A successful web site, or any piece of communication for that matter, must be presented in a fashion that is reasonably, easily absorbed by the intended audience. As we work on the information architecture of a site one of the first things that can cause issues is the difference between how an organization views itself internally and how it needs to represent itself externally. Working inside an enterprise can quickly become blinding because of engrained business practices and developed culture. Structure that makes sense to the organization may not be intuitive for people that do not have the proper insight.

We often spend a great deal of effort at the beginning of content planning educating stakeholders on why the proper perspective is so important. However, experience has shown us that although proper presentation is paramount, the final result is often compromised by unwillingness to change and internal politics. Fortunately, a good process for developing content, a well-structured site map, appropriate copywriting and a user-friendly page layout will greatly ensure success.

Step One: Business Strategy

A business strategy that has clearly defined goals is essential to begin collecting and evaluating content. Often, planning content along with other project planning activities help formulate additional goals, or bring to light good reasons for a slightly shift the initial strategy.

Strategic development should start with executives. After all, they drive the business, but other stakeholders (managers and people “in the trenches”), bring valuable perspectives and information. So they should also be interviewed to help solidify management’s objectives and assist with tactics to achieve the goals.

Step Two: Content Aggregation

As stakeholders are consulted, assign them tasks to collect any and all information that falls under their area of interest. Content that supports strategic goals is kept and content that does not gets discarded. It’s that simple. Once enough content is available for a given topic it can be evaluated for completeness and overall value.

Step Three: Content Organization

We start with a high-level site map (version 1.0) derived from information we’ve collected and our own expertise. This is used as a starting point for discussion with stakeholders. This is the first time difference of opinion is usually encountered. Since the intial interviews, stakeholders have an opportunity to form expectations and these expectations are usually centered on their concerns and not always overall business goals. The site map revision process must be driven by business strategy. Expectations must be managed from here throughout the project’s completion to avoid costly complications further down the road.

There are two situations that often arise during this process that can affect the outcome greatly:

1. Internal departments should not necessarily dictate site sections – Just because a manager oversees several departments, content that describes these departments may not be best presented in the same section of the web site.
2. Squeaky wheels – Project sponsors need to determine what’s more important: appeasing internal pressures or presenting successful content for audiences.

Once a revised site map (version 2.0) has been accepted, a detailed content outline is created from that structure. This outline can web page specific and even include sub-headings, but we have found it more accurate to keep it topic specific and wait to see how much content is in the final draft before assigning it to specific web pages.

Please note: the site map and content outline are “living documents” and subject to change as the project lives on, but always with respect to business strategy.

Step Four: Copywriting

Making content user friendly is the intent of the organizational process, but the page or word level is also where it really matters. This is where good graphic design can really pay off. Design adds meaning and heuristics help guide the viewer’s eyes around the page.

In addition to the appearance of the page, copywriting will make a huge difference in how well your message is understood. The tone should support the content, it must be engaging so people will want to read it and informative so people get value from it.

It’s important to know your audience. Every business sector has its own terminology, but your audience may not know what most terms mean. Use common language for descriptions and don’t assume people will understand what they are reading. Be especially careful when using specific terms for navigation labels and text links. It’s better to use common words and then inform users of the insider’s terms or acronyms.