The relationship between design and content strategy

If you want to make the most of your design elements and your online content, you’re going to want to start with a solid understanding of the "why” behind the "what” and "how”.

Maybe you’re launching a new website, or perhaps it’s time for an overhaul to refresh your existing site. You’re hiring top talent – the perfect design consultants and content agency – to help you craft a website that attracts people who will appreciate your brand and grow your business or that of your clients. You want influencers, fans, clients and customers.

You know presentation is important. Your website needs to be intuitive, clear and compelling. Your copy needs to delight and inform, add value and entice the right sort of interactions. You’re investing in future success with a website that is carefully sculpted to encourage interactions that provide value to your customer or client while benefiting your bottom line, whether that’s exposure, page views for advertising, or strategic call-to-action steps – a query, a registration, an order, or a purchase.

To make the most of that dream team of designers and content developers and expedite your path to success, you’re going to want to rally them around the "why” of the strategy. A beautiful, intuitive, engaging and current design is great, but if it makes it hard to find or interact with your content or promotes and features the wrong content, it doesn’t matter how visually appealing it is; you’re not going to get the results you need.

From the other side of the table, brilliant content without the right design will fall flat and get lost in the shuffle. You need excellence on both fronts.

The solution is strategy. Understand the purpose of your website and how it will support, grow or enhance your business, then let that inform the design and content. This will help your designers and content creators work together to craft an integrated online experience that best meets your needs and your customers without giving too much weight to either influence.

Does this sound daunting? You don’t have to go it alone. Perhaps there’s an internal staff member who would excel at being a sounding board or a strategist to help you refine your business goals as they apply to your website. You should also work to identify the right strategic partners in your consultant teams. Talk to your web developer, designer and content agency to clarify your vision and strategy, and find consultants who understand the importance of getting the right balance.

Look for web developers and designers with a strong understanding of current trends, technologies and visual elements, but also a clear understanding of how presenting content and visitor interactions with content can benefit your business goals. Make sure you enlist a web content agency with a clear grasp on how their content can support and achieve your business’ website goals and make the best use of design or have the capacity to communicate design needs to your development and design team members.

Design and content strategy are intertwined, with each supporting and relying on the other to help you succeed. Both concepts rely on a clear, strong strategy for your online properties to meet the right business goals.