How I use content-first design to influence strategy
Content-first design is one way that I influence strategy and create results. There’s some confusion around exactly what a content strategist or UX writer does. I can’t tell you how it’s supposed to be done, but I can tell you how I work as a UX writer. Designing content first is one of the most valuable tools I use as a content strategist and UX writer.
What is content-first design?
Truly, the phrase is a bit self-explanatory. Content-first design is, wait for it… designing the content first. Content, in this case, means the words. There’s no template with boxes filled with lorem ipsum. No placeholder text. There’s no design without the content.
Why design content first?
Because getting the words right makes it easier to get the design right. “But figuring out the words is hard. We can always fill in the right words later.” You can fill in the words later, but should you? Getting the words right is the most important part of any design.
A content-first approach to design:
- Focuses on answering questions and satisfying the concerns of the most important audience
- Strategically informs the design
It’s not uncommon for designers to wireframe a page before having a clear sense of the content. I worked on a project where designers had mocked up one page but needed to convey at least 3 unique ideas. We worked together to answer the most important questions for the intended audience. And after seeing the content, it was clear that 2 of the main points needed to live on a separate page leaving the main page focused around one idea. Starting with the content influenced the design turning one complicated page of content into 2 easier-to-understand pages. Though the senior manager was hesitant to propose an additional page, the executives saw how it connected the rest of the experience and they applauded the redesign.
How to design content first
You’ll never get the right answers if you’re asking the wrong questions. To know what content to write, you have to know who you’re designing for and what they’re trying to do. Understanding the audience is the first step to content-first design. Use research and any data you have to understand why they came, what questions they have, and where they want to go. Knowing that is critical to writing the words that will help them achieve their goal.
When I was designing content for Capital One’s intelligent assistant, Eno, we had to brainstorm 100+ different ways that a customer would ask essentially the same question. This was required to train the machine learning model, but I also found it extremely helpful to understand the audience we were designing for. I’d set up a meeting with the developers, product manager, and operations folks that were on our team. We’d open up a Google spreadsheet and just start typing different ways to say the same thing.
- I lost my debit card
- how do I replace my debit card?
- what should I do if I lost my check card
- can I get a new debit card? mine was stolen
- replace card
- (…imagine 95 more!)
Writing these out really helps you put yourself in the customer’s shoes. It’s a simple path toward stronger empathy. How does the customer likely feel if they lost their debit card? It’s pretty easy to imagine that they feel worried, anxious, possibly frustrated or scared (if they think it was stolen or may be in the wrong hands). They may be wondering if they’re responsible for any fraudulent charges, how long it will take to get a new, if it costs money, and a ton of other questions. It’s our job to understand them in this context, answer the most pressing questions, and design the experience in such a way to calm their anxiety, build their trust, and get them back to living life and not worrying about their lost debit card.
Armed with our understanding of the audience, it’s time to write some content. Open up a Google doc (doc.new in your browser) or your text editor of choice. Then ask yourself, “what’s the most important information I need to convey?” Every word, every phrase, and each piece of the design should be thoughtfully constructed to help the visitor achieve whatever it is that they came to do. Help your visitors get what they want by answering whatever questions they may have with the right words. Then, build the design around the content.
How content-first design influences strategy
I’ve previously shared the story of how designing with data influenced the conversion rate at Capital One. Due to the success of that redesign, we were given more freedom to “iterate” on that success to further increase conversion through thoughtful design. We didn’t iterate–we started fresh with a content-first approach.
Instead of simply digitizing the paper application form (that you’d fill out inside of a bank), we completely rethought the online application process from a content-first perspective. What would it sound like as a conversation? Opening up a text editor, the product designer, myself, and another content strategist started with the words. We typed all the questions that we’d need to ask someone opening a new bank account.
The typical online bank application has fields like First name, Last name, Address, Phone number, etc. We reframed these form fields as questions: What’s your name?, Where do you live?, What’s your phone number?, etc.
With the content written down first, the application evolved from a long form with many input fields, to a modular, conversational account opening experience that we dubbed Flashcard Account Opening (AO). The engineering and product team did a fantastic job building out the experience and A/B testing it against our (already improved) design.
The results were overwhelmingly clear: we had improved the conversion rate again, with the highest gains in our most valuable segment. Designing the content first influenced the strategy and led to a better experience for our customers and even greater gains for our business.
Embrace content-first design
Whether you’re a UX designer, product manager, engineer, or content strategist, try a content-first design approach for your next project. Open a text editor and ask yourself, “what’s the most important thing to say here?” Write out the obvious answer. Then rewrite it. Iterate on the words until you’ve got the right content. By starting with the right content, you’ll end up with a better design. And a better design equals higher conversions. At least, that’s been my experience.
Share your experience designing content first in the comments below 👇 . And if you found this article helpful, give it a clap 👏 and share it with others.
I’m Shawn Roe, and I’m a content strategist and UX writer at Capital One. I simplify user experiences. You can connect with me on LinkedIn or Twitter. You should also check out jobs at Capital One, and join the team.
