Building a site without content

[Pho3nix]

Hi guys,

So as I was "taught" and learned. It's always better to design a site around content but what do you do when the client has no content currently?
Kind off new to the Web-Dev side of things so learning as I go but from what I've seen on the web, this really shouldn't be done.

3 months and still nothing :|

Thoughts?

 

[guest2013-1]

You don't design around content, you design around what the client wants.

And if the client doesn't know what content they want (or what design) to put on their site, stay away. It's going to be less heartache/ballache/pocketache for you.

 

[shooter69]

Let him do the design. You sit with a piece of paper with your client and he tells you exactly what he wants and where on his site. All you have to do is build it.

While he plans his own site he will realize what content you need. Tell him you cannot build the site that he planned without content and stick to your guns.

 

[_kabal_]

content as in images, text, video etc?

that has zero impact on page/app design. the only thing that might affect it is colours and integration of corporate image, eg logos/branding.

you can just use lorum ipsum if you wanted some "content"

 

[DrJohnZoidberg]

content as in images, text, video etc?

that has zero impact on page/app design. the only thing that might affect it is colours and integration of corporate image, eg logos/branding.

you can just use lorum ipsum if you wanted some "content"

I disagree, at least in certain circumstances. Sometimes it is crucial to know what the content is to be able to design a proper working site. It's like a customer telling a contractor to build a house but doesn't give them any plans.

 

[Pho3nix]

You don't design around content, you design around what the client wants.

And if the client doesn't know what content they want (or what design) to put on their site, stay away. It's going to be less heartache/ballache/pocketache for you.

All they've mentioned is "Wow a drop down would be nice.. " and we want a site that's like that one(competitors).

Let him do the design. You sit with a piece of paper with your client and he tells you exactly what he wants and where on his site. All you have to do is build it.

While he plans his own site he will realize what content you need. Tell him you cannot build the site that he planned without content and stick to your guns.

I've sat with the gentleman handling the Home-site a couple of times after applying his requests but he still has no idea what he wants on the site.

I disagree, at least in certain circumstances. Sometimes it is crucial to know what the content is to be able to design a proper working site. It's like a customer telling a contractor to build a house but doesn't give them any plans.

^This is exactly what I'm thinking about it.

 

[Hamster]

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exerci tation ullamcorper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem vel eum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel illum dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi. Nam liber tempor cum soluta nobis eleifend option congue nihil imperdiet doming id quod mazim placerat facer possim assum. Typi non habent claritatem insitam; est usus legentis in iis qui facit eorum claritatem. Investigationes demonstraverunt lectores legere me lius quod ii legunt saepius. Claritas est etiam processus dynamicus, qui sequitur mutationem consuetudium lectorum. Mirum est notare quam littera gothica, quam nunc putamus parum claram, anteposuerit litterarum formas humanitatis per seacula quarta decima et quinta decima. Eodem modo typi, qui nunc nobis videntur parum clari, fiant sollemnes in futurum.

 

[rward]

If you're a designer then you'd have a couple of sessions with the client.
They would explain what they are trying to achieve and you, as the designer would design their site in such a way that they accomplish their achievements.

You do not listen to the client and have them tell you that they want "pink ponies in the top right hand corner and flashing social share buttons scrolling across the screen".

The client's core business is (99% of the time) NOT website design (else they'd be doing it themselves, no?).
YOU are the person they are paying to guide them and tell them what is best.

Go do some mockups and get back to them with what you've done plus the costing.

Content is king.
Content is what websites are about.

If you don't have content on a website then what is it's purpose?
If you're not designing with content in mind then how are you going to be promoting what the client has?
I agree that you can use "lorem ipsum.." as a placeholder but you do need to make the client clear on what is expected to go in the placeholder.

That should be part of your agreement with them, you are not responsible for content and final payment should be made regardless of if they have no text for the placeholder text. Don't get screwed by them taking forever to decide what wording they want.

 

[rward]

If on the other hand you're being employed as a developer then you need to push them for design material.

Also, collaborate with their designer, make suggestions on what could be a better way of doing something on the site (dropdown instead of a list, lazy loading, interactive map instead of a pic, hover over effects, etc, etc).

The designer should handle all the content issues and you should only be developing according to signed off design docs.

 

[rward]

sorry for the 3 post ..

Lastly, if you've marketed yourself as a "web guy" (and this is proibably the case), then you're probably doing the design and development. If my first post (about design) made you feel uneasy then you probably shouldn't be doing the design side of things and should outsource it.

To create a strong site you need a strong design who isn't going to be pushed over by the client. The designer should be able to stand their ground and tell the client that adding "cute cats" (or whatever) to the site isn't good because of reason1, reason2, reason3, etc.

If the client doesn't accept this then you probably don't want them as a client.

 

[Pho3nix]

@rward I am a developer. There is a head-freeze regarding contractors and new people coming in so I was asked to take on the job.

Have a meeting with them next week and I'll take it from there.

 

[_kabal_]

I disagree, at least in certain circumstances. Sometimes it is crucial to know what the content is to be able to design a proper working site. It's like a customer telling a contractor to build a house but doesn't give them any plans.

That analogy doesn't fit. The designer is the one making the plans. Obviously content type is important, ie a travel site, a retail store, a news site, etc. that is all you need

I have run "100's" of projects and never has designs or dev been held up due to lack of content. Going live is a completely different story obviously

 

[guest2013-1]

i would fire this client. have had many of these time wasters in my career. seriously. id spend my time working with people who know what they want. end of story

 

[Pho3nix]

i would fire this client. have had many of these time wasters in my career. seriously. id spend my time working with people who know what they want. end of story

Unfortunately I'm working onsite for the next 3 months (at the clients behest) for some SharePoint development as well so can't fire the client just yet.

 

[Pho3nix]

That analogy doesn't fit. The designer is the one making the plans. Obviously content type is important, ie a travel site, a retail store, a news site, etc. that is all you need

I have run "100's" of projects and never has designs or dev been held up due to lack of content. Going live is a completely different story obviously

I hear you but try running a POC with the "wrong" content which has happened with this particular client before and left looking like a tit in front of executives isn't fun.

 

[guest2013-1]

I hear you but try running a POC with the "wrong" content which has happened with this particular client before and left looking like a tit in front of executives isn't fun.

Like i said, time-waster. Fire them. Do the sharepoint stuff and GTFO. and/or recommend someone else to do it since you won't have enough time during your onsite work for them or something.

Trust me. i had a client like that, took my boss 5 years to realize that it's just an uphill battle and too much effort for too little money