Content is king

I said it before and I'll say it again.

The article on Peachpit, "Why Bad Site Design Succeeds," is the kind of stuff that applies to my work (as in, my full-time job) every day. I work in PR, mostly writing for the web, on environmental issues in the Chesapeake Bay. I've been through a web redesign where I had to rewrite ALL of the content on this site, so I spent a lot of time reviewing web writing articles and tips to make the content effective for our web users.

In particular, this part about MySpace resonated with me: "MySpace offers content, which we all know is the most important factor on the Web. Without quality content, no site can get very far. And MySpace’s content is extremely relevant and valuable to its users because it’s all created by its users and by friends of its users. If every piece of content you see on a web site is relevant to you, you’re going to keep going back."

Content is king. You can have a great design, but if people can't find what they are looking for they are not going to come back to your website. That, to me, is the #1 principle of web design. Of course, this is a design class, so related to content is usability, which we touched on with the "Web Sites that Suck" videos. Not only must you have the content people want, but web users must be able to find that content on your site.

I really appreciated the part of "Usability: The Key to Good Website Design" on audiences, because it's so essential to what I do. Before I start anything (and this mostly pertains to writing because that is what I do), I have to know my audience. I usually think of the person that might end up reading what I am writing, and write to that person. I think that train of thought is applicable to design as well: when you're designing, think of the person who might be visiting your site -- inexperienced, elderly, etc. -- and how they would use your design to get the information they need.