A Plea for Content-First Website Design

People who tell great business stories turn brands from ordinary into extraordinary. While the storytelling process will vary by client, market and project, the approach should be universal. Always plan your content first.

When you design a website around its content, you allow it to take shape naturally. The content decides how many paragraphs and how many headings it needs on the first page, the second page and the third. When the design is finally added, the content is right where it belongs.

At Conveyor, we help businesses tell better stories. Our process begins with research and discovery. We figure out where our client’s brand came from, who the key players are, why they do what they do and how they’d like to do it better. We help businesses distill their mission and core values, and then we develop content that clearly conveys their message.

By developing their content — their business story — in a logical order, we’re able to help them create a user experience that makes sense. Ultimately, we help them connect with real people.

When design comes first, however, limitations are put on the structure and flow of the content. A design-first approach stifles messaging, forcing a storyteller to organize content around the space provided, rather than around the needs of the story. As a result, the heart of the message is disjointed or lost in translation and navigation.

Content-first design gives your message room to breathe and develop into its full potential. Most importantly, this method helps your client connect and engage with their target audience. It doesn’t matter whether the story defines a clear beginning, middle and end. What matters is that the design thoughtfully supports the story, and engages audiences in a way that keeps them clicking in search of answers, products or human connection.