Field notes // content craft

ContentMine

Build pages people finish.

Hard lessons on building web content that holds up.

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From the mine

12 seams
  1. The em dash doesn't make your sentence more sophisticatedYou're using em dashes to join thoughts that shouldn't be joined. They're not a substitute for structural decisions about how sentences relate.
  2. Draft mode means someone else will publish itIf you're the only person working on your site, draft mode might be hiding a workflow problem you don't actually have.
  3. Write the page title before you write the pageThe title isn't decoration you add at the end. It's the constraint that keeps everything else on track.
  4. Write the redirect before you delete the pageDeleting a page without planning the redirect means broken links and lost traffic. Decide where visitors should land before you hit delete.
  5. Search result snippets aren't auto-generated magicMost CMSs let search engines pick whatever text they want for your result snippet. That's a choice you made by leaving the meta description field empty.
  6. Content audits start with what you can countYou don't need a spreadsheet with forty columns. Start by counting what's actually there, then decide what matters.
  7. Set character limits before users hit themField-length constraints aren't validation failures. They're decisions you make visible while someone is still typing.
  8. Write button labels that complete the user's sentenceButton text should finish the thought your interface started. If users have to guess what happens next, your label failed.
  9. Tag taxonomy before you tag a single postYour CMS will let you create tags on the fly. That doesn't mean you should.
  10. Write error messages before the error happensYou can't write a decent error message in the moment someone breaks something. Draft them during setup, when your head is clear.
  11. Validation messages that tell users what to fixError messages that say "invalid format" waste everyone's time. Write validation copy that points to the actual fix.
  12. Decide what happens when users leave a field blankEvery form field on your site needs a plan for what happens when someone skips it. That plan is content work, not a developer problem.