingly poor presentation.
Many of my potential clients focus way too much on style rather than content. It is a mistake. Unless you are presenting compelling content your reader will never come back. And if the content is compelling they will forgive lapses in style. I believe this and have made a career of concentrating on “pragmatic” web design. It is important to look professional, but more than that is a personal "creative" choice.
I recommend an 80/20 rule. Spend 80% of your time on content and 20% on style.
- The Pragmatic Web Designer
Jan 9, 2015
Content is the main thing; you may offer in the crystal clear and shortest way.
Design / Structure is important because it makes easier or more difficult to access to content.
You may need to reach simple, easy to access, clear content with a good selection of images supporting these.
Jan 9, 2015
Sounds like you've put the cart before the horse. Everything starts with goals (what do you want your website to achieve) followed by the strategy then the tactical (design, structure, content development).
Jan 9, 2015
They go hand in hand. As a web designer, you know where the hotspots are for your content on your site. To optimize the user experience, you need to make sure the content is in a place that's easy to find, and you also need to make sure your content is worthy of their time. So a content plan and your UX experience should make the work easy to do in tandem.
Jan 9, 2015
-I would get rid of the advertisement at the top of the page. It's a distraction from the content.
-I would advertise for advertisers in the footer and leave that space for more of your site's content.
-I would build a table of contents...or a categories list so people can easily find a topic that they are looking for.
-I would have more menu options also.
--just for starters. But, it's attractive and clean.
Jan 9, 2015
Thanks Tomaca for your analysis and feedback on the website. If there is anything more that you would like to add I would love to hear about it. Appreciate your inputs.
Thanks for the article Ted!