Future proof content

The next device is a model.

In 2017 the new reader was a phone or a tablet. Today it is just as likely to be a model. The argument has not changed, only the audience. Content that has been broken into purposeful, meaningful blocks, with the relationships between them written down, is exactly the context layer AI needs to retrieve the right thing and reason over it.

Unstructured content gives a model generic intelligence. Structured content gives it the organisation’s knowledge. The five principles below are an early version of how I now think about enterprise context.

Content of the future is going everywhere.

Our future is supple, and we have to be flexible enough to thrive in it. More and more internet-enabled devices of different shapes and sizes keep arriving. Our content has to be designed with forethought, so that it remains accessible, with all its detail, across a multitude of devices.

Whatever your craft, whether web design, web development or interface design, this deserves attention. Web pages used to be designed only for desktops. Now content has to work across desktops, phones and tablets with varying form factors and resolutions. Solving that takes architectural, technical and editorial knowledge.

Prepare structured content.

Structure is not about DITA, XML, RDF or Microdata. It is not just metadata and mark-up. It is about what the metadata and mark-up stand for, what they mean. To get there, we need a framework for making better decisions about structure. That framework is what lets us take on the technical challenges and be productive.

1. Be purposeful

Websites serve the needs of both the organisation and the end user, and those needs have to be applied to every type of content: articles, blog posts, product descriptions, resources. For each type, ask:

• Does this type of content serve the overall goal we are trying to achieve?
• Is this what the user wants?
• What does the organisation gain by publishing it?
• What does the organisation expect of the end user?

Just as you set site goals before making design decisions, you need to know what is expected of the content. Then, whatever form it takes on whatever device, it still delivers the intended outcome.

2. Be micro

Get to know the content at hand down to every detail. Whatever it is, an article, a poem or a recipe, it helps to break it down into its basic ingredients. These vary from content to content, but they have to be identified: the title, the body, an excerpt, a table of contents, quotes, captions, links to related articles, the author’s by-line, reader reviews, images, videos.

An information architect is the best person to break content into its core components, but everyone on the team needs to pay attention. This shapes how the content flows on the platform, so that it responds as expected on any device.

3. Be meaningful

Once you know the building blocks, understand the part each one plays. Which are essential, which add value, and which matter less? That understanding decides how the content is organised across screen sizes and aspect ratios. Ask:

• How much does each block contribute to the purpose of the whole?
• What value is lost if a particular block goes away?
• What relationships exist between the blocks?

Consider a recipe site that relies on culinary articles to attract readers and earn advertising revenue. Each article has a title, teasers, attribution, date of publication, images, a list of ingredients, preparation techniques, a description, a wine pairing, and reader ratings and reviews. The goal is page views, so readers have to come back again and again.

Some interesting things emerge. Cutting the non-essential parts reduces clutter, but it can also reduce page visits. Moving a sidebar into the middle of the content on small screens frustrates readers. Shrinking images shortens the page but reduces interest in the recipe. Removing teasers saves space but makes the content less appealing.

The opposite case matters too. Many designs push the sidebar to the bottom on small screens. On a review or recipe site, readers want the ratings at the start. Pushing them to the bottom makes them almost useless and forces readers to scroll for information that belonged at the top. One design practice does not suit every website. Every block has to sit where it is most meaningful, for the client and the reader alike.

4. Be organised

Being organised always pays off. A content management system takes away some of the hassle of publishing, but it does not remove the problems of publishing for devices with different aspect ratios and resolutions.

One well-developed example is NPR’s CMS, built on a “Create Once, Publish Everywhere” strategy. Each story is entered into a discrete set of fields, and the content is then made available through an API to many platforms at once. The CMS supports many content elements, but according to Zach Brand, then head of technology at NPR, a title, teaser, description and dateline are enough. Audio, images and by-lines are optional.

The takeaway is content management with a strategic approach. When a CMS is involved:

• It should have built-in analytics to help you understand your content.
• The attributes of each content block should be well defined.
• Its limitations should always be accounted for.
• The technical team should get thoughtful, precise requirements.

5. Be structured

Technology is not yet mature enough to make these decisions, but it is an invaluable way to put good practice in place. Structuring content takes code, and not every content editor is a developer. Tools exist that add structure without needing to code. XML gives content structure and meaning even without a database, and DITA and HTML5 also help. Use whichever tool gives the best structural output for the project. But always be structured.

Breathe life into structure.

The work that goes into the content matters more than the mark-up around it. That work breathes life into the structure. Without well-researched content, structure is just frames and tags in empty space. Meaningful content has always been the bottom line.

Making content future proof is not just making sure it displays properly on every device, or that it is well structured, or relying on microdata to solve your problems. The best place to start is the content itself. Analyse its elements, document the relationships between its blocks, and make them join together so that the whole delivers real meaning.

Technology and standards will keep changing. They all exist to deliver the meaning the content was meant to carry. Embrace that, and great content will live on into the future.