This post is about content and how it should be recognized as a major player in any web design or intranet project. I have written about the concept of content centred design before and how online versions of hard copy content objects can lead to a much diminished user experience. I used the online dictionary as an example of this.
I wrote then that –
‘Content must be viewed as a stakeholder’
‘content has a structure and a purpose which is independent of the user or web designer’
Nothing I have seen in the time since I wrote the above has changed my mind. Content must be considered as important a stakeholder in the design process as the user in order to ensure a balanced, rational approach to any web design project. By ignoring this fact designers and web teams are overlooking an essential element that would contribute to a better final product. By either ignoring content, or leaving any consideration to near the end of a project, the final design has a high likelihood of being sub-optimal.
manIA 
