Building The Ultimate Website Content Map Pt.1

When building a new website (or rebuilding one) it’s a common mistake to begin with design.

Rather, I recommend starting with content, which is the foundation of your site, and the reason people will visit.

Whether your site is informational, commerce-driven, entertaining, or serves some other purpose, content is what brings people to you.

The content mapping video tutorial below is a high-level overview of the process I walk through on my own websites as well as with my clients. By following along, this video will help you define and understand your site content by clearly mapping it to your goals and target audience.

A good content map will also keep your copy inspired, on message, and focused.

This tutorial will also help you to see the big picture of your site. In a sense, it will serve as an outline for the story your website content tells.

Get started mapping your web content.

Make building your website easier by effectively planning the content that will make up your website and keep things logically organized, consistent and on message.

Download the mind map in this video, created in MindManager.

You’ll need a mind mapping application to read the map, I use MindManager in this video but have since moved to Coggle. Here are a few you may want to consider.

Related tutorials:

49 Comments

  1. […] Building a Content Map for Your Website December 11th, 2009 | Author: admin via vsellis.com […]

  2. […] Building a Content Map for Your Website December 11th, 2009 | Author: admin via vsellis.com […]

  3. John MacMenamin on December 14, 2009 at 9:08 am

    Great post.
    Just what I needed.

    • Scott Ellis on December 14, 2009 at 10:32 am

      John, Glad you found it helpful! A little organization goes a long way toward having a successful website.

  4. Can I use different Themes in different page? on December 19, 2009 at 9:09 am

    […] How to Organize Your Categories and Build a Content Map Author: admin on December 19, 2009 Category: Web&Blog Older: ??????? […]

  5. Scott Ellis on December 24, 2009 at 8:21 pm

    John, Glad you found it helpful! A little organization goes a long way toward having a successful website.

  6. tbert on January 5, 2010 at 8:43 pm

    Great information Scott, Appreciate all the information you have provided to help people succeed online. They are so many that needs that straight forward simple teaching. Keep up the good work. I'll check back often,,,Thanks Tbert

  7. Scott Ellis on January 5, 2010 at 8:46 pm

    Tbert – Thank you for that. It helps me to keep cranking this stuff out when I know it's helping people!

  8. […] S. If you haven’t yet checked out my tutorial on Building the Ultimate Website Content Map take a look!Related Posts:No Related […]

  9. Diane Vautier on January 25, 2010 at 10:30 pm

    Thanks for sharing your take on how to approach content mapping. I was working on one myself, but I'm no programmer, so it was going to be manual. I think it will be much easier with a mapping tool!

    Much appreciated
    ~@dvautier

  10. Scott Ellis on January 26, 2010 at 12:46 am

    Diane, You are more that welcome. It keeps me motivated to know this is helpful to people!

  11. Annabel on January 26, 2010 at 4:40 am

    Scott, thanks so much for taking the time to make this video. I'm working on my first website and I strongly believe in the importance of mapping out how the content will be organized before filling the site, and your video has given me an idea of how to best approach this in WordPress.

    Two questions (feel free to ignore them if I'm asking too much, and if that's the case, sorry!):

    1. In what situtations would one use sub-categories? From what I learned in your video, tags sort of serve that function, except that they can sometimes apply across different categories.

    2. I plan to have some more or less static pages on my site (a guitar site) of what I'm calling “helpful stuff” such as how to tune, how to read tab, etc. In a case like that, even though those are “pages”, would it be beneficial to create a category called “helpful stuff” and sub-categories for each one?

    Thanks again.

  12. Scott Ellis on January 26, 2010 at 6:38 pm

    Annabel, I'll do my best!

    I don't tend to use subcategories a lot but there are certainly times where they might be. It's hard to say without knowing what your current site map looks like and what your top level categories are. (if you want to email it to me to take a look let me know). Part of the decision might be whether a subcategory is likely to cross over into other categories, or the volume of posts on a category.

    For example: I wouldn't make a sub category for “tuning”. There is probably a limited number of posts on that topic you will likely write.

    “Helpful Stuff” to me sounds like a good catch-all category for random things (like tuning) that might not be posted on frequently.

    I would likely implement sub-categories on sites that are very large (in terms of content). That isn't a “rule” so much as a guide line. Ultimately you should do what works best for you and makes the most sense.

  13. Frank C. Tannehill on January 29, 2010 at 2:13 pm

    This is one of the many reasons why I love using WordPress. Besides the large variety of free themes and plug-ins, WP allows its users to organize their site before building it so they can keep up with every idea that comes to mind. Thanks for the video.
    __________
    Frank Tannehill – domain

  14. Scott Ellis on January 29, 2010 at 4:26 pm

    Frank. You could use this strategy for any CMS really but it's definitely geared toward WordPress. Glad you enjoyed. You hit it right on, it's very easy to organize content in WordPress with just a little planning.

  15. Laurie Gondreau on February 10, 2010 at 3:27 am

    Succinct and organized. Thank you.

  16. Scott Ellis on February 10, 2010 at 3:03 pm

    Laurie, you are welcome!

  17. Intro to Blogging From Wordpress | Rick Pogany.com on February 14, 2010 at 1:26 am

    […] How to Organize Your Categories and Build a Content Map […]

  18. laneparker on February 24, 2010 at 1:25 am

    Great post. Thanks. I love mindmapping and this is a great example.

    One observation: in your first sentence you start with “All to often” but it should be “All too often”

    Feel free to delete my comment.

  19. laneparker on February 24, 2010 at 1:26 am

    Great post. I use mindmapping for many things and this is an excellent example.

    One note: you start your entry with “All to often” but it should be “All too often”

    Feel free delete after reading.

  20. Wolftalker on March 8, 2010 at 6:32 am

    Dude,
    Brisbane, Australia here. (well, a very small part of it…)
    Thanks for the video. Interesting; e.g, I hadn't thought audio podcasts would be suitable for my intended site, but you changed my mind on that.
    Keep on rockin'.
    Fare well.

  21. Wolftalker on March 8, 2010 at 6:38 am

    Dude,
    Brisbane, Australia here. (well, a very small part of it…)
    Thanks for the video, (Build Content Pt 1) it was interesting; e.g I hadn't thought an audio podcast would be suitable for my intended blog, buy you changed my mind on that.
    Always good to experience something by/from someone who tries to be their best.
    Fare Well.

  22. Scott Ellis on March 8, 2010 at 2:25 pm

    Brisbane, Thanks for tuning in and glad you found it useful. Let us know when you launch the audio podcast, would love to hear what you are up to.

  23. Wolftalker on March 10, 2010 at 12:23 am

    Hey Scott,
    okay, when it's up, I'll let you know how my amateurish/first time effort goes.
    And thank you for your interest.
    Ciao.

    ________________________________

  24. prasoonj on March 18, 2010 at 7:45 am

    Very interesting way to get the things right at the start itself. I have been thinking of restructuring my tags and categories for quite sometime now, this would help immensly. Thanks.

  25. Gnuboss on March 18, 2010 at 2:51 pm

    I feel you – all too often people begin by loading up a cms with a template they think would be cool – only to run into unforseen issues down the road.

    A little planning now can save a lot of headaches later.

  26. Scott Ellis on March 18, 2010 at 7:10 pm

    Prasoonj, getting it right up front is definitely the idea. I'm going to be adding on to this soon, keep your eyes open.

  27. Scott Ellis on March 18, 2010 at 7:11 pm

    “A little planning now can save a lot of headaches later.”

    Couldn't have said it better. I've see a lack of planning be a problem on so many projects that I felt compelled to address it. But this tutorial is just the tip of the iceberg.

  28. Ellie_K on March 24, 2010 at 11:20 pm

    Thank you. I am very Novice, but wished I'd read your post even sooner, all the more easy to incorporate your design suggestions and standards.

    WordPress should feature you, as you are more helpful than Lorellel (I don't recall exact spelling, I believe she is “official” WordPress blog content advisor, am too lazy to check…).

  29. Scott Ellis on March 26, 2010 at 5:18 pm

    Ellie,

    Thank you! That is very flattering. Lorelle is a great resource too though, I've learned a lot from her but I'm humbled by your compliment. I'm glad you have found things useful.

  30. WordPress Page Navigation on April 13, 2010 at 2:08 pm

    […] on a site with more than a few categories and tags you might also want to see the tutorial on Building the Ultimate Website Content Map.Related Posts:No Related […]

  31. Rims on April 30, 2010 at 5:31 am

    Great! really great. I am very happy to know that.it is Very interesting way to get the things right at the start itself. I have been thinking of restructuring my tags and categories for quite sometime now, this would help immensly. Thanks

  32. Scott Ellis on April 30, 2010 at 1:07 pm

    Rims, Glad you found it useful. Thanks for the comment!

  33. Kittens on May 18, 2010 at 5:31 am

    I think that building ultimate website is very good plan because people can learn from it.If that web enlarge their services in the world in must be a good idea.

  34. website builder on May 24, 2010 at 9:33 am

    Great video! This video will greatly help not only web providers but also clients as well.

  35. Scott Ellis on May 24, 2010 at 7:09 pm

    Thanks, I appreciate the feedback! Yeah, I hope everyone will use it or find ways to improve upon it!

  36. Naples Web Design on July 31, 2010 at 1:46 pm

    Nice video! You really explain how a ultimate website content will be work on for the better. I have tried it already and still I analyze it well if I can put on some additional strategies in doing that kind of stuff. Thank you for providing that great video :).

  37. […] you haven’t seen my initial video on building content maps that would be a great place to start and if you watch it before OpenCamp it will definitely make […]

  38. Levin TUll on December 17, 2010 at 10:49 am

    Just a picky note -on the content map, you show “Video’s”,
    and I immediately ask
    “What does the video own, or, what belongs to the video?”
    That is, “video’s” means “that which belongs to the video”,
    but “Videos” means “more than one video”.
    The presentation was so good, that this little glitch irritated me.
    Thanks.

    • Scott Ellis on December 17, 2010 at 12:35 pm

      Levin, that’s a good catch. I’m not going to redo the video at this point but I will make sure I check for that on the follow up videos that are coming. Thanks for bringing it to my attention, I completely overlooked it.

  39. pligg.com on February 14, 2011 at 12:23 pm

    Building the Ultimate Website Content Map…

    Video tutorial for planning your website content. Creating a content map before you begin your website can help you stay on topic as you create that content, and also get a high-level overview of your linking strategy. Most intresting concept I found i…

  40. Gary on November 16, 2011 at 5:39 pm

    Enjoyed your presentation, tried to download and I can’t nothing but somestrange gobblygook. Wanted to share with a colleague. Also, is there a part 2? Very informative. Thanks.

    • Scott Ellis on November 16, 2011 at 6:09 pm

      Thanks Gary, That’s actually a fairly old (but still worthwhile) approach. I’ll look into the issues with the download and send it over to you, thanks for letting me know. I’ve moved servers a couple of times and it might have gotten lost in translation.

      I’ve not released part 2 but funny you would ask because I’m writing not and should have it up over the next few weeks. It’s going to be a very intensive bit though so I might need to break it up into multiple parts. We’ll see but coming soon.

  41. Victor Smith on January 30, 2012 at 1:33 pm

    Did you ever do a Building The Ultimate Website Content Map Part II?

    The video and the mind map download was great… Just looking for part II.

    • Scott Ellis on January 30, 2012 at 2:32 pm

      Victor,

      Glad you enjoyed part 1. I’m actually working on part 2 now which will include some updates from Pt 1. I’ll probably be late next week before it’s out but it is coming!

  42. […] I urge you to take a moment to create a content map. Make a content map even before you begin wireframing the layout of any web page, and even before […]

  43. […] and what content will go on each web page.However, I urge you to take a moment to create a content map. Make a content map even before you begin wireframing the layout of any web page, and even before […]

  44. […] I urge you to take a moment to create a content map. Make a content map even before you begin wireframing the layout of any web page, and even before […]

  45. Design Drop on January 11, 2013 at 9:30 am

    Effective planning when building you website is really important if want to have a high success rate of your webpage. Well written article informative thanks for sharing.

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