Website Content Mapping Basics

When you apply website content mapping basics & best practices to your business or non-profit website, you’re doing your prospective customers a favor, along with your own organization. Developing a content map that is both strategic & practical helps ensure that the prospective customers who visit your website can find what they need or want to know quickly and expeditiously. When this happens, you create a positive user experience, and you potentially keep a site visitor browsing your website longer for the right reasons – because they found the information they wanted rather than because they can’t find what they’re seeking.

What Is Website Content Mapping?

Website content mapping is a strategic process that occurs in the very early stages of developing a new website, or in refreshing an existing website. Content mapping is the process where you decide what buttons will be in your navigation bar that correspond to specific “silos” of content. Content mapping also occurs when you strategically plan content elements that will appear in sequence on various pages. When you’ve finished mapping content for a new website and an old one that needs to be updated, you have a road map for your website designer to build out a website based on the navigation bar, and pages based on the content elements you’ve slected.

Why Is Website Content Mapping Important?

Website content mapping is important because it defines how and where content “lives” on the website, and organizes content in a way that makes it as easy as possible for website visitors to find the information they want quickly and easily. When you do this, you make it easier for a prospective customer to buy your product or service, or a prospective donor or volunteer engage with your non-profit.

How To Conduct Website Content Mapping

Step 1: Organize & define your Nav Bar buttons. Your navigation bar is located toward the top of the website, and includes the buttons on which site visitors can click to access specific pages or sections of content

An Example of a Nav Bar Outline is:

Home * Products * Shop * Reviews * Blog * About Us * Contact

Step 2: Define Your Ideal Buyer. Who’s most likely to buy your product or service? Profile the ideal customer with specifics including:

Gender
Age group
Education level
Specific problems they have that your product or service solves
What’s their most likely buying pattern? (Is the product or service priced to be an impulse purchase, or will the purchase decision require multiple customer touches, information and education, reviews, and/or an incentive to purchase?)

Step 3: Develop Content Elements That Match The Buying Pattern. Once you have a good sense of the buying pattern that will be needed, you can craft sequenced content elements, particular on the HOME and PRODUCT or SERVICE pages that take the prospective customer on a buyer’s journey.

Example of a Buyer’s Journey Content Cascade for the Home page:

Element 1: Contact Information Bar
Element 2: Logo & Nav Bar
Element 3: Big storytelling photo with headline message
Element 4: Optimized introductory paragraph that clearly states what you offer, and for whom
Element 5: Product Highlights linked to the Product page
Element 6: Customers LOVE our Product / Service (Reviews)
Element 7: Problem Solving Section: Problems the product or service solves
Element 8: Blog Highlights: Links to informational blogs in the BLOG section
Element 9: Benefits Section
Element 10: Footer with Contact information