Content: So much more than “stuff to be delivered as part of a website redesign”

There’s been a surge of great thinking about the challenges and opportunities that content presents to organizations. While I’m thrilled to see these articles, there’s a key element missing:

While it is a critical part of a website redesign,

Content exists before, during, and after a website redesign.

If you are writing about content, you must realize that.

Designers, UX architects, programmers, project managers — please keep this in mind.

Content doesn’t begin or end with the redesign.

Content is the way our work is manifested in the world. It represents the organization’s offerings: products, programs, services, information, resources, and tools. Some of these are static, while others change practically every day.

As you adopt a content-first approach to redesign work, please know: The content you’re designing around will change.