"Content First" Approach To Website Development

Solve serious business problems by working with your client on getting the website content upfront.

The usual web development process

The so-called “design first” approach that you are doing now:

1. Client signs the contract.

2. Client pays the deposit.

3. You start working on the design, but the client hasn’t prepared any content yet.

4. Client approves the design and you begin web development.

5. You’ve completed the website and are now waiting for the client to either deliver or enter the content himself. You’ve completed everything but the final testing.

Weeks and months pass.

There is no content, there is no payment of the remainder of the fee.

The client is busy every time you ask him about content.

The client finally reappears and starts delivering the content in drips.

This goes on for a few weeks or months.

Still no payment.

The client is now all of a sudden dissatisfied with what you

programmed and designed.

His content doesn’t fit into your design, there are missing

features and there are ‘bugs’ in the front-end.

You’ve been working for weeks at loss. And you got paid months or sometimes years later than you expected.

A better way to deliver websites:

“Content first” approach

1. Client signs the contract.

2. Client pays the deposit.

3. You consult the client and work with him on content planning and creation. You didn’t forget to include this work in your price.

4. Client delivers the minimum viable content, as you taught him and as you agreed.

5. Only after you’ve received the content do you schedule the project in four phases:

1) back-end development

2) entering the content 3) web design 4) front-end development

And if you’re experiencing delays in payment and troubles with delivered code and design that the client has previously approved...

6. Client pays on time every couple of weeks, as defined in the contract.

...it could be because you’ve been working oblivious to the needs of the real content.

You’ve been fitting the foot to the shoe.

You can make “content first” a matter of contract and a matter of good communication with the client.

Clients seemingly ‘insist’ on “design first” because they don’t know of any better way.

Yes, clients will be late delivering content.

But you’ll get paid on time.

Yes, it will be tough on them and on you to complete all this content work before seeing any creatives of yours.

But you’ll get paid to help them.

Yes, the client will change their content along the way and there will be more of it than expected.

But you’ll get paid to do more work when there’s more work.

But none of these things becomes a deal breaker when it’s you who runs the show and when you talk to the client about it.

You get paid when you say you get paid.

You get content when and how you say you should get content.

You schedule work when the client has met minimum conditions.

And all of that happens based on what you define in

the contract which the client has signed and discussed

thoroughly with you.

What happens when web professionals run the show

● projects are delivered on time

● clients don’t have to pay more than they agreed in the contract

● there are fewer extra features to be added

● there are zero nasty surprises along the way

● minor changes can be made:

- without increasing the price- without breaking the website- without delaying the launch date

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