One of the biggest frustrations of entrepreneurship is that we often must make decisions based on incomplete information. Even worse, often we encounter situations that are totally new. We have no experience. We don’t know what information we need and what questions to ask.

The Great Website Development Decision

One decision facing most business owners is, “How can we get a website? Who do we call first – the designer or the copywriter?”

Mostly I work with small business owners who don’t have unlimited funds. That means they rarely pay an expert to help with decision-making – evaluating options and identifying unique opportunities. Even more critical,  a mistake can be costly, possibly even fatal, to your business.

And the most insidious mistake you can make — the one that’s hardest to fix — is to focus on design before writing the copy.

A lot of “website development packages” seem like a bargain till you notice one key omission. Buried in the fine print is the warning, “You’ll need to add your own copy.” Copy is presented as a sort of afterthought, not too important in the scheme of things.

So I went off to find out what experts are saying on this topic.  I googled “copy vs design” and similar phrases. Turns out there’s a near-unanimous consensus among experienced bloggers and marketers. They’re not all copywriters; in fact, most are not.

The Shocking Part Of The Web Development Story

They all agreed on these two points:

Write copy before working on design.

Beautiful websites don’t always make more money than ugly ones.

A few writers came up with an intermediate position, such as, “Consider design and copy together.”  And some emphasized that design will be critical (although you’ll find support for ugly websites, too).

But the shocking fact is: I did not find a single post or article advising, “Hire a designer before you write the copy.” (If you know one, add it to the comments.)

But what usually happens with website development?

A Reddit Q&A thread summarizes the story.  A business owner points out that it makes sense to write copy before arranging design. In practice the sequence usually goes the other way.

if you create your own website, chances are that is exactly what you do. And if you work in any area of web development – design, copy, WordPress – you probably find yourself negotiating with clients who think the first step to a profitable website is choosing colors.

That’s been my experience, too. And full disclosure: I did the same thing when I first started. I called a designer before writing a word of copy.

So let’s see what the experts say.

(1) Copy First, Design Later by Neil Patel

Neil Patel argues that “where the client starts off with their design first and gets around to the copy later” the result is usually a confusing message. In fact, he says, design can be a distraction rather than a support to your message.

“Don’t get me wrong,” he says, designers are very important but if you make your audience think too hard about something other than your message, “you are in danger of losing them!”

A great quote:

“Are you thinking of launching a website? I would suggest that you start by creating your copy or at least the personality of the copy. Will it be funny, will it be serious, will it be educational or informative? If you can work out the personality of your copy, it will be much easier to communicate and engage with your audience.”

(2) Top 10 Small Business Web Design Mistakes – Aaron Fletcher

In this Slideshare presentation, Top 10 Small Business Web Design Mistakes, watch for Point #1 in Slide #19: Don’t hire a web designer! The art and science of online marketing are very different, (aesthetics vs functionality)…a nice looking hotel in the middle of the desert.”

http://www.slideshare.net/FletchMonster/top-10-small-business-web-design-mistakes

(3) “How To Build A Reputation When You’ve Just Started” by Marie Forleo: To a new person – make sure your website is “professhhh…Don’t spend money on fancy design. Just keep it simple and professional.”  Watch her on YouTube:

(4) “Pretty websites...are rarely websites that convert as well as unpretty ones.” – Seth Godin

Seth Godin argues that pretty websites have a different goal compared to “nonpretty” sites. Beautiful sites will impress visitors, but the less beautiful sites lead to shorter-term conversions. People who take action immediately differ from those who become long-term customers.

(5) Content is King, Design is King … But Don’t Forget The Marketing Prince  – Aidan Huang

“While flashy pictures and an attractive background may help, they are only secondary means to the end. Even with upgrades in design, content continues to reign as king due to its importance in providing readers with the information they need.”

However, Aidan goes on to add, “You can have amazing content combined with exceptional marketing and still have be missing an important piece of the puzzle… If a design is lackluster, cheap, or mismatched with the content, then audiences may lose trust in the author or owner of the site.”

(6) “‘Ugly Sites That Make Millions…” – Sherice Jacobs at Kissmetrics

“[F]ocus on function first. Figure out what your users are there to do, and then help them do it.

For Google, it’s, ‘search.’For eBay’s, it’s, ‘buy (or sell) stuff.’ For PlentyOfFish, it’s, ‘get a date.’

So, think about it:

Why did your visitors come to your website?

And how can you create a design that helps them?

Answer those questions, and whether or not your website is “ugly” will become secondary. You’ll already be on your way to a good design.”

(7)  “Ugly Websites That Make Money” – Mitz

“In fact having a fantastic design will not guarantee that you will make a brass razoo! You can equally make money with a boring minimalist WordPress theme that is almost ugly or a premium theme that looks awesome. The fact is, these ugly websites that make money only prove that the website design does not always contribute to a site’s earnings…

“The one thing that all these ugly websites have is content that matches what their users want. They are simply providing what is needed and doing it well. Also creating an authority website has nothing to do with expensive themes.”

(8) 5 Mistakes People Make When Setting Up Their Website, John Rampton in Forbes

“Every great website may look outstanding, but as people continue to read the copy, it fades into the background. Why is this balance such a big deal? Because you don’t want the website’s design to distract visitors from the real reason that you created the website in the first place; your marketing message…”

(9) Why Content Comes First – John Moore Williams, Content Strategist

What copywriter (and experienced business owner) wouldn’t love this subhead:

“Design in the absence of content is just decoration.”

This article gets down to the nitty gritty. For years I’ve been advising clients, “You’ll save time – and probably money – when you get the copy written first.” And now this blogger says it better:

“After all, every time someone asks for a revision to copy that’s already in a design, I have to update my copy document—and the designer has to update the source file, save out mocks, etc…”

(10) Content vs Design – Peter McHannigan

“For websites, content trumps design in terms of delivering value in almost every case. This isn’t just my opinion, three of the speakers at [the May 13] ALGIM web symposium spoke of the relative importance of content in web projects.:

(11) Content Marketing: How To Remove Your Fears On Using Social Media For Business   – Alysha Dominico – Copywriter Collective

(12) Why Content-Driven Web Development Trumps Design-First Process – Sarah O’Neill – Firebrand

“So, if you’re worried about planning out content or beginning the writing process without a picture in your head, remember that your content is the art direction—and it informs your designer’s entire process.

“They build the shoe to fit your foot….

“As web designer Jeffrey Zeldman, once said, “Content precedes design. Design in the absence of content is not design, it’s decoration.”

(13) Copy Before Or After Design by Kirsten Richardson.

“As a designer, not having any boundaries with types of content and content length can be a recipe for disaster. At the end of the day, I do need something to work with in order to make sure the correct message of information is being relayed. It is important to remember that content should always trump design. People are more likely to navigate to your site for its content, than they would be to navigate for design purpose, therefore the quality of content needs to be priority.”

(14) Which Comes First: Design, Copywriting or Branding? – Abby Kerr

This post emphasizes beginning your website development with your message and brand. Therefore you could hire a branding specialist early in the process. However, for smaller businesses, you may be surprised to discover that your copywriter will be able to assist with branding, especially in the early stages of your business.

Abby Kerr suggests hiring a copywriter as Step 4 … and the designer as Step 5:

“Fourth, find and hire the right copywriter.

“The copywriter will do her own intake based on her internal process. Usually this will take the form of a questionnaire or an interview. It’s helpful to give her the Creative Brief or outline of branding points you already have, but be prepared for her to ask you a few questions you may not have thought of already…”

“Fifth, find and hire the right web designer.

“If you put design before branding and copywriting, you run the risk of building a visual design that doesn’t support your business goals and brand objectives, doesn’t appeal to your Right Person, and isn’t the right ‘house’ to support the goals of your content…”

(15) Why Great Web Design Needs Great Copywriting – Jerry Cao

“…The designer would do well to tear down the wall between the product’s visual communication and its textual communication. ..

“…It’s hard to predict how much or how little room the text will take up until it’s right there in front of you. That, and properly matching tones, are why we suggest designing with the actual copy as early as possible.”

Actually many copywriters will help with branding! I do this all the time.

(16) How To Convince Clients To Think About Content Before They Think About Graphics – Rian van der Merwe

Many copywriters would agree with this quote:

“We need to start urging our clients to think about their content not just as a commodity, but as the starting point, the building blocks of a website. It’s time to stop building the house without knowing how many bedrooms it may need. It’s a paradigm shift in the way we think about building websites. But, it has to be done. Because you know what they call things that are beautiful, but have no function? Useless.”

(17) Designing The Words: Why Copy Is A Design Issue – Sam Wright

Sam Wright argues that writing shouldn’t take place in a vacuum, but should be seen in context. He doesn’t get into the question of priority – which comes first – but addresses the possibility of ignoring content while focusing on design. Later in the article he goes on to address common mistakes of copywriters, even those “advertising a globally recognized brand with a budget big enough to hire Brad Pitt to read it…”

In his own words…

“In practice, design is a process that should happen with content, not just for it, and the practice of creating a page full of lorem ipsum and getting the copywriter to fill in the blanks just doesn’t cut it anymore. The cross-discipline approach of using design as a way to clearly communicate information, known as communication design, is growing. However, no matter how clearly laid out a design is or how elegant the infographics are, our number one visual tool for relaying information to the audience is well-written text.”

Website Development: The Bottom Line

When I give talks about web development, I like to introduce a football analogy. I say your copywriter is like the quarterback of a football team, responsible for calling the plays and making sure the ball gets all the way down the field. Your designer is your offensive line: protecting the copy and making sure your message will be visible.

Hopefully, the insights in this post will help you, as a business owner facing website development decisions.

==> Please add comments to share your own experiences with copy and design.