Content is Key

Following up on a post last week referencing Jeremy Pepper’s post on the necessity for good content in PR, here’s an interesting article from Marketing Profs about website content. The author explains why good content makes a good website.

When money is tight and options must be limited, go for what produces reliable results. The answer is surprisingly simple: content. The words on the page.

It’s hard to go wrong when your Web site offers well-organized, well-written content. I’m not proposing that images and other more complex Web site elements are worthless. No, the best (and most expensive) Web sites seamlessly combine all the elements of professional Web design: graphic design, information design, technical design and content development.

Some companies can afford it all, but most – much like when shopping for a first car – must be pragmatic.

I do a fair bit of web writing for our clients and I agree that good content is necessary to a good website, but it’s the overall package of design, usability and content that will give you the best site possible. The article offers valuable points, such as having a simple clear site, shortening content and getting opinions on your site from outside your industry.

If I didn’t know better though, this article would have me believing I couldn’t have a fantastically designed, well written, highly usable site without a large team of expensive web professionals. Not every website needs to be in the tens of thousands of dollars, you can get a great site for much less. Don’t sell yourself short, if a strong web presence is important to your business (and for most growing businesses it is) spend a bit of money and get something good, it will create less work for you in the long run.