A new website can be a beautiful thing. However, in many cases, the website never again looks as good as it did on the day that the designer delivered it. Why is that? Why can a website start to look less organized, tidy and professional once the client starts adding new content?
When a developer/web designer delivers a new website to a client, they have optimized every square inch to look as good and read as clearly as possible. Each headline is balanced, every text box is full, all images are correctly sized. Problems begin to unfold when someone updates information on the site without taking into consideration how the new content flows with the old.
What can a non-designer do to keep a site looking good when adding new content?
If you’re not a designer and you’ve been given the ongoing task of adding new content to your company website, there are things you can do to keep it looking professional and consistent. Below are a few tips that can help, particularly if you are using a content management system (CMS) like WordPress.
1. Don’t treat your website like a display ad
Unlike a print ad, a website does not need to grab someone’s attention. Most likely, a user is on a site for a specific purpose—looking for specific information about that business. Therefore, movement and sound are not needed to get their attention. In fact, just the opposite is true. When adding new content, simple is always better.
You already have their attention. Your website should make the visitor feel comfortable enough to stay a while. Fonts should be big enough to read easily and on a plain background that contrasts with the text, white background and black lettering, for example.
2. Follow the design
When designing a new website, a good web developer considers every single element of the site. They have considered how each paragraph, caption, link and heading will look. They have defined the font family, size, style, weight, color and alignment for every element. When you add new copy that does not follow their rules, the result can look unprofessional and haphazard. In addition to defining the aesthetics of all the text on the site, the designer will have defined an assortment of image sizes. Consistent image size contributes to a site’s visual organization. Therefore, when adding new content, we recommend that you stick to the rules that the designer has defined.
Your goal is not to make the new copy jump out at the reader
When a visitor accesses your website, they want to find the information they are looking for quickly. Adding new content that doesn’t follow the overall structure looks less professional and can reflect poorly on your company.
3. Avoid all caps when adding new content
Text, above all else, must be readable. Ascenders and descenders of upper and lower case letters help our eyes identify words. Using all capital letters can make that distinction difficult and visitors to your site are less likely to read all the information you so purposefully prepared. That is why we recommend using upper and lower case letters. All caps should only be used cautiously and deliberately.
Hire us to be responsible for adding new content to your website
You may decide that adding new content to your website is not something you enjoy doing. Perhaps your time would be better spent doing something else. We handle ongoing site maintenance for many clients. Learn more about our Content Management Services or call (518) 392-0846.