Preparing your web : Website Content Development

You should already have a good idea of who your target audience is. The site is being created to fill its purpose and interact with people that will have some interest in the theme of this website.

Can we now develop our website's content to benefit our targeted audience?
We have to place ourselves in their shoes and ask, "What will I come to this site for?" We must:

• figure out the psychology of our likely visitors to make our site appeal
• provide useful content our visitors may want and even expect
• think of ways we can keep our visitors engaged at our site and how we can entice them back again

We have to also:

• make a good first impression
• establish need, honesty and reliability
• make our content (information) clear and concise
• provide good organization so our visitors can find information easily
• make our site interesting

By understanding the make-up of our intended visitor, knowing how we can appeal to their needs and interests in an effective way and by creating a good first impression through a confirmation of their expectations, you stand a much higher chance of success as determined by the goals of the site. You might find it hard to get started on your content process so the best way to kick things off is to see what is already out there on the web. We are only interested in sites of similar nature as your intended theme so search for potential competing sites for ideas.
You can't copy information you find but get ideas on how these sites offer their content. Principally of interest, we want to:

• study what they offer
• see how they layout their content
• analyze site structure (navigation of pages)
• notice ways they engage their audience
• note outbound links to other complementary sites

Be objective while researching sites and always think, "How can I expand on this and make my site better". Be critical but honest and open-minded when researching other sites. Act like you are a web surfer looking for information this site is offering. Did they (the website):

• make a good first impression with you?
• better inform you with their content?
• address and answer your needs?
• use clear and simple language that was understandable?
• convey honesty and friendliness?
• make it easy for you to find what you were looking for?
• offer reasons to return to the site again?

These are just some of the more important checks you should carry out when evaluating these sites. Understand no single approach is right so collectively make notes of things you liked, disliked and more importantly, how you can improve on these ideas. You will quickly form ideas on what you should be offering with your own site when carrying out this type of research. Gather ideas attained from other sites and integrate them with your own ideas to develop content for your site. Be original, informative and helpful and your site will be a winner.