Content Strategy for the Web
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Halvorson, K. (2010). Content strategy for the Web. Berkeley, CA: New Riders. 192 pages.
Halvorson is the founder and CEO of Brain Traffic, a Minneapolis based content strategy and web writing firm. This book provides an overview of content strategy for professionals interested in improving their organizations’ website. This book begins by making the case for good content and provides general maxims on how to achieve this (like, “less is more”). Halvorson lays out a workflow for assessing, overhauling, and maintaining web content. The steps to this ongoing process include: Audit, analysis, strategy, project workflow, writing, delivery, measurement, and maintenance. Halvorson believes it is essential to have one person in charge of managing web content. While useful in theory, it is unclear how this might be practical for many organizations. This book offers little new insight, but it does provide a good framework for professionals that may be overwhelmed with a content overhaul project or that will be designing an original content strategy. Professionals working with messy office politics related to web content would be well-served to use this guide as backup if their strategy is challenged, including following her tips on setting up a clear process so that content is less likely to be undermined in the future.