For years we put content as the highest marker of quality, but that is changing. Content marketing in 2019 is taking over new territory. Accomplishing an engaging, attractive, and intuitive user experience will make or break many websites this year.
Adapting to Hybrid Design Many web designers are getting ready to adapt sites for mobile and hybrid mobile compatibility. Similarly, content will need to adapt for the various screen sizes and the possibility of foldable screen design soon. Work with your theme, or designer to achieve a high-quality design that won’t compromise your content. If your material is hard to read, has ads popping up in the wrong place, or has a social media bar that covers part of your writing, readers won’t come back to your site often. Tunnel Your Content Tunneling is a term that UX designers use often, but bloggers and content strategists should understand the logistics of tunneling too. The idea is that you’re going to engage with users and get them to interact with your site in a specific way. You will guide users through each page or screen to gently present them with a sale, information, or sign up opportunity. For content strategists, this means that you’ll need to focus on your internal links, be careful with your external links, and weave many calls to action throughout your posts. This type of user experience is more abstract than choosing widgets and very important. Return to the Basics of Storytelling Content strategists, bloggers, and copywriters are all in the business of storytelling. Storytelling is where content meets experience. User experience doesn’t just include how a person interacts with the site physically, but psychologically as well. Invoke feelings with your reads by focusing on the basics of storytelling. How you make a person feel can inspire the user to share their experience with others. Pixar, masters of storytelling and invoking feelings, urge storytellers to create a strong structure and to write honestly to cultivate various emotions. Create content that focuses on emotion and follows a structure. But, it’s important to that your stories have the occasional surprise. An unexpected twist can be the very thing that creates a unique user experience. Play with the Science of Choice A technique that has shown success through the decades is choice. Until recently the trend in content was allowing users the opportunity to opt-in or opt-out giving two options. There’s a lot of science surrounding the number of options you should present a person to achieve the desired result, but the trend of “opt-in/out” is well, out. Instead, design your site and free printables, or newsletters in a way where the users can select what is important to them. Add a page to your site for free things that your users can choose to download or not, rather than bothering them with an opt-in email plea. Architecture in Content Behind the scenes in website design, there is a lot of talk about architecture. But content requires an architecture too. Content is king, but the hierarchy of content has many small areas that deserve a bit of exploration. Improve user experience with a focus on readability and comprehension. Using small sentences and small words can impact your user experience. Why? Readability and comprehension rely on clear and concise speech. Basically, if you say what you mean, more people will understand and engage. The user experience relies on you laying out your message in a way that matters to your audience. Focus on answering questions that your reader cares about, as you tell your story or provide information.