This document discusses best practices for content strategy on websites. It begins by noting that content is often overlooked as "somebody else's problem" but that good content is important for websites. It then outlines the key steps in the content strategy process: performing a content audit; determining priorities through analytics, user questions, and focus groups; creating user personas; writing use cases; defining goals for the site and pages; researching, organizing, and writing content; creating wireframes; testing with users; designing, programming, and launching the site; and ongoing analysis and maintenance. The document emphasizes that content that serves users also serves the business and aims to reduce frustrations and support calls. It provides some resources for further reading on content strategy

1. Website Best Practices:
Strategies for Great Content
SARA LLEVERINO
HTTP://WEBER.EDU/SARALLEVERINO

2. Kristina on Content Strategy?
“As a community, we’re rather quiet on the matter of content. In fact, we appear
to have collectively, silently come to the conclusion that content is really
somebody else’s problem—“the client can do it,” “the users will generate it”—so
we, the people who make websites, shouldn’t have to worry about it in the first
place.
Do you think it’s a coincidence, then, that web content is, for the most
part, crap?
Dealing with content is messy. It’s complicated, it’s painful, and it’s expensive.
And yet, the web is content. Content is the web. It deserves our time and
attention.
And that’s where content strategy comes in.”
- KRISTINA HALVORSON
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/thedisciplineofcontentstrategy/

3. Why Have a Content Strategy?
 Content that serves your customer, serves your
business.
 Your Website is usually the first point of contact
 Reduce frustrations
 Reduce support calls

4. Be a Content Strategy Ninja
The Process

5. Perform a content audit

8. Determine Priority
 Analytics
 What questions are asked?
 What common problems are people having?
 Ask users what they want (focus groups)

9. Create Personas
 Identify 1-3 primary audiences
 Choose a photo representing each and identify them
 Name
 Occupation
 Marital Status
 Children
 Hobbies
 Reasons for coming to your site

10. Persona 1

11. Persona 2

12. Write use cases
 Make a list of questions users are asking when they
come to the website.
 What path would they expect to follow to find that
content?

13. Define Goals
 Define some overall goals for your site
 Based on personas and use cases
 Write goals for each page
 Page tables

14. Research, Organize & Write Content
 Gather needed info or facts
 Card Sort
 Write

15. The Rest
 Create wire frames
 User Testing
 Design
 Program
 User Testing
 Launch
 Analyze
 Maintain
 Editorial Calendar

18. Questions?

19. Resources
 A List Apart
http://www.alistapart.com/
 The Discipline of Content Strategy by Kristina
Halvorson
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/thedisciplineofco
ntentstrategy/