Plan Before You Build: Information Architecture & Content Strategy

If you’ve been doing websites for clients for a while, you know the hardest thing to get out of them is their CONTENT. What if you could create an information model for their business, how pertinent information can be re-used, modeled and promoted to develop a Content strategy for your clients?

We’ll be talking about:
- Custom Post Types & Custom Taxonomy and what they mean and how they can be used for your Content Model
- How to break down complicated websites into specific, connected areas of content to better organize and make it easier for your clients to input information.

Transcript

1. pods.io | @podsframework Plan Before You Build Information Architecture & Content Strategy Jim True, jimtrue.com | @jimtrue
2. pods.io | @podsframework Jim True Support Lead & Community Manager Pods Framework jimtrue.com | @jimtrue pods.io | @podsframework Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018
3. pods.io | @podsframework What is Content? Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018
4. pods.io | @podsframework Content is the hardest thing to collect from your clients
 (other than the paycheck) Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018 SHOW ME THE CONTENT!!!
5. pods.io | @podsframework Content is (for the web) Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018 Content can be anything of substance that you need to share, promote or provide information to your users about your business or service or products.
6. pods.io | @podsframework Information Architecture Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018 The structural design of shared information environments; The art and science of organizing and labelling websites, intranets, online communities and software to support usability and find-ability
7. pods.io | @podsframework Content Should Be Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018 Organized Easily Accessed Promotable Shareable Usable Findable Connected
8. pods.io | @podsframework Amazon as an Example Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018 What is the purpose of Amazon’s Website? To Sell Products, Primarily
9. pods.io | @podsframework Content as Information Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018 How does Amazon use 
 information organization to fulfill this pupose? Product pages make it easy to upsell things or cross-sell things
 based on your (or other buyer’s) purchase history and through 
 recommendations, reviews & similar products. Products SELL themselves (self promotion).
10. pods.io | @podsframework Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018 Media & Photos Amazon Product Page (Content Model) Product Details, ISBN, Creator & Publisher, Reviews & Collections, Genre Book Formats, Pricing, Offers & Sales Price One Click Purchase Shipping Details Current Offer/Sale Shopping List Wish List Product Description, Recommendations and Purchase History Comparisons
11. pods.io | @podsframework Amazon Organized (Data Model) Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018
12. pods.io | @podsframework TX State Parks as an Example Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018 What is the purpose of a State Parks Website? To Increase Park Attendance, Primarily
13. pods.io | @podsframework Content as Information Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018 How does Texas State Parks use 
 information organization to fulfill this pupose? Park Pages make it easy to find Park Information, Hours, Contact Details,
 Events at the Parks, Recreational Activities and Camping Details for
 each Park. Parks Promote Themselves (self promotion).
14. pods.io | @podsframework Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018 State Park Info Page (Content Model) Map, Fees, Amenties, Event Calendar, History & Reviews Park Photos Camp Info
 Contact Details
 Hours
 Social Links Reservations
15. pods.io | @podsframework State Parks Organized (Data Model) Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018
16. pods.io | @podsframework Content is the Key • All of your content should drive the PURPOSE of your website. • You’re looking at it as usable, searchable, organized CONTENT • The content is DATA you’re trying to represent in a Logical, Structural way Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018
17. pods.io | @podsframework It’s all connected Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018 Purpose Content Data
18. pods.io | @podsframework Content Strategy fulfills the Purpose Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018 Content Strategy
 (Purpose) Content Model
 (Wireframe) Data Model
 (Information Architecture)
19. pods.io | @podsframework They all work together Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018 Fulfill the purpose
 of your Site, and 
 informs More Easily
 Populated Wireframes,
 which Well Structured Information, which leads to
20. pods.io | @podsframework So how does this relate to WordPress? • WordPress is a Content Management System (CMS). • We’re talking about making it easier for our clients (or ourselves) to manage our Content within WordPress • Managing includes displaying that content in multiple places on your site without repeating yourself. Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018
21. pods.io | @podsframework Pages, Posts & Categories & Tags? • You could try to manage your Content Model in Pages & Posts, and organize it with Categories & Tags • Pages don’t have all the additional fields you’d need. No way to differentiate different content types. Also, no way to easily segment part of the page to display in different areas. • Categories works great for hierarchy, but no way to pick and choose the ‘organizational’ model. Genre isn’t the same thing as Color or Model. Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018
22. pods.io | @podsframework Content Management in WordPress Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018 Custom Post Types Custom Taxonomies Custom Fields
23. pods.io | @podsframework Custom Post Types, Fields & Taxonomies • Custom Post Types register_post_type
 https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/register_post_type/
 Plugins: CPT UI, Types, Pods • Custom Fields register_meta
 https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/register_meta/
 Plugins: ACF, CMB2, Types, Pods • Custom Taxonomy register_taxonomy
 https://developer.wordpress.org/reference/functions/register_taxonomy/
 Plugins: CPT UI, Types, Pods Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018
24. pods.io | @podsframework WordPress & Pods Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018 Grow Beyond Posts & Pages A Content Development Framework for WordPress https://wordpress.org/plugins/pods/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fxpH68u3sgw
25. pods.io | @podsframework How does Pods Help with Content? • Manage Custom Post Types, Taxonomies, and Custom Fields all in one place without any coding! • Connect content to content (relationships) • Extend existing Post Types: Users, Media, Comments, Posts, Pages… even Custom Post Types from other Plugins! • Easily prototype your content with Pods Templates (no code!) Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018
26. pods.io | @podsframework Plan Your Content With Pods • Plan your Content Types based on Data Model • Determine which will be Custom Post Types and which will be Custom Taxonomies • Add Custom Fields to the Content Types above • Determine if you need to extend what WordPress provides (Users, Media, Pages & Posts) or other content from other plugins (ie WooCommerce) • Determine where your connections will be (relationship fields between Pods) Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018
27. pods.io | @podsframework Taxonomy vs. Relationship • If your content can stand alone by itself (one author, one book), it should be a Custom Post Type connected with a Relationship • If it can only exist as a group of things (items that are red, science fiction books or movies), then you organize them with a Custom Taxonomy. Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018
28. pods.io | @podsframework So What Kind of Content
 Do YOU Have? Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018
29. pods.io | @podsframework Gutenberg Times Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018
30. pods.io | @podsframework Naples Music Club Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018
31. pods.io | @podsframework Naples Olive Oil Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018
32. pods.io | @podsframework Kayaking in Florida Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018
33. pods.io | @podsframework 3D Rendering Directory Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018
34. pods.io | @podsframework Artist Cooperative Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018
35. pods.io | @podsframework Where to get help with Pods • On Our Website:
 https://pods.io/forums/ • On Our Slack Chat:
 https://pods.io/chat/ #support • On WordPress.org:
 https://wordpress.org/support/plugin/pods Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018 @podsframework | YouTube: https://youtube.com/podsframework/
36. Pods is a FREE Plugin with FREE Support We believe that price shouldn't be an obstacle in getting you started building powerful, data-driven websites. That's why Pods is FREE. Just because we're free doesn't mean we're not valuable. If you find value from the websites you build with Pods, please consider giving back to the project by joining Friends of Pods. Find out more at: https://friends.pods.io
37. pods.io | @podsframework Thank You! :) Plan Before You Build | Jim True | 4/19/2018