SEO Content VS Website Design: Which Comes First?
Your website development process should follow a specific series of steps. But which step comes first in terms of SEO content VS website design? It’s a question that often leads to mixed-message answers.
As a business owner, you probably get overwhelmed listening to varying opinions when all you really want is a successful website launch. You want to believe that the experts you hire will have your best interests in mind— but, unfortunately, that isn’t always the case.
I’ve worked with many clients who trusted their new websites to design agencies that prioritized quick turnaround times or visual appeal over website functionality— a mistake that ultimately only hurts the client.
This is why I’ve decided to clarify what steps should be taken first when creating a new website. I’m confident if more business owners understood how to prioritize SEO content VS website design, most of the common mishaps associated with launching a site would be avoided.
Your website is the virtual storefront of your business. It’s the single most important marketing tool you have— which means even one wrong step could have considerable consequences. Remember, 91 per cent of consumers have made a purchase based solely on a positive website experience.
Let’s ensure you don’t regret launching a new website. Here’s what you need to know:
SEO Content VS Website Design: Understanding Your Options
When it comes to content and web design, there are two different methods of developing a website:
1. Content-First Approach
This method involves planning and producing content (website copy, images, videos, downloadable files, etc) early in the website development process. There is an emphasis on analyzing how content will be presented to the user, so their experience can be streamlined and optimized as much as possible. The design of the website is then based on how the content needs to be displayed and interacted with.
2. Design-First Approach
This method involves planning and producing the layout of a website first and then filling in content based upon the completed wireframes. There is a greater focus on the architecture of the website and how traffic will flow through it, as opposed to the information that will be presented to users.
Why a Content-First Approach is Best
Many of the world's top digital marketing and web design experts endorse the content-first approach— and for good reason.
Here are some of the most compelling benefits of a content-first approach to web design:
1. A Clearer (And Higher Converting) Customer Journey
Content is the reason the internet exists in the first place. Without it, there would be no need for website design. This is a simple truth, but it’s one that often gets overlooked in the website development process. Content is the reason people are coming to your website. They need or want specific information and it’s your job to present that information in a way that’s cohesive and convenient to navigate.
By prioritizing content first, you ensure all of the vital details your users require are featured on your site in a way that benefits the overall user experience. You will be able to create a content hierarchy and ensure a seamless navigational structure— making it easier for users to move through your sales funnel and become paying customers.
2. Fewer Edits and Design Changes Over Time
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been hired by companies who paid another agency to completely redesign their site, only to be disappointed. In the vast majority of cases, the client ended up with a visually appealing website but realized later their search engine rankings were dropping or their new site wasn’t converting the way they expected it to. Other times, they skimped on paying a copywriter and realized (a little too late) that a lack of engaging content negatively impacts bounce rates. And in rare occasions, their copy is full of spelling errors and grammatical mistakes, which damages their overall brand credibility.
How do these mistakes occur? When content isn’t prioritized in the website development process.
By taking a content-first approach, you can avoid paying for copy edits, revisions, and adjustments after your site has been launched and ensure your content is high-calibre from the very beginning. Nothing will damage the profitability of your new website more than launching it without top-quality content that’s capable of ranking your business high on Google and converting visitors into sales leads.
3. No Missed Information or Content Gaps
A website should never be launched until a thorough and comprehensive content framework has been established and executed. The last thing you want is to publish your site and realize later that it’s missing key messages or important information that would be valuable to your users.
When you work with an experienced copywriter and content creator before launching a website, you benefit from a detailed content plan that aligns with user search intent (the reason your visitors came to your website to begin with). Ultimately, your ideal customers should never leave your website with more questions than when they arrived!
4. Improved Prioritization of Website Content
This is another critical consideration in the SEO content vs website design debate. You need time to plan out the structure of your pages and decide which pieces of content are most relevant to your target market. To achieve this, you need to dig deep into your audience behaviors and determine which questions users are asking Google when being lead to your website.
You want the content that is most closely related to these search terms to be at the top of your content hierarchy. They should be easily found in all navigational menus so potential customers can find the info they need with just a couple of clicks.
Google analyzes the structure of your content when ranking your website. If valuable content is buried deep within your website, or your content is organized in a way that lowers your site's crawlability, you’ll struggle to gain traffic— a costly problem to have. It’s also important to continuously remove old or outdated content from your site and to ensure your internal links are strategically placed.
In a nutshell? It’s always best to partner with a content marketer to ensure a successful website launch.
“If valuable content is buried deep within your website, or your content is organized in a way that lowers your site’s crawlability, you’ll struggle to gain traffic.”
5. Metadata That Maximizes SEO Results
Google requires websites to have metadata on every single page. A content-first approach makes it easier to account for metadata, title and header tags, image alt text, and other SEO ranking factors from the onset of your website development process.
To put this into context, Brand New Copy, a copywriting studio in Edinburgh, increased their organic traffic by 48 percent in 2017 solely by cleaning up their metadata.
By covering these bases while creating a new website, you can ensure your traffic rates are at a maximum from day one.
6. Consistency Across-The-Board
Google likes consistency. In fact, it demands it.
When evaluating your new website SEO, Google will check the following items:
Your URL structures
Your name, address, and phone number data (NAP)
The quality of your backlinks
Page load speeds
Keywords
If these items aren’t consistently implemented and maintained, your site may be penalized. And the worst part? One page can impact your greater website performance, even if all of your other pages are optimized consistently.
7. More Money in Your Pocket
And here we have it— the biggest bone of contention for any business that’s launching a new website. In the long run, you want the maximum return on your investment. The issue? This rarely happens without a content-first approach to website development.
The only way to accurately pinpoint what content your ideal customers expect to find on your site, what SEO-driven content is required to rise to the top of Google results, and what content will enhance your user experience, is by completing a content strategy before you begin building your website.
Once your site is built, it’s more cumbersome (and thus expensive) to make necessary changes. In fact, a simple 5-page website can cost upwards of $5,000 to redesign, while larger, more complex websites can range from $10,000-$20,000.
Do You Have Questions About SEO Content VS Website Design?
Do You Want to Implement a Content-First Approach for Your Website Project?
I’d be happy to help. Let’s discuss what’s required to achieve a successful website launch for your business.
