Ask Nile: Should I wait for my theme or website to be designed before I create content?

A lot of people who may be getting a brand new website design or new WordPress theme, or a redesign often ask me whether they need to stop updating their website, or wait to do anything. In this Ask Nile series, I’ll answer whether you should wait for your theme or website to be designed before you create content?

Ask Nile: Should I wait for my theme or website to be designed before I create content?

I’m going to approach this question from a couple angles:

• If you’re building a new website.
• If you have an existing website, and going through a redesign.

If you’re building a new website.

If you’re building a new website, no matter what it is, whether for a blog, or brick and mortor business, or ecommerce, you’ve got a couple choices.

If you’re blogging, and using WordPress (or other content management systems like Drupal or Joomla), work with your web designer to get a basic installation running on your hosting and domain, and just start blogging. Create your about page, and get a couple posts written so your site is ready for your web designer to add the design when they’re done.

If you’re not blogging, either start putting together content for your services, products, and any information that you want on your website. If you are blogging, aside from needing pages on your site about your business or ecommerce site, or whatever it may be, I’d recommend either working with a content creator, or writing your own stuff, that way it’s all ready.

In some projects, the web designer may or may not offer handling your content. However, you do need to provide some content, and it’s better to get it done early so you’re not scrambling to create content when the actual design is done. In most cases, if the web designer doesn’t have content, but is thoroughly informed about what your website needs, they will add dummy or demo content to fill in the areas of your website.

If you have an existing website, and going through a redesign.

If you have an existing website, don’t stop creating content. Your web designer or web developer can work around it. Normally they work on a development environment entirely outside of your site, and will migrate all of it, including whatever content you currently have published.

In summary

My philosophy is that you should never wait. ABCC – Always be creating content. You can always go back later and edit your content. Don’t wait for perfection.

Your web designer can work with you, and advise you on their process. If they are telling you to stop, their process is flawed. Most content management systems, like WordPress have the ability to import and export content from your live production site to a development site environment, and vice versa.