6 major principles of a good site
About it in the book «Bases контентной strategy» are told by the editor and the publisher with the long-term experience, the expert of company Brain Traffic Erin Kissejn
1. A good content — a pertinent content
Publish a content which approaches as you, and your users
In effect, it is a major principle of a good content: it should be pertinent for your business, for your users and for the general context of your mutual relations. Relevance can be shown in a way of giving of a content, its style and structure, but first of all — in the maintenance. The problem контентной strategy — to define, each of these elements plays what role your project and how to receive desirable result.
► it is correct for the user (and the general context of relations)
Let's reflect on James Bond. In spite of the fact that the bond is abrupt and clever, it could be lost kind one hundred times, there will be no at it a superprofessional command of support. The bond needs to pursue the villain, the command adjusts to it Aston Martin DB5. When the fine woman pours to it in a glass a poison, the command finds antidote. After the hero escapes from the lake teeming with crocodiles-murderers, the command provides to it a shower, the razor and ideally sewed suit. The command does not communicate almost with the Bond and does not spend its time for nothing. It does not anticipate its inquiries, but invariably offers it everything that can be necessary.
The content is pertinent when he helps users to achieve the object.
The content will be especially pertinent if will help them to feel the superheroes, carrying out especially important task. The ideal content gives to users everything that it is necessary for them, when it is necessary and in the most suitable form. And for this purpose you should get deeply into their consciousness (not to mention necessity to know that your "suit" is necessary to them «on a figure»).
Partly this exercise on a thought-reading on distance is connected with a context of your relations which should not be limited to an estimation and the analysis of methods of access to users or even detailed understanding of their purposes. According to content-strategist Deniela Ejzansa, the intelligent analysis of a context demands understanding not only the purposes of the user, but also its behaviour. What does it do? How he feels? On what it is capable?
It is a delicate theme. If I call in service of urgent medical aid on Sunday my context, most likely, differs from when I call to the allergist at o'clock of its work. If I look an underground card on a site at three o'clock in the morning for certain I want to understand, what trains go right now, instead of tomorrow to rush hour. When I search for your company in the Network by means of a mobile phone, most likely, I want to find numbers of your contact phones, instead of the detailed financial report for 2006. However our assumptions of a context in which there is a reader, never (despite all researches) will not be ideal. Always give to readers possibility to see more information (if they want it).
► it is correct for business
The content is pertinent for your business if helps you reach stably the purposes.
The business purposes can be formulated as «sales volume increase», «improvement of quality of work of service of technical support» or «decrease in expenses on polygraphy at manufacturing of teaching materials», but the basic problem consists in that processes of the decision of all these problems were steady.
The steady content is a content which you can create and support without quality decrease, without infringement of integrity and without that your employees suffered from frustration of nervous system. To you can seem that it needless to say, but a problem that in practice we too often make ambitious plans under the content publication, without reflecting, what efforts be required in long-term prospect for its maintenance.
By and large expressions «it is correct for business» and «it is correct for the user» mean same. In the absence of readers, spectators and listeners any content will be senseless. And the content created without requirements of users, will not bring to authors and publishers anything, except harm as unsatisfied users simply will start to leave.
This principle can be reduced to idea of the educated egoism: that harms to my users, harms also to me.
2. A good content — a useful content
Define clear and a specific goal for each element of a content; estimate degree of conformity of a content of its purpose
Very few people intentionally creates the boring content confusing or irritating users. Nevertheless the Network is overflowed by the senseless, empty and irritating information. And this information is not neutral — it takes away money and time, and also works against the purposes of business and its users.
To understand, your content on page, in the module or section is how much correct, you should know, on what it is directed. The reality allows to achieve the best results. Let's consider some possible variants of the content connected with a product, and its purposes.
► Sale of products. This purpose is too indistinct and, most likely, will lead to occurrence of an out-of-focus and empty content.
► Sale of the given product. Product sale represents the process including set of smaller problems, for example discussion of advantages, their binding to properties of a product, demonstration of result and value of a product, and also the offer on the purchase, directed on consumers. If your purpose is so indistinct, you do not represent, in what degree your content solves these problems (and whether solves in general).
► Transfer and demonstration of advantages of the given product. It already on forces to your content. However if you do not know, who exactly will get of advantage from product use, it will be difficult to you to make a specific proposal.
► Demonstration of how the given product helps certain group of clients. If you understand, what exactly is necessary for concrete group of clients can create a content serving to this purpose. (And if you do not understand that is necessary for them, and thus all the same try to sell a product you should worry about set of other problems, much more serious, than the content maintenance).
Now do the same with each element of a content in your project, and you receive rather useful list of the purposes which try to reach on an exit. If my offer frightens you, think, it will be how much more difficult to estimate, create or change to you a content, without having a specific goal.
3. The good content is focused on the user
Take advantage когнитивную of the point of view of your users
Within the limits of the web project the design focused on the user means that the end-product should answer needs of consumers and grant of their desire. From the practical point of view it means that days when the sitemap was reflexion of your organizational scheme, remained behind.
Donald Norman in book The Design of Everyday Things wrote about importance of understanding of mental model of the user which should precede design of products. He considers that the design focused on the user should pursue two aims: «1) the user can understand that to it to do; 2) the user can explain an event». The content focused on the user, should mention not internal mental models and a lexicon of the user, and it когнитивные the representations including set of elements: from model of the world to principles of the use of certain terms and phrases. It is necessary to dwell upon it. The EXAMPLE: the Best way to frighten off the user Allow me to result an unusual illustration. We will assume, you want to hang out a collection of photos of lovely and touching doggies. You understand what not to do without a hammer. Go to shop and ask where to find a hammer.
— Building tools and accessories, — the seller answers. — the fifth rack.
⇒⇒⇒⇒
— Welcome to department of building tools and accessories. Than we can help you?
— Hello. Where I can find a hammer?
— You mean обивочный a hammer for household use?
— Probably, yes...
— For hammers with a shock part of less than five centimetres the department of tools for the house use, located in the distant end of a rack 9 answers.
— Welcome to the Center of house tools! We have appeared thanks to merge of department of tools for the house and division of small sharp objects. Whether want to register in time convenient for you in which we could show our goods?
— The hammer is simply necessary to me... For the house.
— The bonus hammer for house use or a standard hammer for house luxe-class use is necessary to you?
— Listen, directly behind your back on a regiment the hammer lies. It is everything that it is necessary for me.
«<ACCESS TO THE DIRECTORY IS CLOSED»>
Please, return on a homepage of a site and try to find again that is necessary for you! The content of such style or such maintenance of a site can push away readers. It understands the majority of the successful organisations, however set of sites is all the same built by a principle of the corporate organizational scheme: they are filled by statements for the mission, intended for internal use, a corporate slang and terminology even in the description of the most simple and obvious ideas.
If you a monopolist offering unique and demanded services or products can not notice negative effects such нарциссического the approach to a content. But be not surprised, if one fine day your dinner somebody eats another — the one who will offer the same products, but in other manner focused on the consumer.
4. A good content — a clear content
Aspire to clearness in all
When we say that something is clear to us, it means that all works as it is necessary — we can acquire that speak to us. The good content talks to consumers on clear it language. It is organised so that it is easy for using.
Content-strategists usually rely on others — on copywriters, editors and experts in the field of multimedia, — so far as concerns creation and change of a content which users will read, listen and look. Working over large-scale projects, we can meet the majority of the experts involved in process of creation of a content never. But if we want to help to generate it a clear content we have no right simply to make the plan, to bring down it on heads of copywriters and to flutter out from office.
What it is necessary for you? To create a useful management on style of a content. To learn it is more about the organisation of the working processes connected with a content, how to hold seminars for copywriters and editors, and also, how to create tools for working out, such as content templates. All these methods help to form a clear and useful content, and throughout long time.
Certainly, clearness is a virtue to which should adhere and in other spheres of our work. Thanks to clearness it will be easier to formulate the purposes, to organise and hold meeting and other.
5. A good content — a logical content
Be consecutive, but within limits
For the majority of people language — the basic means of dialogue with each other and with an external world. The structure of speech and correctly built narration can lower degree когнитивной loadings on users and simplify perception of the information. Inconsistency, on the contrary, raises когнитивную loading, disturbs to understanding and distracts readers.
Here for what managements on style are necessary. Many experts on контентной the strategy which before were engaged in journalism or editorial work, are attached to certain style (for example, I adhere Chicago Manual of Style), however real professionals are capable to put design requirements above the personal preferences.
The logic of a narration cannot be universal, for example sites for doctors, or representatives of insurance branch different intonations for dialogue with various groups of visitors should use patients; at the same time many sites intended for wide audience, can use the same intonation. Also it is the content correct and focused on the reader. But the company allowing each manager on a product to create different kinds of a content, will be to break this principle, most likely: it is in that case satisfied with an ego of the manager, instead of requirement of readers.
6. A good content — a laconic content
Avoid an unnecessary content
Some organisations adore to place on a site great volumes of a content. Probably, they believe that presence on page under the name «About us» the organizational scheme, the description of mission and the purposes, and also a corporate commercial justifies days and the hours spent behind creation of this content. Probably, it seems to them that Google thanks that they weekly publish ten posts in the blog will tell it. It is represented to me that in the circumstances it is necessary to blame entropy: the Network gives enough space for placing everything. Of us it seems to some a case with uncountable boxes, therefore we and do not limit volume of a placed content.
What occurs, if content it appears too much? On the one hand, it complicates search of really necessary information. With another — distribution of final volume of resources to unlimited volume of a content leads to decrease in its quality. Abundance of a content is frequent testifies to deeper problem — a syndrome «is published everything that we can», substituting by itself the extremely useful paradigm «is published that is necessary for our consumers».
There is a set of ways to understand, what content actually is not necessary, — the traffic analysis, research of consumers and opinion of the editor can help with it. To begin with allow to result the list of typical "garbage" on a site.
► Statements for mission, the purposes and basic values of the company. If representatives of your company sincerely trust those or other abstract principles, it will necessarily be shown in their work. The exception makes a small amount of the organisations for which mission is a product, for example the charitable organisations. But also in this case the content should be accompanied by actual acknowledgement.
► Press releases. They can matter for the audience enough limited in the sizes, therefore in a raw state directly on site pages — an ideal example of an error in style «we always so do their carrying over».
► Long and not readable pages of formal notices. Probably, to you not to do without those or other legal documents but if you care of readers do not regret time and translate the text with not clear and not always the necessary legal language (even if it will not be pleasant to your lawyers).
► Infinite transfer of advantages. The majority of them are uninteresting to your readers. Characteristics representing the greatest interest can be organised in a subcategory that will simplify search and perception of the information.
► the Superfluous documentation. Whether you offer audiences three different kinds of answers to typical questions? Whether it is possible to unite or transform them into the tool of the contextual help?
► Audiovisual excesses. Whether on your site video data begin with a long fragment with a flying logo? Whether it is possible to reduce a 30-minute film till 10 minutes without loss of an important content? Cut down, reduce and offer ways how to avoid the similar.
About it in the book «Bases контентной strategy» are told by the editor and the publisher with the long-term experience, the expert of company Brain Traffic Erin Kissejn1. A good content — a pertinent content
Publish a content which approaches as you, and your users
In effect, it is a major principle of a good content: it should be pertinent for your business, for your users and for the general context of your mutual relations. Relevance can be shown in a way of giving of a content, its style and structure, but first of all — in the maintenance. The problem контентной strategy — to define, each of these elements plays what role your project and how to receive desirable result.
► it is correct for the user (and the general context of relations)
Let's reflect on James Bond. In spite of the fact that the bond is abrupt and clever, it could be lost kind one hundred times, there will be no at it a superprofessional command of support. The bond needs to pursue the villain, the command adjusts to it Aston Martin DB5. When the fine woman pours to it in a glass a poison, the command finds antidote. After the hero escapes from the lake teeming with crocodiles-murderers, the command provides to it a shower, the razor and ideally sewed suit. The command does not communicate almost with the Bond and does not spend its time for nothing. It does not anticipate its inquiries, but invariably offers it everything that can be necessary.
The content is pertinent when he helps users to achieve the object.
The content will be especially pertinent if will help them to feel the superheroes, carrying out especially important task. The ideal content gives to users everything that it is necessary for them, when it is necessary and in the most suitable form. And for this purpose you should get deeply into their consciousness (not to mention necessity to know that your "suit" is necessary to them «on a figure»).
Partly this exercise on a thought-reading on distance is connected with a context of your relations which should not be limited to an estimation and the analysis of methods of access to users or even detailed understanding of their purposes. According to content-strategist Deniela Ejzansa, the intelligent analysis of a context demands understanding not only the purposes of the user, but also its behaviour. What does it do? How he feels? On what it is capable?
It is a delicate theme. If I call in service of urgent medical aid on Sunday my context, most likely, differs from when I call to the allergist at o'clock of its work. If I look an underground card on a site at three o'clock in the morning for certain I want to understand, what trains go right now, instead of tomorrow to rush hour. When I search for your company in the Network by means of a mobile phone, most likely, I want to find numbers of your contact phones, instead of the detailed financial report for 2006. However our assumptions of a context in which there is a reader, never (despite all researches) will not be ideal. Always give to readers possibility to see more information (if they want it).
► it is correct for business
The content is pertinent for your business if helps you reach stably the purposes.
The business purposes can be formulated as «sales volume increase», «improvement of quality of work of service of technical support» or «decrease in expenses on polygraphy at manufacturing of teaching materials», but the basic problem consists in that processes of the decision of all these problems were steady.
The steady content is a content which you can create and support without quality decrease, without infringement of integrity and without that your employees suffered from frustration of nervous system. To you can seem that it needless to say, but a problem that in practice we too often make ambitious plans under the content publication, without reflecting, what efforts be required in long-term prospect for its maintenance.
By and large expressions «it is correct for business» and «it is correct for the user» mean same. In the absence of readers, spectators and listeners any content will be senseless. And the content created without requirements of users, will not bring to authors and publishers anything, except harm as unsatisfied users simply will start to leave.
This principle can be reduced to idea of the educated egoism: that harms to my users, harms also to me.
2. A good content — a useful content
Define clear and a specific goal for each element of a content; estimate degree of conformity of a content of its purpose
Very few people intentionally creates the boring content confusing or irritating users. Nevertheless the Network is overflowed by the senseless, empty and irritating information. And this information is not neutral — it takes away money and time, and also works against the purposes of business and its users.
To understand, your content on page, in the module or section is how much correct, you should know, on what it is directed. The reality allows to achieve the best results. Let's consider some possible variants of the content connected with a product, and its purposes.
► Sale of products. This purpose is too indistinct and, most likely, will lead to occurrence of an out-of-focus and empty content.
► Sale of the given product. Product sale represents the process including set of smaller problems, for example discussion of advantages, their binding to properties of a product, demonstration of result and value of a product, and also the offer on the purchase, directed on consumers. If your purpose is so indistinct, you do not represent, in what degree your content solves these problems (and whether solves in general).
► Transfer and demonstration of advantages of the given product. It already on forces to your content. However if you do not know, who exactly will get of advantage from product use, it will be difficult to you to make a specific proposal.
► Demonstration of how the given product helps certain group of clients. If you understand, what exactly is necessary for concrete group of clients can create a content serving to this purpose. (And if you do not understand that is necessary for them, and thus all the same try to sell a product you should worry about set of other problems, much more serious, than the content maintenance).
Now do the same with each element of a content in your project, and you receive rather useful list of the purposes which try to reach on an exit. If my offer frightens you, think, it will be how much more difficult to estimate, create or change to you a content, without having a specific goal.
3. The good content is focused on the user
Take advantage когнитивную of the point of view of your users
Within the limits of the web project the design focused on the user means that the end-product should answer needs of consumers and grant of their desire. From the practical point of view it means that days when the sitemap was reflexion of your organizational scheme, remained behind.
Donald Norman in book The Design of Everyday Things wrote about importance of understanding of mental model of the user which should precede design of products. He considers that the design focused on the user should pursue two aims: «1) the user can understand that to it to do; 2) the user can explain an event». The content focused on the user, should mention not internal mental models and a lexicon of the user, and it когнитивные the representations including set of elements: from model of the world to principles of the use of certain terms and phrases. It is necessary to dwell upon it. The EXAMPLE: the Best way to frighten off the user Allow me to result an unusual illustration. We will assume, you want to hang out a collection of photos of lovely and touching doggies. You understand what not to do without a hammer. Go to shop and ask where to find a hammer.
— Building tools and accessories, — the seller answers. — the fifth rack.
⇒⇒⇒⇒
— Welcome to department of building tools and accessories. Than we can help you?
— Hello. Where I can find a hammer?
— You mean обивочный a hammer for household use?
— Probably, yes...
— For hammers with a shock part of less than five centimetres the department of tools for the house use, located in the distant end of a rack 9 answers.
— Welcome to the Center of house tools! We have appeared thanks to merge of department of tools for the house and division of small sharp objects. Whether want to register in time convenient for you in which we could show our goods?
— The hammer is simply necessary to me... For the house.
— The bonus hammer for house use or a standard hammer for house luxe-class use is necessary to you?
— Listen, directly behind your back on a regiment the hammer lies. It is everything that it is necessary for me.
«<ACCESS TO THE DIRECTORY IS CLOSED»>
Please, return on a homepage of a site and try to find again that is necessary for you! The content of such style or such maintenance of a site can push away readers. It understands the majority of the successful organisations, however set of sites is all the same built by a principle of the corporate organizational scheme: they are filled by statements for the mission, intended for internal use, a corporate slang and terminology even in the description of the most simple and obvious ideas.
If you a monopolist offering unique and demanded services or products can not notice negative effects such нарциссического the approach to a content. But be not surprised, if one fine day your dinner somebody eats another — the one who will offer the same products, but in other manner focused on the consumer.
4. A good content — a clear content
Aspire to clearness in all
When we say that something is clear to us, it means that all works as it is necessary — we can acquire that speak to us. The good content talks to consumers on clear it language. It is organised so that it is easy for using.
Content-strategists usually rely on others — on copywriters, editors and experts in the field of multimedia, — so far as concerns creation and change of a content which users will read, listen and look. Working over large-scale projects, we can meet the majority of the experts involved in process of creation of a content never. But if we want to help to generate it a clear content we have no right simply to make the plan, to bring down it on heads of copywriters and to flutter out from office.
What it is necessary for you? To create a useful management on style of a content. To learn it is more about the organisation of the working processes connected with a content, how to hold seminars for copywriters and editors, and also, how to create tools for working out, such as content templates. All these methods help to form a clear and useful content, and throughout long time.
Certainly, clearness is a virtue to which should adhere and in other spheres of our work. Thanks to clearness it will be easier to formulate the purposes, to organise and hold meeting and other.
5. A good content — a logical content
Be consecutive, but within limits
For the majority of people language — the basic means of dialogue with each other and with an external world. The structure of speech and correctly built narration can lower degree когнитивной loadings on users and simplify perception of the information. Inconsistency, on the contrary, raises когнитивную loading, disturbs to understanding and distracts readers.
Here for what managements on style are necessary. Many experts on контентной the strategy which before were engaged in journalism or editorial work, are attached to certain style (for example, I adhere Chicago Manual of Style), however real professionals are capable to put design requirements above the personal preferences.
The logic of a narration cannot be universal, for example sites for doctors, or representatives of insurance branch different intonations for dialogue with various groups of visitors should use patients; at the same time many sites intended for wide audience, can use the same intonation. Also it is the content correct and focused on the reader. But the company allowing each manager on a product to create different kinds of a content, will be to break this principle, most likely: it is in that case satisfied with an ego of the manager, instead of requirement of readers.
6. A good content — a laconic content
Avoid an unnecessary content
Some organisations adore to place on a site great volumes of a content. Probably, they believe that presence on page under the name «About us» the organizational scheme, the description of mission and the purposes, and also a corporate commercial justifies days and the hours spent behind creation of this content. Probably, it seems to them that Google thanks that they weekly publish ten posts in the blog will tell it. It is represented to me that in the circumstances it is necessary to blame entropy: the Network gives enough space for placing everything. Of us it seems to some a case with uncountable boxes, therefore we and do not limit volume of a placed content.
What occurs, if content it appears too much? On the one hand, it complicates search of really necessary information. With another — distribution of final volume of resources to unlimited volume of a content leads to decrease in its quality. Abundance of a content is frequent testifies to deeper problem — a syndrome «is published everything that we can», substituting by itself the extremely useful paradigm «is published that is necessary for our consumers».
There is a set of ways to understand, what content actually is not necessary, — the traffic analysis, research of consumers and opinion of the editor can help with it. To begin with allow to result the list of typical "garbage" on a site.
► Statements for mission, the purposes and basic values of the company. If representatives of your company sincerely trust those or other abstract principles, it will necessarily be shown in their work. The exception makes a small amount of the organisations for which mission is a product, for example the charitable organisations. But also in this case the content should be accompanied by actual acknowledgement.
► Press releases. They can matter for the audience enough limited in the sizes, therefore in a raw state directly on site pages — an ideal example of an error in style «we always so do their carrying over».
► Long and not readable pages of formal notices. Probably, to you not to do without those or other legal documents but if you care of readers do not regret time and translate the text with not clear and not always the necessary legal language (even if it will not be pleasant to your lawyers).
► Infinite transfer of advantages. The majority of them are uninteresting to your readers. Characteristics representing the greatest interest can be organised in a subcategory that will simplify search and perception of the information.
► the Superfluous documentation. Whether you offer audiences three different kinds of answers to typical questions? Whether it is possible to unite or transform them into the tool of the contextual help?
► Audiovisual excesses. Whether on your site video data begin with a long fragment with a flying logo? Whether it is possible to reduce a 30-minute film till 10 minutes without loss of an important content? Cut down, reduce and offer ways how to avoid the similar.
