I always use a few tried-and-true tips for presenting words well on the page with the reader top of mind. Sometimes it’s a fun, breezy blog post designed to get readers talking (and sharing!) about your Calgary business, or smart, no-frills instructions on how to use a product or feature. Regardless, organization might not be the most flashy element of content creation, but it’s certainly one of the most important tools for keeping your readers engaged.
The content on your website comes in many forms, serves many purposes, and is an important part of your overall web design and the look and feel of your site.
Why Your Content Matters
If you haven’t caught the content wave yet, don’t worry. There’s still time, and the benefits are worth it. The goal of marketing content is simply to provide readers with useful, valuable information. By sharing your expertise, you build trust. Trust leads to healthy relationships, and healthy relationships are good for business.
Social media amplifies the power of content, and provides you with a direct path to engage readers. On top of that, well-designed content has major search engine optimization (SEO) benefits, which help new customers find your website. And if writing isn’t your cup of tea, there are skilled content creators who are ready to handle the details for you.
The Simple, Proven Standards for Organizing Your Content Effectively
It doesn’t hurt to note that organization not only helps the reader, but it also makes your job easier as a content creator. When you know how a post or page will be organized ahead of time, you’ve got one less source of potential writer’s block. From the reader’s perspective, organization provides a quick, easy way to find the information that they came looking for.
- The most important thing to remember is that readers don’t necessarily plan to absorb all of the content on a page. Most of the time they are looking for something specific, and you want them to be able to find it with minimal effort.
- That means organizing your content in a way that’s easy to scan. Big paragraphs are out, and bite-sized chunks are in.
- Using bullet-point lists, like the one you’re reading right now, is one of the simplest, most effective ways to break up your content. Lists allow you to cover key topics in detail without overwhelming the reader.
- But how does the reader find the right list in the first place? That’s where subheadings enter the picture.
- A subheading is a line of text separate from the body text that is usually bold or larger font. Subheadings tell the reader what to expect from the next section of content. It’s like a road sign, allowing readers to scan efficiently.
- Bold text and italics are also effective for drawing the readers eyes to key terms and concepts, as long as they aren’t overused.
- Another benefit of the subhead-paragraph-list format is that it naturally creates white space on the page. White space is just the absence of text, but it’s important to allow readers a moment to breathe. White space makes a page easier to scan, while also making the content appear less intimidating to the reader.
- You can also use images to break up text, reinforce concepts, or a dash of colour to the page.
- Analytics is your secret weapon for creating great content, and evaluating your progress over time. When you dig into the data, you can learn exactly what’s working, what’s not, and what’s next.
Content Development is Pivotal to Your Calgary Business’s Website
The rules of content organization are really more like guidelines, because they can be shaped to fit the style of the project that you are working on. A short post or page, for example, may not require as many “road signs” as a long one. The key concepts to remember are to keep text bite-sized, make it easy to scan, and keep the reader’s expectations in mind. Your readers will thank you, and your content will be positioned to work that much harder for your business.
Need a hand with your content? Emphasize Design of Calgary offers everything you need for effective web design and content creation. Let us help you create the perfect strategy to promote your business online, or start with a look at some of our great current clients!
