Writing vs. Design: Seperate But Equal

In one of my classes this term on new/emerging media in the WVU IMC program, we were asked to review some articles from an interesting site: A List Apart. I was really interested in a particular article and had prepared my analysis only to find that another classmate had already selected the article by Derek Pawozek, blogging about how writing is an important element of a site’s overall design. Because I think writing is a critical element toward the overall success of a web site, particularly a B-to-B site, I thought I would share my thoughts anyway.

Mr. Pawozek’s article: Calling All Designers: Learn to Write, is an interesting piece that asserts that web site designers should play an active role in writing the content for a web site. As he puts it, “user experience isn’t just visual design.” I found this to be a particularly intriguing notion because I found myself agreeing in some ways with the premise of the article but felt he oversimplified the role of writing in web site design.

I have worked with many web site designers and admire their ability to bring the visual elements together to create an appealing structure that can help site visitors stay long enough to explore the content. I first learned about web site creation in 1998 from a really nice PhD-type when I worked at GTE (now Verizon). He was from the GTE Labs division and he taught me how to build a web page using HTML code. There were no easy WYSIWYG tools or web page design applications at that time. This was as basic as you can get. So I view web site design as a very special skill that cannot be overlooked. After all, how many times have you visited a site with a poor or overly basic, early 90’s design, and left it because the fact remains, many people judge a web site by its home page.

But I believe that for a B-to-B web site to be effective, you also need specialized writing skills because writing for SEO performance requires more than the creative flair that Mr. Pawozek notes. In fact, web site writing plays a key role that can impact two very important web site objectives: Communication and E-Commerce.

Communications Objectives

- Generating Awareness – Cleaver and innovative writing is one thing, but if you want to ensure your content is found you need to understand the importance of keyword density in SEO tactics.
- Distributing Information – If you information is dry and boring, it probably will not get read. This can be especially important if you use your web site as a main artery for your marketing communications.
- Creating and Maintaining a Strong Brand Image – What you say on your web site needs to be consistent with your company’s or product’s message points.

E-Commerce Objectives

- What do you want to accomplish? If the goal is selling a product, how you say it and understanding the language of your target audience is important.

But writing is an important aspect of a site’s ongoing evolution. And Search Engine Marketing (SEM) strategies and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) techniques have become an important specialization to be integrated within the site’s design elements.

So I agree with Mr. Pawozek’s assertion that writing should be just as important as the overall design itself, but I disagree that it should be left to the designer to also write for the site.

Here’s why:

I think a web site needs many “artisans” to be effective. From graphic design to SEO writing to achieve visual stimulation once you arrive at a site, but developed using page header layouts, effective meta tags, and key word density percentages that will help prospective customers find what you are selling.

Mr. Pawozek asserts that a designer’s creative elements should not just end at the visual but also extend to the writing of the site’s content. In essence he is saying that you could have a visually appealing and well designed site but if it’s not creatively written, you are doing a disservice to the site’s overall design. On that point I understand.

But where I think Mr. Pawozek is loosing me is that his examples of Flikr.com and photojojo are too narrow and deal with very specific areas of web site writing. I can tell you that taking his approach with a B-to-B, technology site may provide entertaining reading for some, but loose credibility with the technical targets a site must reach.

And I suppose that is my point. Web sites must be written for not only and audience but for their intended purpose. Who am I addressing? How will they find my site? These questions only scratch the surface when writing for a site.

In my opinion, blending the talents of graphic design and SEO content writers is the best possible solution. Many agencies can offer these talents. Some companies bring it in house. But to ask a web designer to also be an effective writer for today’s B-to-B web sites is asking for a rare breed. If you have such a person, hold on to them.

I know it is not uncommon for people to wear many hats at work today. But design and writing are two disciplines that are better left specialized, in my opinion.