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For example, why - in pursuit of its objective to "persuade" students to join its college - did the developers of the University College Dublin website use a proprietary panoramic image format for a "campus tour" feature? Why not Flash, a video or even just a few simple photographs?
To answer this question, we need to define what we mean by content features and formats.
Content features
A content feature is the means by which an idea needed to achieve a website objective is given form. Such a feature is then deployed to either persuade, compel or reassure the visitors of the website (as discussed above).
Content formats
A content format is the means by which a feature is presented. For instance, a "campus tour" feature could be presented in a variety of ways, e.g. as a Flash animation, a video or even as a series of static images.
What features!? What formats?!
A key challenge for a content strategist or designer is to choose the right formats for the list of features they are creating. Although some clients can be very specific about the elements they want on their site ("a spinning Flash logo that says 'we r kool!"), others are more vague.
They may simply provide a list of open-ended deliverables and leave it up to the development team to find the right solution.
Given the variety of alternatives that exist for website content, this can be difficult. Indeed, it becomes more and more demanding all the time as new content features are discovered or expanded (user generated content) and new formats are developed, e.g. Microsoft Silverlight, Adobe Air, etc.
The wisdom of crowds
Thankfully, you are not alone. Thousands of other websites have already faced this challenge. As a result, you can imitiate their ideas for the various formats that can be used for some common content ideas.
To familiarise you with your options, I have created a table (below) that lists some of the most common combinations of features and formats found across the web.
Of course, due to the wide variety of website objectives, not all these will be suitable for everyone. Nevertheless, combinations are frequently seen on the websites that account for the majority of those on the internet. These are websites that seek to :
- Make money, e.g. Amazon.com
- Influence you, e.g. Greenpeace.co.uk
- Save themselves money (by enabling customer self-service), e.g. Banking365.com
Beware the scales
Finally, you should also bear in mind that the extent to which you are able to deploy content will be strongly influenced by the scale of your site. That is, a large, complex site with strong financial backing will be able to deploy many more features and formats than a small scale site.
This does not imply that the small scale site will be less successful than its larger competition. The same objectives can be pursued by both. It's simply means that the basic site may appear 'less sophisticated' than the website with more money.
Content combinations
Content combinations for a basic website
| These content formats... | ...are commonly used for the following features... | ...in support of these functions |
|---|---|---|
| Preprepared static text. |
|
To persuade visitors of the competence and trustworthiness of the website. |
Graphics (photos, illustrations, diagrams), including:
|
|
To persuade. |
| PDF format |
|
To persuade. |
Video & audio format
|
|
To persuade. |
| Preprepared static text. |
|
To sell the website's core proposition. |
Graphics (photos, illustrations, information graphics), including:
|
|
To sell. |
| PDF format |
|
To sell. |
Video & audio format
|
|
To sell. |
| Preprepared static text. |
|
To reassure visitors and thank them for trusting the site. |
Graphics (photos, illustrations, information graphics), including:
|
|
To reassure. |
| PDF format |
|
To reassure. |
Video & audio format
|
|
To reassure. |
Content combinations for a dynamic website
This list only shows those features and format that are specific to a dynamic website. Content for basic websites can also be used.
| These content formats... | ...are commonly used for the following features... | ...in support of these functions |
|---|---|---|
Text format, including:
|
|
To persuade. |
Widgets, including:
|
|
To persuade. |
Internet application formats, including:
|
|
To persuade (and/or to reassure.) |
Text format, including:
|
|
To sell. |
Text format, including:
|
|
To reassure. |
Video & audio format
|
|
To reassure. |
| Mashups, e.g. Google Maps APIs. |
|
To reassure. |
Content combinations for a transactional website
This list only shows those features and format that are specific to a transactional website. Content for basic and dynamic websites can also be used.
| These content formats... | ...are commonly used for the following features... | ...in support of these functions |
|---|---|---|
Rich Internet Application (RIA) formats (Web 2.0, including:
|
|
To sell. |
Internet application formats, including:
|
|
To sell. |