Designing a website is an entire process and needs proper planning. The key element during planning is to decide the course of events and order of events. Amongst these decisions, the most critical and tricky one is to decide whether the content should be written first and the design should follow it or vice versa.

With advancements in technology and evolution of new design trends, a lot of new design elements have surfaced. Swirly animations, smooth java, embedded flash plug-ins, parallax scrolling, white space usage, customized fonts and shades, there’s a lot on the plate of a designer to beautify a website. That said, even the most alluring websites will not succeed if an equally enticing content doesn’t compliment it. There are quite a few challenges in creating content based on a ready design. The question ‘whether design should be decided first or the content?’ is a tricky one. Although, we feel that deciding content first and framing a design based on that is a better practice because of the following reasons:

Content Will Go Heywire With A Pre-Decided Design

A lot of designers start browsing through umpteen web design templates right from the word go and select a template which looks the most attractive. However, this poses a big challenge for content developers as they need to frame and twist the content according to the template and its categories. This is a bad practice and will result in negative business consequences.

Content First Speeds Up Production

Deciding a copy for a website is a tedious process and takes substantial time. Moreover, there’s hardly a chance that the initial copy will turn into a final copy. The designer will have his own inputs about the type and amount of content in certain sections plus the use of specific words, which means a lot of revisions. The production and launch will be delayed if the design is finalized before the content due to the revisions until the best copy is created. Now imagine, what if the content is worked on before the design? The launch process will speed up as finalizing a design based on the approved content will comparatively take lesser time.

SpinningThe Design Based On The Content Is Much Easier

It really becomes difficult for designers to visualize and implement a design with no content available. If the designers have a copy available, they can start developing design templates to fit to the tone of the content. Furthermore, there’s every reason for the content team to take a headstart. Moulding the design based on content will be easier and appealing as compared to go the other way round.

Design Is Expensive

It’s not a great idea to start designing without content in your hand. It can cost you a fortune. The initial design might look all fancy and attractive. But, if you analyse the costing for it, it won’t come out frugal. It’s possible that your’s is a content-heavy website and there might not be room for already implemented fancy filters or distractions. Alternatively, your content might be very simple and was depending on the design to uplift it. But, the final design may be as minimalistic as the content, making it very ordinary.

Content Hooks a Visitor

Surely the design may be important to attract viewers during the initial phase but it’s the content that hooks them. The design will elevate the overall user experience if it’s framed on the basis of the content. That’s because both will be speaking the same language and tone. This will result in more on-page time and a lower bounce rate.

These points highlight the importance of a content-first approach and how it’s beneficial to the success of a website. However, there are a lot of theories which favour the opposite approach. You can contact and discuss this at length with our design experts for a better understanding.

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