Content Critical: Gaining Competitive Advantage Through High-Quality Web Content (Paperback)

~ (Author), Rob Norton (Author)
Key Phrases: core navigation, publication scope, navigation design, Content Critical, World Wide Web, British English (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Content Critical is highly recommended. It belongs in every design library. It should be on the reading list of every course in Web design. Any Web designer who plans to be in business five years from now should read this book." Ken Friedman, Design Research News "Content Critical is amply provided with reality checks, examples, and practical ideas and suggestions ... The authors have succeeded in writing a book that will appeal to both beginners and experts." Geert Jan Kraan, Net Professional magazine "Content Critical is another good example of a book that can make a difference. The book is well written and full of useful insights on web publishing. And, as such, the book is a very useful tool for everybody who is in charge of a commercial website." Gert Birnbacher, chairman of DEBA, Scandinavia's largest network of e-business companies "Content Critical is the best non-technical book on the subject of web content that I have come across to date ... For those interested in the 'change management' dimension of content and knowledge management, Content Critical may well become the standard text." Andy Harrisson, Content Management Focus magazine "Content Critical is an excellent book for academics and practitioners alike ... It should be read by anyone involved in Web content management, of course, but it should also be required reading for those with responsibilities including internal or external communication (and what academic or executive does not?)" Colin Jevons, Journal of Consumer Marketing "The term "bible" is now highly over-used in reference to tech books but if it weren't, that's how I would categorize Content Critical." Rowan Wilson, Knowledge Management Review "In this wonderfully straightforward book, Gerry McGovern and Rob Norton show why the success of your business depends, more and more, on getting 'the right content to the right person at the right time'." Jonathan Price, author of Hot Text: Web Writing that Works "In two books about the Web (Content Critical and The Web Content Style Guide), Gerry McGovern and his co-authors have made the subject as easily understandable as it is disorganized in reality." Robin Sherman, American Society of Business Publication Editors "Students and practitioners alike will benefit greatly from Gerry's book and I have made it a core 'must have' text for my undergraduate new media studies courses." Andy Price, University of Teesside "I can't think of anyone more clearly focused on the issue of good site content than Gerry McGovern, and I found myself nodding in agreement on every page," "For me, it was an important book to read, because, as a copywriter myself, I find the line between 'content' and 'copy' is very hard to discern sometimes. I think it's important for online copywriters to understand the work of content creators, and vice versa." "Best of all, you get the sense with Content Critical that McGovern has a deep, deep knowledge of the subject. And he writes in a way that makes his knowledge accessible to others. Absolutely THE book on creating and managing content online." - Nick Usborne, author of Net Words: Creating High-Impact Online Copy "In this wonderfully straightforward book, Gerry McGovern and Rob Norton show why the success of your business depends, more and more, on getting "the right content to the right person at the right time." "Their book cuts through the dot com hyperbole to show why your content is critical to profit. On the Web, therefore, we are all becoming publishers." "With common sense, good humor, and sharp focus, McGovern and Norton give practical step-by-step advice on creating and managing content. I think you'll laugh out loud, as you mark passages to quote to your boss and your team." - Jonathan Price, author of Hot Text "Everyone involved in the Web should read this book; it is Tom Paine's Common Sense for a wired world. Buy it now or watch your empire fall." - Rob Benson, TrainingZONE "Content Critical does a terrific job of laying out the reasons why content itself must take priority and then, even more importantly, the reader is the number one priority. The book has been of great value in getting this vital rule across to the students." - Diana Botsford, Director of Information Services, Drury University, USA "Every serious webmaster, web designer, online editor, web developer or student-in-training will find Content Critical will make them stop and critically think about their web design work. My students are now required to read it." - Curt Schroeder, University Regina, Canada

Product Description

Explains the theory and practice of producing reader-focused, compelling content on your website. Shows you how to organize a publishing team and how to create a web publishing strategy. Discover what high-quality content really is, and learn how to create it. Softcover.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: FT Press (December 8, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 027365604X
• ISBN-13: 978-0273656043
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 6.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #643,831 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars May Help Justify Editorial/Web Content Budgets, May 28, 2002

By	Amy Campbell "Infoworks!" (Charlestown, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Written by two guys with real-world tech publishing credentials, this book takes a serious look at the role of quality content and what it takes present it on the web. They make a couple good points:
1. Quality content can create competitive advantage
2. Quality content is difficult and expensive to create.

The best point in the book came early in the first chapter: In an information society, we are all involved in publishing -- whether we are writing an article, a marketing pitch or a sales report. McGovern and Norton make a case for an organization taking its publishing role seriously and creating systems for documenting, improving and sharing the information to foster business relationships and gain competitive advantage. And while the book lays out the structure required for managing content organizationally, it falls short of lessons or examples of how to do it.

They highlight the basics - know the reader, create a publishing strategy, follow an editorial process, and build in ways to measure your success. For anyone with a background in publishing it's rehash. The book is best suited for educating business managers who don't have a publishing background, providing them with a brief understanding of the process and the rational to justify budgeting for the staff required to produce quality content. If you're new to content, it may be worth a read.

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars An outdated, repetitive book., November 25, 2005

By	N. Gracilla "Principal, Neoteric Design" (Chicago IL) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I picked up this book based on the strong reviews here. Perhaps at one time this book was more relevant than it is now, in late 2005. It is most certainly not a book for web designers or developers. It might still be useful for someone in marketing, newly assigned the task of maintaining a site, who hasn't ever thought about web content before.

The book pounds a few ideas repetitively throughout: "content is king! Long live the content editors!" But in terms of actually delivering on that message, it falls far short.

Other reviews mention the book provides "solutions" to content issues -- this is certainly not true. It barely provides a methodology for approaching content issues on the web. When he tire hits the road, the "solution" is often along the lines of "it's important to do the hard work to figure these issues out." Well, huh.

It must be noted that the production quality of this book is terrible: some pages, and graphics, were of fax quality. I'm not kidding. The entire book seems photocopied. Reading about "high quality content" through such a poorly produced book was ironic enough.

In sum: had I seen this book on a shelf and flipped through it momentarily, I most certainly would not have bought it.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great ideas, somewhat wordy and repetitive presentation, September 24, 2003

By	Frank Carver (Ipswich, Suffolk United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This book is primarily about web site design, although that may not be very obvious from the title. I wish many more web site authors and publishers would read this sort of book, though.

The overall premise is that the job of producing and running a web site has a lot in common with traditional paper publishing. Central to this idea, and the inspiration for the title, is that whatever the site, people actually visit it to read words. Not to look at pictures. Not to admire layout or coo at dynamic navigation menus. To find and read content. Everything else is at best irrelevant, at worst a distracting nuisance or even a reason to leave the site completely.

I wholeheartedly agree with this, and generally follow with the recommendations that the author makes about how to encourage and profit from this understanding: keep things simple, short, and fresh; understand your readers; make it easy to find stuff; treat editing and publishing as key business functions and so on.

What I find slightly disappointing is that the book itself doesn't entirely embody these values. The style is repetitive and often long-winded. As a well-edited web site or a conference presentation this would pack a much more powerful punch. I felt I understood the essential message quite early in the book, and finished reading it mostly out of duty.