Dec 17 2007
What Web Developers Forget
Web development has gone through some significant changes over the last 20 years. I remember when I started working with web development in the 90s that most of the people that I knew that became web developers fell into two categories.
Category 1: Graphic Designers who learned HTML, ASP, etc
Category 2: Programmers who learned how to use graphics programs like Photoshop.
More often than not, these are mutually exclusive skill sets. More often than not, you can learn to be proficient at both, but not spectacular at both.
There are some people that can truly be very good at both, but a programmer uses logic to design and a designer uses creativity to design. Neither is bad… just often are mutually exclusive skill sets.
Because of this divide in skill sets, the last few years has seen a turn in how web sites are developed. Specialization has become key to the modern website. Graphic Designers focus on their core competency and Programmers focus on their core competency.
This is great because now you can get spectacular design and competent programming (although I still think that the majority of the graphic designers that are out there still think that designing for web interaction is the same as designing for static media).
But, what is forgotten?
There are many different views on what Web 2.0 is about. I think that it is about providing relevant information when and where it is needed.
What this means is that Content IS King.
Search engines (for the most part) really don’t care about how well a site looks graphically. Search engines (for the most part) really don’t care about how well a site is programmed. Search engines care about content. They care about fresh, relevant content.
It is the importance of fresh, relevant content that has driven web 2.0 technologies such as blogs, user forums and wikis. The problem is that, although there are millions of of bloggers, forum users and wiki readers, business still hasn’t adopted this as a viable way to create content for a web site. And, the fact is, I don’t think that the main content of a business website should be based on a blog or wiki (unless you are a blog site <like this one> or Wikipedia). Blog content should supplement, not supplant good website content. Blog content is good, but there is more to business than a blog.
Content IS King.
So, what do you do with that statement? What does that mean?
Web developers focus on two different things. One is the design. The other is the programming of that design. And, for the most part, they understand the importance of content; they just don’t know how to write that content. That is why there are a number of content management systems that have become available.
Blogging
If you are a blogger, you can get free blogging platforms like Wordpress (this site uses Wordpress) or Blogger.com. If you don’t like those options, you can pay and go with Typepad. The problem is that those platforms don’t really provide much for a fully integrated business website… they can get you a blog (which is a great way to write and post content), but not much of the other functionality you may want. Most people will build a website separate from a blogging platform then integrate one of the existing blogging platforms to their current site.
But since we are talking about content being paramount here, we need to talk about a fully integrated website with all the content you will need.
Designer/Programmer
Of course, one way is to program the website - get a graphic designer and a programmer (or you can go old school and get the “one guy that does it all” like the boss’ nephew who built a couple of sites when he was in high-school). You tell the designer/programmer what you want, they mock it up and put something up for you. Often, they will ask you for the content or they will make it up as they go. You can actually get a pretty low cost site this way, but the design and functionality is likely second to a lot and the content will be very weak.
Template
Another way that you can get a site is use a template from the company where you get your hosting from or other various free template sites. Usually, these templates are very limiting and can get you a web presence, but nothing fancy. Nothing impressive. You are responsible to figure out how to integrate blogging, forums or other functionality yourself. You simply put up your content yourself and you have a web presence. Again, you have to write your content.
Content Management System
But, if you want a fully featured website, you would look into a content management system. Some systems you can get for free. Drupal, Joomla and PHPNuke are some examples and each has advantages. You can also pay for a content management system like Bizzuka or NeoReef.
Now, a content management system manages content… it doesn’t write content. In fact, one of the sites above has a quote on their front page that says, “We got tired of paying a Web developer every time our [content] changed….” indicating that the content management company doesn’t provide the content… only the way to add and change content more easily.
What is the right way to go?
If you are interested in something fully functional and want to do a lot yourself, a content management system is likely the right way to go for your company web presence. Which is better? Which platform do I develop using? Which one should you use?
The fact is, it doesn’t matter. As long as the content management system has the features you want, you really shouldn’t care what system you use…. might as well use a free one. You probably will want to hire someone like me (shameless plug) to get the initial configuration done so that you don’t have to learn that part of it.
As far as I am concerned, you should be far more concerned about the content on your site. The graphic design is easy compared to the content. The programming is easy compared to the content.
Content IS King
The largest problem that web developers have is they don’t know how to write content. The largest problem that businesses have is they don’t know how to write content.
Content IS King.
I can’t stress that enough. If you don’t have the right content… the right amount of content… the right kind of content, then it will leave your visitors saying, “Oo, Ah, Huh?”
Yes, design is important. Yes, functionality is important. Yes, the programming is important.
But, Content IS King. If you don’t have the right content, search engines may not find you and people won’t come. If you don’t have new, fresh, relevant content, people won’t come back.
Content is hard
It is especially hard to write your own content. Content is more than a blog. It is more than a few lines of text. For your business, it has to be professional. For your business, it has to show that you are an authority on what you do. If your website doesn’t communicate your professionalism and credentials, you would be better not having a web presence at all.
If you can’t write your own content (and be honest with yourself) then you can find someone to write the content for you. Or, you can just get a web developer who knows how to do it all for you (yet another shameless plug).
Corey Smith is a co-founder of Resumango where you can build a better resume for free.
I read with interest your blog post “What Web Developers Forget.” While it is very well written and you make valid points, I would be remiss if I didn’t take issue with your statement “As long as the content management system has the features you want, you really shouldn’t care what system you use…. might as well use a free one.”
The “content is king” mantra of the late 90’s began to lose footing a little more than 2 years ago to a more important stage in the evolution of the Web and the maturing of its user base. While content is still critical, the current evolutionary stage of the Web and its user base (ie, Web 2.0) dictates that “conversation is king” or better still, “communication is king.” Thus, while content is still a vital component, the ability to interact with that content trumps all; therefore a company’s choice of content management tools has become rather critical.
Small, medium and large businesses alike are all becoming painfully aware that their prospects and customers want much more out of the corporate Web site, as opposed to the simple, electronic brochures of the past. Visitors want access to information. They want to perform transactions, query internal systems, communicate with executives, interact with other visitors, rate products and read reviews, as well as download documents, images and data files that might otherwise have to be snail mailed or worse, yet, may be completely inaccessible.
That means that the content management system one chooses must incorporate as many elements of online communication as a company is willing and able to take on. The rapid pace at which the Web is changing mandates that a company be nimble and react almost immediately to visitor demands for content interaction. Therefore, the content management tool must be able to scale in complexity on-demand as consumers demand more from a company in terms of online communication. Similarly, the content management system selected must be highly accessible and easy to use for non-technical Web site administrators.
With that in mind, the free ones mentioned in your blog require a technically proficient administrator to set up. When bug fixes are released, this technically proficient administrator must install the updated code. Incorporating additional tools down the road also entail programmer intervention and limit a company’s ability to respond quickly to changes in the marketplace. Thus, for most small businesses looking to save money and manage their own Web site, free is not free at all. In fact, it becomes quite expensive.
The Bizzuka platform (thanks for mentioning us, by the way) is designed to scale on-demand and also allows companies to delegate administrative responsibilities to non-technical administrators. As a hosted, “software-as-a-service” application, updates happen automatically. Approximately every two weeks we are releasing new features into the system, so our clients are assured of cutting edge technology supporting their Web initiatives.
The bottom line is that you are absolutely correct: we do not create content and our clients absolutely need professionals like you to aid in that development process. However, the Web has matured beyond the simple display of text on a page. Marketing has become a conversation and interaction with content has become the critical element in successful Web initiatives.
John W. Munsell
CEO
Bizzuka
John,
Thanks for the reply…. I guess I am not the only person that has a lot to say.
Conversation is definitely important. I don’t want to dismiss the importance of Web 2.0, it’s technologies and what it provides. Namely, blogs, wikis, forums and the conversation they can provide.
The problem I see is that people forget about core site content. While a blog is great content (obviously I think a blog is important) and the resulting conversation is great (obviously, or I wouldn’t respond here) I think that so many web developers simply miss the importance of core site content. The basic page content is so often forgotton.
I think that my statement of, “Web developers forget content” is a little flip.. and intended to be such. The reality is that web developers are often not marketers… even less often are they copy writers.
It doesn’t change the fact that I still have a hard time seeing the benefit of a for pay content management system. A good developer that works in an open source CMS will also provide regular updates to his system, but will have the benefit of 1000s of developers across the world that can and will contribute to his system.
I appreciate the comment. You never know… you may get business anyway through this post from the people who agree with you more than they agree with me.
True, I can get rather wordy at times! But it’s always fun to talk shop with other professionals. With four small kids at home, sometimes I need an outlet to talk about things other than the latest episode of Hannah Montana.
I think we see it the same way, but I believe your definition of a “developer” is probably a person more heavily in tune with programming, as opposed to graphic design or marketing. If I may take the liberty of over-simplifying the Web development space, there are small developers (1-3 man shops), independent graphic designers, mid (25-50 employees) to large development firms (50+), and ad agencies of varying sizes. Each one will provide unique services to their clientele, and each one will bend more toward their level of expertise. Some will focus on content, some will focus on design and others will focus on technical capabilities, visibility, search engine placement, eCommerce, etc.
We are a mid-size Web development company (25-50 employees) and saw inefficiencies in the market that we felt were not addressed adequately in the Open Source community. Thus, we developed our own proprietary solution in order to bring value to our clients, partners and shareholders.
If I were a small, independent Web developer, Open Source would be the absolute logical choice to increase margins, provide technology and compress production schedules. However, if I had little or no programming skills, Open Source would be a costly option at best. Thus, I would need a solution that allowed me to focus on my specific area of expertise and gave the client the capabilities that they needed in order to compete in this rapidly changing marketplace. In either case, the emphasis should be placed on meeting client needs and providing appropriate technology when it comes to the selection of a content management system.
We work with developers, designers, agencies and marketing firms who want to stay true to their core competency (creative design, content generation, print collateral, marketing, etc.) and leave the technology and its implementation to those who make it their specialty. They create the designs, and we implement those designs for them on our platform.
You very correctly point out that most developers (ie, heavy on programming, light on graphic design and marketing) ignore the importance of content. From experience I can tell you that a lot of that is client driven. The vast majority of our clients want to write their own content in order to control costs. And, as you might expect, the vast majority of those either never get around to it, or create content that needs a significant amount of improvement (I’m being kind).
So, all that wordiness aside, my main point is that a developer should choose the content management platform that allows the developer to focus on his/her/their own core competency and delivers to the client the technical capabilities to compete in an interactive marketplace.
And, more to your point - the same holds true for content creation. Free doesn’t always mean better. Get an expert involved. Content is critical, but so is the technology behind the scenes.
Now, I’m off to get an earful of the latest “Suite Life of Zack and Cody”.
John Munsell
CEO
Bizzuka
I think we are saying some of the same things here. I appreciate your comments and your point of view.
Based on your comments above you might be interested in my post on what I think of solutions. You said, “the emphasis should be placed on meeting client needs and providing appropriate technology when it comes to the selection of a content management system.” I think that matches my philosphy perfectly and is the reason I am very reluctant to pick one CMS over another and is also why I don’t often share which CMS I use for most of my work.
As for me, my four children direct my conversation to Blue’s Clues, Curious George and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.