Many organisations are stuck on PDFs. Systems to help us create and manage information in more flexible formats exist. We’re just not using them. Perhaps we don’t realise why we should. We see the cost of change, but we’re blissfully unaware of the cost of locking up content in PDFs.
Content strategy
A series of articles covering broad content strategy themes as well as specific tactics that might be useful for some organisations.
Most recent articles
Relying on PDF online? 6 reasons to stop
Managing distributed publishing – 9 solutions
Some common problems arise when organisations use a distributed publishing model for their website or intranet. In this article, we outline 9 ways you can start managing these problems.
Managing distributed publishing – 8 challenges
Distributed publishing can pose significant challenges that affect the quality of your content. In this article, we look at eight of these challenges.
Reducing reliance on PDF documents online
Some organisations publish large amounts of their online content as PDF documents. But PDF is rarely chosen because it’s been assessed as the best format for the content. In this article we discuss ways to reduce reliance on PDF.
Beyond the content audit
If you want quality online content, you need to do more than a content audit. You need to understand the people and political issues and how to deal with them.
3 idioms reveal the truth about university websites
I’ve worked on Australian university websites for the past 18 years, in internal roles and as a consultant. I’ve met some great people and seen the potential to do great work. But I’ve also the same problems again and again. Three simple idioms capture them well.
Print to web: 10 tips for repurposing documents
If your organisation still takes a print-first approach to content, here are some tips to help you repurpose it for the web.
Don’t let your CMS wreck your content – part 1
Content management systems (CMS) make publishing and managing web content easier. But some systems have limiting features, or are set up in ways that aren’t helpful. In this article, we look at page titles and CMS behaviour to watch out for.
Navel-gazing websites will get you nowhere
What happens when organisations are too inward-looking? It soon becomes obvious to your clients that they are not your most important consideration. If this happens on your website, don’t expect them to stay long.
Web content and the burden of time
If you rush to put content online you’ll find it’s nearly always longer than it needs to be. It takes time to edit and cut out the words that aren’t doing any real work. Sadly, web writers often don’t spend that time, and users simply won’t!
The struggle to publish useful content
A common question in our web writing workshops is ‘How do we stop people publishing content we know no one will ever use?’ It’s not easy, but we offer some suggestions in this article.
Don’t publish online just because you can
Publishing content online is fast, cheap and easy. That’s one of the great things about the web, but also one of its downsides. Many websites heave and groan under the weight of too much low value content. Sadly, their users do too.