Design or Content: Which Should Come First in a Web Project?

‘Web design’ may not have the word ‘content’ in it, but that doesn’t mean content isn’t important during the design process. It’s a mistake that many often make; they pour hours and hours into the design of a new website, only to then find that the content they later write is either too short or too long for the space the designer has allocated.

Worse still, the design might not match up with the content’s tone and style. Unless the designer and content creator collaborate closely, both might end up going in completely different directions, resulting in a jarring disconnect between the website’s look and the content that populates it.

It might sound obvious, but the design and content of a website need to align – and all too often, this doesn’t happen. Content should reinforce the look and feel of the website, and the design should echo the tone of voice present in the content. They work hand-in-hand.

So, how do you achieve this perfect marriage of content and design when you’re taking on a website project? We’re going to answer that question right here, weighing up the pros and cons of layout-first and content-first approaches. Which one is right for you – and is there a happy medium between the two? Let’s find out.

Layout-first vs content-first: the pros and cons

Typically there are two distinct approaches to designing a website: layout-first and content-first. The names are pretty self-explanatory; layout-first means the design of the website is mapped out before the content is created, while content-first means the opposite.

Let’s examine the advantages and disadvantages of each method.

Layout-first

• By choosing this method, you’re able to focus on optimising the layout of the website first and foremost. This can be a good thing from a CRO perspective; if you map out an effective layout and fill it with the right content, there’s no reason why your site shouldn’t convert.
• This method makes the content writing process a little easier. If the writer has a clear brief to work from (complete with approximate word counts), it’s easier for them to get the content right the first time around.
• Can you design without content? Sure. But you might end up making more work for yourself later down the line. If you fail to consider each section of content carefully and don’t leave the correct amount of space for content to slot in, the design will need altering considerably, wasting valuable time and resources.

Content-first

• Why should content come before design? Well, if you want your website to not just look the part but to function well from an SEO standpoint, the content-first method makes a lot of sense. By choosing this approach, content and SEO specialists can work together to create copy that contains all the right keywords and calls to action, improving the experience for the end user (and making the site much easier to find on the SERPs).
• Content can inspire design. Even a small sample of content can give the designer a clear picture of the character and personality of your brand, making it easier for them to match their design work to your tone of voice. The same applies to photos and videos: content isn’t just words, after all.
• Although there are clear positives to the content-first method, it’s not without its downsides. Your copywriters will need to be experienced and skilled enough to write content that’s the correct length without seeing the design first, which can be tricky. They’ll need to have a deep understanding of the business, its tone of voice and the main goals of the website – because they’re the ones who will ultimately be dictating the structure of each page, not the designer. They’ll also need to understand how the design process works and what’s required of them. Writing for a mobile-first eCommerce site requires a concise, laser-focused approach: long, overblown content will make the designer’s work a real challenge.

Finding the perfect balance

We could end this blog by recommending one specific approach for you to choose for your next web project. But we’re not going to.

That’s because both approaches have their downsides. Neither one is perfect and both have significant compromises, so it’s hard to hold either one of them up as the perfect solution. For some projects, a traditional design-first approach will get the job done. For others, a content-first strategy will achieve better results.

But neither strategy is ideal: the optimal solution lies somewhere between the two. Forget layout-first or content-first and put collaboration first. If your designers and content creators work together from the get-go, jointly agreeing on a layout and structure for each page, you’ll eliminate the downsides that are baked into both layout-first and content-first methods.

Sure, the planning phase of the project will take longer. You won’t see pages coming together quite as quickly. But when all is said and done, you’ll have a website that places equal emphasis on both content and design – something that is absolutely essential in the ever more competitive landscape businesses now find themselves in.

As an ecommerce customer experience agency, we understand the importance of collaboration. We know that, in order for businesses to succeed online, they need to nail both the design and content of their site rather than allowing one to take precedence over the other. With more than 20 years of experience, we can help you achieve exactly that, crafting quality content and engaging designs that speak directly to your customers. Want to learn more? Get in touch today.