What Came First: The Content or the Design?

Hi! I’m Keelie at Avalanche Creative. I’m filling in for Lance this week while he is on parental leave.

Similar to the age-old debate “which came first: the chicken or the egg”—the debate between content and design causes some heated discourse among some marketers.

At Avalanche, we believe that your content and copy should inform your design, not vice versa. Our answer is that content comes first, and here’s why.

Content is the foundation of all websites. Content educates and guides your user. Finally, content is what sells. The intention of your website is to inform visitors of who you are, what you do, and why they need your product. That is done through copywriting and content.

Page with good copy and design that helps communicate messaging vs. the same page if it only had design.

Creating a design for your website before writing any content will ultimately result in unnecessary parameters. It’s like buying a plane without having a pilot. Sure, it’s cool to look at, but is it functional? A compelling video or aesthetically pleasing design can get users to enter a site, but that alone will not sell your product.

Don’t think that we’re saying design is obsolete. Design is equally as important—it just shouldn’t be the first thing you do. The intention of the design is to help to convey your messaging, which can be hard to do if you do not know what that message is. Design also fortifies your branding, can help with recognition, and can create a really great user experience.

Overall, design and content are interdependent. One is not more important than the other, and should be treated as such. Our recommendation: if you are looking to create a new website, start with great content and let it naturally guide your design.