One major pothole is the language barrier between tech experts and consumers. It is the writer's job to take the incomprehensible language of experts and translate it into language anyone can understand. One way to streamline this process is by developing a content template.
Tech experts rarely understand what the end user wants to know, and will often wax poetic about the beauty of the underlying structure in a detailed technical analysis that could make the writer's eyes bleed. The basic function of a content template is simple: to gather information from experts in an organized way that allows the writer to understand and make sense of it.
What the template will look like depends on what information you're trying to convey, but it should be designed to answer a set of questions in a straightforward manner. To effectively escape the waxing poetic scenario with resulting eye bleeding, the questions should be specific and require concise answers.
If are setting up a product page for a software manufacturer, the template might look like this:
Page Title example - "Cool New Software by Acme Software Corporation"
Product Description – Define the product in detail using the simplest possible terms including notes about who what it's for and who might use it. (Web developers? The general web population? People who collect exotic fish?)
Product Name: No frills, just the name of the product and version number if applicable.
Product Line: Is this an addition to a suite of programs?
Short Description : Describe the product in no more than 2 or 3 sentences. Using as few words as possible to define the core function of the software. Example: "Cool New Software is a cross-browser platform that allows users to [do these things] in [some type of environment]".
How to buy the product: Link to the purchase process or download page and list sales contact info if necessary.
Product Benefits: this should be a bullet list of selling points:
* Integrated email features allow easy project collaboration.
* Create inline forms using Ajax live on any web page.
* Configure the F3 key to deliver an electric shock to obnoxious forum posters who disagree with your political opinions.
On a big web project, using content templates won’t solve all of your workflow problems but will help speed up information collection and improve site-wide content consistency. For most efficient results, pass the document from techies to management and sales before it lands on the desk of the writer.