Content Gathering

In this stage, a collection of knowledge about the subject domain (content) the web covers will involve subject experts and the people who are going to use the web resource. What content will best meet the development goals and how will it be presented? Having analysed the information needs of the target audience and their socio-economic circumstances, the next stage is gathering the content.

This is where creativity and information seeking skills plays a key role and the participation of the people who are going to use the information is necessary.

Where is the source of content for your web resource going to come from? The first obvious source is the printed material that you have been using all the time. This is also a good opportunity to update and revise your print publications. The most often neglected source of content is from the target audience itself. Top-down approaches often result in the user group not participating in the production phase. The people need to articulate their information needs - what they want and need and for what purpose.

Participation by the people eases up the acceptance of the new resource - people will be happy with the product because they have been involved directly in the production process. This is also an opportunity to train and upskill them so that they have more control in updating and revising the material as they see fit.

Practical Guideline 7: State briefly, the development goals and associated development activities.

Practical Guideline 8: State specific information needed to achieve development goals and objectives i.e. information for development - establish the purpose of the web site.

Practical Guideline 9: List the expected benefits that will accrue from using the resource.

Practical Guideline 10: Collate the information from different sources that is going to be used to construct the message/subject matter of the web resource. If the content is not in a readily accessible format, then produce it from scratch by working with the subject experts and consulting with the people that are going to use the resource. Make the content accessible first in a traditional format, usually print before converting it into a web format.

Content Architecture