Website Content Loading, Entry, Inventory and Migration - Why it can make or break your web project

Content loading is one of the most important and overlooked parts of any web project.
Whether you are bringing across your old website content, auditing and re-writing it or starting from scratch, content is the primary thing that users get out of the site at the end of the day.  I am a firm believer that if you need your project done on time and to budget, then nothing is more important.

Just about every website designer with tell you "content is king".  It is what makes your site rank well in Google, and effective content is what sells you product, gets you customers and makes you money.  But a lot of web designers and content management system software vendors shy away from content creation, migration and loading.  Let's face it, it is not exactly glory work.  It is hard work but someone needs to do it.  But don't be fooled into believing that anyone can do it.  It doesn't have to be you. 

Fortunately we are both a web designer / developer and content management system (CMS) vendor, but we also offer holistic approach to projects which considers content as well.  I have, at times, had to get my hands dirty on occasion in the interests of getting the best results for my clients.  In fact the reason I'm writing this article is that I am faced with quite a large project which required a very detailed content plan.  We like to tackle the issue head-on.

There are actually quite a few skills required.
So I'll briefly give you an inkling of some of the things involved:

• Content migration ("How do we move this stuff ?") - bringing content across from your old site may not be as simple as it sounds.  While most content management systems offer "copy and paste" approach, you need to consider changes to your site structure that may have resulted from the redesign.  Content may need to also be updated and rewritten. Sometimes a custom script can be written by a professional programmer.  If you are porting a large amount of content from one content management system (CMS) to another, this may prove technically difficult and sometimes due to the wide range of proprietary technologies out there - sometimes even impossible. 
• Content inventory ("What do we have and what do we need on the website ?") - taking stock of what content you have and planning your content entry strategy. Consider that your content may not just be on your old website, you may have offline assets you want to put up there as well.
• Content format conversion ("How is this going to work ?") - the web is very different from other media, and converting information into interactive online content requires careful consideration of the medium.  Even web media may come from such complex sources as databases and learning management systems.  Following the user-centred approach, you should consider the readers. for example that studies show people are capable of absorbing in electronic format about 60% of what they do in print format.  Pages may have to be reduced in size to provide more re-usable bite size chunks of information. 
• Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) ("Will I be able to find this on Google ?") - If you want the best results, you also need to consider Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), keywords and content carefully and not everyone knows the tips or tricks.
• Content creation ("How should I write this ?") - creating new content from scratch requires consideration of its type and context.  The skill of copywriting comes into play - something that not everyone has.  Then there are the issues of format conversion as mentioned above.
• Content delegation ("Who is going to do this ?") - assigning roles and tasks for multiple editors can require some co-ordination.  You'll need to decide who is the final approver of content and what processes to put in place to ensure that content is quality controlled.
• Content quality control ("Will this be good enough ?") - ensuring that the content gets all the ticks - not just in terms of what it looks like, but in the context of the entire site and search engine optimisation.
• Content management -("How do I manage and maintain it ?") involves the ongoing non-technical maintenance of a website, sometimes by multiple staff and requiring delegation.  CMS functions that can help here are scheduled publishing, expiry and email reminder notifications on pages.
• System Training ("How do I do this ?") - To top it all off, you'll need to be trained in the system (often a content management system or CMS) to manage it all.  You need to make sure the site is working as intended, but you don't want to find that out when you start to enter content.  Do you get trained before the content is in the site and learn the hard way - on the fly - or do you get trained after the hard work is done ? 

Along with these questions, you might find yourself at points scratching your head and asking yourself "How do I do this ?" and "When am I going to find the time ?".  All this time, your your boss will be asking you "When will our new website going to be launched ?". 

Now lets look at how these factors combine to make it difficult, without the right assistance, to get your project over the line.