Intro to content design for non-writers
Course overview
This introduction to content design is for people who have little or no experience of writing for the web and either haven’t come across the concept of content design before or don’t have content design as the main part of their role.
It explains the different jobs that good website copy is doing and introduces core content design concepts including: researching and testing content, writing to style and tone of voice plus how words and design work together.
Delivery: in person or online
Class size: up to 12 people
Duration: 1 day
Cost: from £2,500 plus VAT per course
What the course covers
Over the course of the day you’ll look at:
the words on a webpage that tell people what to do, how to do it and to represent the voice of the organisation
what UX copy - or content design - is
why consistency is so important in naming conventions and microcopy
when to use help text (and when it can be unhelpful)
what makes a good error message and how to write one
how to do desk research, the difference between qualitative and quantitative research and different ways to get insights from your users
techniques to test content with users and how to use the results to iterate your content
writing for the web best practice, including keeping it brief and using plain language
what we mean by accessible content, who it’s for and how to write it
keeping the writing in an organisation consistent by using a tone of voice and style guide
how words fit into the design process and the considerations for content at each stage
What you’ll learn
After completing this course, you will:
understand the roles that web copy has to fulfil and be confident in recognising when writing is succeeding or failing to achieve them
recognise the difference between copy and content design and be able apply consistency to writing a variety of web content types
be aware of a range of ways to research and test content with users and how best to use the findings to influence and change your content
be able to apply writing for the web best practice techniques and know the reasons they make reading and understanding online content easier
understand the benefits of tone of voice and style guides and feel confident in using them to shape your writing
We tailor all exercises in the course to make them relevant to you and your organisation.
If you’d like to focus on a particular area, we can adjust the course content to suit your needs. Or we can add elements from other courses, or create something completely bespoke for you. See how our training works.
Your trainer
Christine Cawthorne is an experienced trainer who has been teaching people to write for the web since 2009.
She joined Government Digital Service in 2013 and trained thousands of people how to understand user needs, write in clearer language and use the GOV.UK style guide.
As well as giving training, Christine works as a content strategist helping public sector and non-profits with their content. She mentors content designers at all stages of their careers and runs the Crocstar content community.
Feedback from this course
I felt attending the training would be an invaluable opportunity to get to grips with the fundamentals of content design in a real-life, collaborative setting. The training showed me why these things are important and how to use these concepts to create better content. The course was outstanding and a thoroughly enjoyable experience as well as a useful one.