5 ms·

Web design is 95% typography and 100% content. I can't tell you how many times we have to design without knowing the actual CONTENT or text and we're forced to

Web design is 95% typography and 100% content. I can't tell you how many times we have to design without knowing the actual CONTENT or text and we're forced to dropping Lorum Ipsum (fake text) in the designs. Not knowing the text stops us from knowing the USER, the target audience, and the entire REASON for the website. Actually knowing the subject, content and text makes the difference between 'nice' and 'functional'.

richforrester 14y ago
I agree to such an extend that I signed up for an account to up-vote this.
- digitalengineer 14y ago
  Damn! ;-) Welcome aboard.
sp8 14y ago
I thoroughly agree. Its astonishing the number of times I've had projects stumble, sometimes collapse, at the "writing the content" stage. And only ONCE have I had someone hand me (nearly) complete copy before I started designing.
- ZoFreX 14y ago
  Once in complete exasperation at the total absense of copy from a client I offered to write it for them for a modest extra fee, and then rang their phone number (one of the few pieces of text I did have) and interviewed one of their call center staff to get the down low on the business.
kyriakos 14y ago
in my 10 year experience working as a developer at web design companies the prettiest the layout the designer came up with the less functional it is in practice. ...and lets not get started on what happens once the end users start adding content... I feel like crying!
GBKS 14y ago
Honestly though, I think we need to take more responsibility in helping shape that copy. I've also had pretty bad experiences when the client had a dedicated writer assigned. My favorite approach is to, whenever copy is missing, go to a competitors site or Wikipedia, and copy/paste. At least you get an approximation, and it helps everybody who looks at the project start responding to and thinking about content. As UXers/designers/developers we might actually have a very good feel for content and are in a great position to get the process started. An interface with Lorem Ipsum is like a portrait of a person without pupils drawn. It becomes abstract and all live is missing.
- lifeisstillgood 14y ago
  I think this speaks (good) volumes about you and your approach - without all the details you take the initiative. As someone currently using 99designs (booo!hiss!) to get a website relaunch off the ground. There are one or two designers who have actually, well, read the brief, who engage and listen to feedback intelligently. I will want to work with them again in different areas, and am happy to see they have got some portfolio beginning. Its the difference between asking permission and asking forgiveness.
- treerock 14y ago
  I'd be worried they'd leave the copy/paste approximation in the final website. Maybe that says more about the people I work with though.
  - GBKS 14y ago
    What I do in those cases is to color the unchanged text in red or pink. That way anybody can see what needs to be done and help get things moving.
- mnicole 14y ago
  On the opposite end of this, no amount of organizing for the impending content by creating fake but ideal character counts (something I've done on nearly every site I've worked on) has led to those constraints actually being followed by the internal staff or external clients I've worked with. This is easily one of the biggest after-the-fact issues/time consumers I deal with in dev because often times, the content isn't finalized even after launch. At the end of the day my experience has been that the content provider would rather the layout be changed to accomodate their copy rather than them going back in and removing a few words they feel are vital/more appropriate for the messaging. Obviously YMMV, but be sure to calculate the effort vs. your understanding of how the business makes decisions or you may be in for some heartbreak.
EnderMB 14y ago
That's absolutely true, but hand on heart, how many Web Designers/Developers here really have a say on when they receive content? The chance to build a design around the content would be a fine thing for many of us.
- digitalengineer 14y ago
  Yeah, most of them think of their website as a online brochure. Unfortunately that's also how most (print)designers think. They've been doing the Lorum Ipsum Dance for years and years.
- noarchy 14y ago
  I've repeatedly had the pleasure of receiving content on the very day of the launch. And yes, it often involves tweaking the stylesheet, or something similar.
  - espyb 14y ago
    That's a common occurrence for myself and many of the designers I work with. Regarding content, we are at the client's mercy, and unfortunately I find their sense of urgency is often nearly non-existent.
jiggy2011 14y ago
Very true, I've seen plenty of people waste hours debating how to tweak layout in fairly minor ways to increase conversions when in fact their entire content either doesn't make sense, is incomplete or is just plain boring.
johnchristopher 14y ago
If I still were in "Web design/dev" I would put this in the footer of every mail and papers I send to people I work with.

richforrester 14y ago

I agree to such an extend that I signed up for an account to up-vote this.

digitalengineer 14y ago
Damn! ;-) Welcome aboard.

sp8 14y ago

I thoroughly agree. Its astonishing the number of times I've had projects stumble, sometimes collapse, at the "writing the content" stage. And only ONCE have I had someone hand me (nearly) complete copy before I started designing.

ZoFreX 14y ago
Once in complete exasperation at the total absense of copy from a client I offered to write it for them for a modest extra fee, and then rang their phone number (one of the few pieces of text I did have) and interviewed one of their call center staff to get the down low on the business.

kyriakos 14y ago

in my 10 year experience working as a developer at web design companies the prettiest the layout the designer came up with the less functional it is in practice. ...and lets not get started on what happens once the end users start adding content... I feel like crying!

GBKS 14y ago

Honestly though, I think we need to take more responsibility in helping shape that copy. I've also had pretty bad experiences when the client had a dedicated writer assigned. My favorite approach is to, whenever copy is missing, go to a competitors site or Wikipedia, and copy/paste. At least you get an approximation, and it helps everybody who looks at the project start responding to and thinking about content. As UXers/designers/developers we might actually have a very good feel for content and are in a great position to get the process started. An interface with Lorem Ipsum is like a portrait of a person without pupils drawn. It becomes abstract and all live is missing.

lifeisstillgood 14y ago
I think this speaks (good) volumes about you and your approach - without all the details you take the initiative. As someone currently using 99designs (booo!hiss!) to get a website relaunch off the ground. There are one or two designers who have actually, well, read the brief, who engage and listen to feedback intelligently. I will want to work with them again in different areas, and am happy to see they have got some portfolio beginning. Its the difference between asking permission and asking forgiveness.
treerock 14y ago
I'd be worried they'd leave the copy/paste approximation in the final website. Maybe that says more about the people I work with though.
- GBKS 14y ago
  What I do in those cases is to color the unchanged text in red or pink. That way anybody can see what needs to be done and help get things moving.
mnicole 14y ago
On the opposite end of this, no amount of organizing for the impending content by creating fake but ideal character counts (something I've done on nearly every site I've worked on) has led to those constraints actually being followed by the internal staff or external clients I've worked with. This is easily one of the biggest after-the-fact issues/time consumers I deal with in dev because often times, the content isn't finalized even after launch. At the end of the day my experience has been that the content provider would rather the layout be changed to accomodate their copy rather than them going back in and removing a few words they feel are vital/more appropriate for the messaging. Obviously YMMV, but be sure to calculate the effort vs. your understanding of how the business makes decisions or you may be in for some heartbreak.

EnderMB 14y ago

That's absolutely true, but hand on heart, how many Web Designers/Developers here really have a say on when they receive content? The chance to build a design around the content would be a fine thing for many of us.

digitalengineer 14y ago
Yeah, most of them think of their website as a online brochure. Unfortunately that's also how most (print)designers think. They've been doing the Lorum Ipsum Dance for years and years.
noarchy 14y ago
I've repeatedly had the pleasure of receiving content on the very day of the launch. And yes, it often involves tweaking the stylesheet, or something similar.
- espyb 14y ago
  That's a common occurrence for myself and many of the designers I work with. Regarding content, we are at the client's mercy, and unfortunately I find their sense of urgency is often nearly non-existent.

jiggy2011 14y ago

Very true, I've seen plenty of people waste hours debating how to tweak layout in fairly minor ways to increase conversions when in fact their entire content either doesn't make sense, is incomplete or is just plain boring.

johnchristopher 14y ago

If I still were in "Web design/dev" I would put this in the footer of every mail and papers I send to people I work with.