Godengo Featured on AdAge.com

We had a great write-up on AdAge.com today by Abbey Klaassen. The story was well thought out and painted a clear picture of who we are and what our mission is. Included were comments from our client Bill Oakes over at Chicagomag.com and our partner Jim Dowden at the City and Regional Magazine Association (citymag.org). Thank you to Abbey Klaassen for the coverage.

Read the full article on AdAge.com >>

I would like to elaborate on an issue that was mentioned in the article concerning the general perception among publishers that a similarity in site architecture and layout has a negative impact. It’s true that regionally focused publications should be less concerned if their site has a similar look and feel to a publication in another market, since there is very little cross-over of visitors, but that is not the real issue.

As in traditional publishing, online publishing provides a framework and an interface for delivering information in a manner that people are comfortable with. Every magazine has a front and back cover, a binding and pages. The content is arranged in an index and typically there are features and departments for categorization. What makes the publication unique is the subject matter, design, artwork and publication brand. This is no different online. In much the same way, a content management system provides a structure for presenting content that makes it easy for readers to digest. The templates, tags, search and navigation are all in service of the content and the reader. There are certain conventions and best practices that simply work.

I often use the example of a website template being like a house that has the foundation laid, framing up, and drywall hung. What color the rooms are painted and what furniture is put in them is completely flexible and unique. Let’s go a step further and look at some real world examples of websites that have a unique brand and style but use a very similar architecture to deliver certain types of information:

Publication news and articles:
The New York Times
New York Magazine

TV News:
NBC 3 Sacramento
CBS 13 Sacramento

Search Results:
Google
Yahoo

Video Content:
YouTube
Brightcove

Blogs:
Chicago Magazine - Coda Blog
Outside Magazine Blog

So while it is quite possible to create an entirely unique site structure with a content management system like Godengo’s Rivista, more often than not, it isn’t the right approach. The content should be the focus, and allowing readers to access that content in the easiest and most familiar way should always be the goal. Search engines also like content that is formatted in a consistent and easily indexed manner. The content, brand, look & feel should be the differentiators. Content is still king, as they say, but only if it can be easily found and digested by readers.

Publishers often tell me at the beginning of a website implementation that they really want their publication websites to look different from the rest. What they don’t realize is that they have already accomplished their goal. Their strong brand, unique original content and design aesthetic is what has grown their audience to tens of thousands of readers and in turn brought them advertisers. By leveraging these existing assets in the online channel they can grow their business by taking advantage of the interactivity and community building features of the web but without reinventing the wheel.

Tim Sullivan

Posted by Tim on July 25, 2007 at 01:38 AM in General | Permalink

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