What is Web Content?

By Ted Page, Captains of Industry

One of the more interesting things we’ve learned running our Incredibly Boring Web Content Challenge is that there is no recognized and well-understood definition of “content”. Most companies who submitted sent a link to their whole website, hoping for a free makeover. What we thought we would get was links to specific web pages (or pdfs) that described one product or service. A web page with boring text describing, for example, Xolor – a medication, could be “captainized” into an engaging video, ebook, quiz or podcast that brought the product to life. Something so interesting it would help draw the right customers to see it.

That’s how we define content: An engaging element that’s information-rich, yet entertaining, that exists within the larger context of a website.

Now that I’ve clarified that, let me throw in one very important twist. It’s clear that good content cannot and should not be divorced from good web design. Think of content as a great book at Barnes & Nobles; even better, a book you read while sipping Starbucks. But if the store is poorly designed and confusing to navigate, you won’t want to visit in the first place, and if you do visit you’ll get lost and frustrated. It’s the combination of the two, great content that tells a story, embedded in good design, that draws customers and helps keep them long enough to buy.