Content Strategy and Content Design
Planning New Content and Website Operations: Content planning can begin based on the data collected during the operation of a website. However, the subsequent operation of the websites is just as important, and we take this into account and incorporate it into our planning and design alongside the development of new websites.
Create New Content, Content Structure, and Information Structure
Our editorial guide, “Writing for the Web,” helps us when drafting content. We plan a clear structure for a new website early on.
We answer the following questions for ourselves
In terms of content
- How should the content be organized? What goes on which subpage?
- Which content requires multiple pages or its own overview page?
- How is the content prioritized, organized, formatted, and presented? (The data structure
- Which tags are the most intuitive for users?
- What other links are there, and which links to other pages make sense?
- How will we organize the content so that it can be searched and found?
Organizational
- How will we manage and categorize the content?
- Where can we develop standards so we don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time? How will we document and disseminate these standards?
Navigation
- How should the navigation be structured?
- How will design patterns shape our content on mobile devices and beyond?
Editorial Strategy and Organization
Even though many workflows will emerge as operations proceed, we make control, processes, and key operational procedures—such as quality assurance—an integral part of our planning. The allocation of responsibilities, in particular, should be centralized. Without this planning, we cannot realistically estimate the effort required.
We answer the following questions for ourselves
- Who is responsible for what content?
- Who needs to be informed, and when? Which contacts need to be involved?
- How are important decisions about content and content strategies made? How are changes initiated and communicated?
- How will the content go through its life cycle?
- Who provides information for texts?
- How time-consuming are the approval processes?
- Who enters (German and English) texts into the content management system?
- What tools will we use to create, publish, and maintain content?
- Who writes the copy or serves first?
- Who is responsible for proofreading and editing?
About Translations
- Who decides which texts will be translated?
- Which translator should be hired?
- Who approves texts and their translations?
- Who tests the pages before they go live?
- Who will be responsible for maintaining which pages in the various languages in the future?
- Who should be listed as the contact person for content and technical matters on the site?
- Given our staffing resources, what kind of schedule can we draw up?
On the Topic of Quality Management Processes
- What processes, tools, and human resources are needed to successfully launch content initiatives and ensure consistent quality?
- Who is responsible for what content?
- How and when do we manage our existing content?
- How do we measure the quality of our content?
Key Issues in Website Quality Management
- Is all the important information included?
- Is everything up to date?
- Does the page align with the defined topics and goals?