Whenever I notice a trend in the questions my clients and potential clients are asking, I know that the answers are probably worth sharing a little more widely. In the last month, I’ve found myself answering these questions several times:
“When I’m planning a new website, where do I begin when it comes to the content? How can I get a handle on where to start and what content to create?”
Planning content for your nonprofit’s new website: 3 stages
My answer is always that content comes first. And when you’re planning a new website, I recommend tackling the work in three main stages.
Stage 1: Develop your content strategy
Developing your website content strategy is your first step; it connects your website content plans with your organization’s strategic priorities. It’s vitally important because your strategy clarifies your purpose and sets parameters for the work ahead.
>> You can learn more in this post, Developing a website content strategy for a new nonprofit site: elements to include. <<
Stage 2: Plan out your content creation
Your website content plan organizes how you’ll tackle the content creation work ahead. In your strategy, you’ve included a detailed list of the individual pieces of content you’ll need for your new website. You need to migrate that list into a document or spreadsheet that will serve as your content creation action plan, detailing items such as responsibilities, timing, key messages, and calls to action.
>> You can get my content plan template and instructions in this post: How to go from strategy to website content action plan. <<
Taking the time to step back for strategy and planning work is worth it. When you have a handle on the big picture AND the work plan, you’ll feel much more organized and able to allocate the time and resources based on priorities.
Stage 3: Implement! Write, update, repurpose
Once you’ve completed phases 1 and 2, you can take your action plan and start creating content. You’ll know precisely what content you need to write, update and repurpose when, and who is responsible for each item. You’ll understand the essential components of each piece of content so that you can brief yourself or others.
Each stage will take some time, depending on the complexity of your organization, the consultation and review required, and the scope and scale of your content and new website. However, you should probably be thinking in terms of months, not weeks or days – especially for stages 1 and 3. When it comes to tackling big, unwieldy projects, I love being able to follow a step-by-step process. If you feel the same way, I hope this process will help you.
