If you’re planning to launch a new website for your business, it’s understandable if you’re worried about the website. We all want our business’s website to be perfect, so it’s okay to get a little caught between all the choices and options, figuring out what’s best for your business.
One question that might be troubling you is the choice between design-first or content-first approaches. Since both approaches are valid and enormously successful, it’s hard to figure out what will work best for your business.
Here’s everything you need to know about the two approaches to help you come to a decision. Once you’ve decided, a great next step would be to talk to a professional website design and marketing company to get things started.
The Limitations Of The Design-First Model
This is what most business owners opt for, because, let’s face it, the way your website looks on the outside matters a great deal. This outward design will typically include the theme, pictures, and any embedded videos.
At first glance, this approach is visually appealing and attractive, but the big issue with it is that the design or the aesthetic of your website isn’t what your audience will necessarily remember. Good design and great aesthetic matter, but they don’t automatically lead to a successful online presence.
If you spend your entire time and budget creating visually pleasing boxes, and not enough on what you’re going to put in those boxes, you might be setting yourself up for failure.
What People Actually Remember About Your Site
Let’s do a little experiment. Try and recall the last site you visited. What is the first thing that comes to mind?
You could say, “this is exactly what I was looking for!” or “I loved all their features.” Or, you could say that “it was difficult to navigate,” “the pop-ups were annoying,” or “it was hard looking for what I was interested in.”
In most cases, you’ll find that you remember things that relate to what the brand was offering instead of the aesthetic of the website. This is the main reason why we recommend a content-first approach—it’s what really makes your website memorable.
All The Pros Of A Content-First Approach
Apart from making your business or website easily remembered, there are many benefits to taking a content-first approach. The first and most important one is that you won’t have to leave SEO to the last minute. Secondly, with this approach, you won’t be limiting yourself to fixed boxes or spaces to put your content in.
Finally, this approach will help you populate your website while it’s being designed, instead of after it. If you’re looking for a Portland, ME, based web design company to help you design a website and develop an SEO strategy, look no further. Reach out to our team here. Take a look at our services and portfolio for more information.