Why Website Content Strategy Should Come Before Design
The ₦2 Million Website Nobody Visits
A Lagos retail company spent ₦2 million on a website redesign last year. The designer delivered exactly what was promised: a clean layout, mobile responsive, and fast loading times. Three months after launch, the site had 47 visitors.
The problem wasn’t the design. It was the content.
The company had copied text from their old brochures, uploaded a few product photos, and assumed traffic would follow. No keyword research. No understanding of customer questions. No plan for ongoing content.
This pattern repeats across Nigerian businesses every week. Companies invest serious money in website design and development, then treat content as something to fill in later. By the time they realize content should have driven the entire project, they’re already committed to a structure that doesn’t support their business goals.
This article explains why Nigerian businesses plan content last, what that costs them, and how to reverse the sequence.
Why Nigerian Businesses Plan Content Last (And Why That’s Expensive)
There’s a consistent pattern in how Nigerian businesses approach website projects. They decide they need a website, find a designer, get excited about layouts and colors, then treat content as “something we’ll sort out later.”
This happens for specific reasons:
Websites as digital signboards. Many businesses still view websites as online billboards that appear professional while real work happens via WhatsApp and phone calls. If it’s just a signboard, content depth doesn’t matter. But if you want the website to generate inquiries or educate prospects, content becomes critical.
Overreliance on designers for strategy. Designers make things look professional. They’re not responsible for understanding your customers’ questions, mapping buyer journeys, or deciding which content will rank in search results. When businesses expect designers to handle content strategy, they get beautiful pages with generic text that doesn’t convert.
Fear of committing to messaging. Writing down what your business does and why customers should choose you makes it feel permanent. It’s easier to wait until the site is “ready.” But the site structure should be built around content strategy, not the other way around.
The SEO-will-fix-it assumption. Many believe they can launch with minimal content, then hire someone to “optimize” it later. But SEO without a content strategy is like adding a foundation after building the house. It doesn’t work that way.
The cost shows up predictably. You launch with placeholder content that never gets replaced. Your services page has three generic paragraphs because no one thought through what prospects need to know. Your blog has two articles from 2022. Your contact page gets traffic but no inquiries because visitors don’t understand what you actually do.
Most of the broken websites we’re asked to fix at PlanetWeb suffer from this exact sequence: design without content strategy produces pretty brochures, not business tools.
Content Audit: What Earns Trust vs What Takes Up Space
Before you plan new content, understand what you already have. A content audit isn’t about making spreadsheets. It’s about making decisions.
Ask three questions about every piece of existing content:
Does this answer buyer questions? Your prospects have specific concerns at different stages. Some are researching problems. Some are comparing solutions. Some need proof before they buy.
If you’re a cybersecurity consultant, prospects researching problems ask, “What are the most common security vulnerabilities in Nigerian businesses?” Those comparing solutions want to know “How does penetration testing differ from vulnerability scanning?” Those ready to buy need proof: “What results have you achieved for companies in our industry?”
If your content doesn’t align with these questions, it’s taking up space without building trust.
Does this build credibility in your industry? Trust signals matter differently in Nigerian contexts. International case studies don’t carry the same weight as local examples. Content that builds credibility speaks to problems your prospects recognize: NDPA 2023 compliance, power supply issues affecting server choices, and payment gateways that work for Nigerian e-commerce.
Does this exist only because “someone said we need it”? Most business websites have zombie content. The “Our Team” page that’s three years out of date. The blog that published five articles then went silent. The “News and Events” section with no news since 2021.
This content doesn’t just fail to help. It actively hurts by signaling the business isn’t maintained or actively managed. Removing outdated or unhelpful content is often more effective than adding new pages.
Now look at what’s missing. You have service descriptions but no process explanation. You have pricing but no framework for thinking about budget. You have case studies, but no content helping prospects diagnose their own problems.
The gap analysis should produce a prioritized list: critical content for launch, important content for the first 90 days, and nice-to-have content that can wait.
User Journeys: How People Actually Move Through Your Site
Nigerian buyers behave differently from international audiences, most content strategy frameworks assume. Understanding these patterns changes how you structure content.
Mobile-first is reality. Most Nigerian web traffic is mobile. But mobile-first goes beyond responsive design. Data costs and unreliable connections mean users skim, scan, and bail quickly. Your content needs to frontload value, use short paragraphs, and make the next action obvious. Long explanatory text belongs in downloadable guides, not service pages.
WhatsApp is the conversion endpoint. International websites optimize for form submissions. Nigerian business websites should optimize for WhatsApp clicks. The actual journey: Google search, skim the homepage, check the service page, tap the WhatsApp button. Your content needs to build enough confidence for the tap to feel safe without exhausting people before they reach out.
Trust signals matter more than you think. Buyers are cautious about new vendors. They’re not just looking at “Services” and bouncing. They’re checking “About Us” to verify legitimacy. They’re looking for client logos and certifications. They’re checking if the blog is current or abandoned.
Let’s map a realistic B2B journey for a company looking for IT consulting:
Awareness: They Google “why is our network slow” and find your blog post explaining common network bottlenecks in Nigerian offices. The content is specific and practical, and it acknowledges local challenges, such as power supply affecting router performance.
Consideration: They click through to your network consulting page. It explains your diagnostic process. It lists businesses you work with. It mentions clients in their industry. It answers “What will this cost?” without requiring a call first.
Decision: They’re convinced you understand their problem. They tap WhatsApp and send: “We’re having network issues in our VI office. Can you help?”
Compare this to the dysfunctional journey: They land on your homepage with three paragraphs about “digital transformation” and “innovative solutions.” They click “Services” and see a vague list of offerings. They can’t tell if you work with companies their size or understand their industry. They leave.
Business buyers research heavily before reaching out. They’re solving problems and trying to avoid expensive mistakes. Your content needs to support that research, not hide information until someone books a call.
Quick Self-Check: Is Your Content Working?
Before moving forward, ask yourself these three questions:
- Can a first-time visitor tell what you do in 10 seconds? If your homepage requires careful reading to understand your offering, you’re losing people.
- Do your service pages answer pricing, process, and trust questions? If prospects have to contact you to learn basic information, many won’t bother.
- Is there a clear next step that matches Nigerian buying behavior? For most businesses, that’s a WhatsApp button, not a five-field contact form.
If you answered “no” to any of these, your content strategy needs work.
Content Types: When to Use What
Most businesses confuse content types, using blog posts for everything or creating pages that should be posts.
Pages are evergreen, service-focused, and conversion-oriented. These are your permanent structures: Services, About, Contact, specific offerings, and industry solutions. They target commercial keywords people use when ready to buy.
Your “IT Consulting Lagos” page should explain what you do, who you serve, the results clients get, and how to start working with you. Nigerian businesses often make pages too thin. Three paragraphs about “We offer IT consulting services” doesn’t help anyone. Answer every question prospects have: What’s your process? What industries? What size companies? What does this cost? How long does it take?
Posts are topical, educational, and SEO-driven. They target informational keywords people use when researching. A post about “How to Choose the Right Document Management System for Nigerian Law Firms” attracts people researching that problem. It educates and builds trust, then links to your relevant service page.
The common mistake: publishing posts that are actually service pages. “Why You Should Choose Our IT Services” isn’t a blog post. It’s a sales page masquerading as content.
Resources are downloadable content that captures leads. Checklists, templates, guides, or frameworks that solve specific problems. People trade their email for immediate value. A “Cybersecurity Checklist for Nigerian SMEs” is practical and substantial enough that someone would give you contact information for it.
Case studies show what you’ve actually accomplished for real clients. They work best when specific about the problem, solution, and results. A case study about helping a Lagos manufacturing company implement Zoho CRM is more valuable than “We helped a client improve efficiency.”
Start minimal, scale strategically. You probably don’t have a full-time content team. Building a massive content library upfront isn’t realistic. Start with strong service pages, a credible about page, and 5-10 educational blog posts targeting your best keywords. That’s enough to be functional and start ranking. Then scale based on what works.
What Happens When You Skip Content Strategy
Here’s what actually happens when Nigerian businesses launch without a content strategy:
The launch that became a placeholder site. A professional services firm budgeted ₦1.5 million for a redesign. Beautiful design, launched on time. But with no content plan before development, they launched with “coming soon” placeholders on half the pages. Six months later, those placeholders were still there. The site looked unfinished, hurting credibility with prospects.
The blog that published three times then went silent. This happens when “having a blog” is the goal rather than publishing consistently to support business objectives. Without a content calendar or realistic capacity assessment, blogs become abandoned monuments. A blog with the most recent post from 2022 signals the company might not maintain commitments. Better to have no blog than a dead one.
The SEO investment with nothing to rank. A retail business hired an SEO consultant. Traffic barely moved. The problem: almost no content to rank. Five service pages with 200 words each. No blog. No resources. The consultant was optimizing thin pages competing against competitors with 50+ content-rich pages. You can’t optimize content that doesn’t exist.
These scenarios share a common thread: businesses thought they could skip planning and fix things later. Later never comes, or they’re paying twice for what should have been done once.
Content Calendar as Governance, Not Just Marketing
Most businesses think content calendars are about scheduling blog posts. The bigger issue is ownership. Who is responsible for content six months after launch?
This matters more than publication frequency. Nigerian businesses fail at content not because they can’t write, but because no one owns the process long-term. This ownership failure often drives the two-to-three-year redesign cycle many Nigerian businesses experience.
Who approves new content? Define a clear approval process. One person reviews for accuracy and brand voice. They approve or request revisions. Content goes live. Don’t create committee-based paralysis.
Who updates service information when offerings change? Your business evolves. Someone needs to own the website updates. When the sales team adds services, when pricing changes, and when you win major clients. Without clear ownership, updates happen randomly or not at all.
Who is accountable six months after launch? This is critical. Most website projects have high energy at launch, then fade into maintenance mode. Six months later, the site needs updates. Who does that?
Assign content ownership to a specific person or role. Make content maintenance part of someone’s job description, not an optional extra.
Publication rhythm: realistic frequency. Don’t commit to three posts per week if you don’t have the team capacity. That’s how blogs die. One solid post every two weeks beats weekly posts of declining quality that eventually stop. Match your calendar to your resources.
What happens when no one owns content. Initial enthusiasm, gradual decline, eventual abandonment. Your website becomes a static brochure. Competitors who maintain content consistently outrank you. Prospects find your outdated site and move on.
Create a simple system: one person owns content, a clear approval process, a realistic publishing rhythm, and regular checkpoints. That’s enough to keep content alive long after launch excitement fades.
Starting Point: Your Content Strategy Foundation
Here’s where to start, whether you’re doing this yourself or bringing in help.
Minimum viable content for launch. You don’t need 100 pages. You need the right pages done well:
- Homepage explaining what you do and who you serve
- Individual service pages for core offerings (3-5 pages)
- About page that builds credibility
- Contact page with multiple ways to reach you
- 5-10 blog posts targeting important keywords
That’s enough to be functional, rank for relevant searches, and convert visitors.
Content prioritization for Nigerian business constraints. You have limited time and budget. Prioritize by business impact:
Tier 1 (Essential): Content supporting sales directly. Service pages answering buyer questions. About page building trust. These get done first and done well.
Tier 2 (Important): Content attracting organic traffic. Blog posts targeting the problems prospects search for. Resources capturing leads. Case studies demonstrating results. These get done consistently after launch.
Tier 3 (Nice-to-have): Brand-building content. Thought leadership. Industry commentary. These get done when Tier 1 and 2 are solid.
When to hire help vs build in-house. Hiring external writers makes sense when you need volume or specialized knowledge without full-time overhead. Building in-house makes sense when content is core to your business model, or you publish frequently enough to justify full-time staff.
Most Nigerian businesses start with external help, then bring capability in-house as they grow.
Timeline: content strategy before mockups, not after deployment. The right sequence:
- Content strategy: What pages? What will they say? Who are you targeting?
- Content creation: Write actual content for key pages
- Design: Create mockups based on real content, not lorem ipsum
- Development: Build using actual content
- Launch: Go live with complete, strategic content
- Maintain: Keep content current and continue publishing
The wrong sequence: Design → Development → Launch → Try to add content later → Realize the structure doesn’t support what you need to say. That’s faster initially but slower overall.
Content Strategy Isn’t Extra, It’s Essential
The businesses that get this right don’t have prettier websites. They have more effective ones. The difference isn’t design budget or technical sophistication. It’s planning.
They decided what their website should accomplish before building it. They mapped content to customer needs before choosing colors. They created systems for maintaining content before the launch excitement wore off.
This doesn’t make websites more expensive. It makes them less expensive by avoiding redesigns, reducing wasted ad spend, and improving conversion rates. A ₦1.5 million website with a strong content strategy will generate more business than a ₦3 million website with afterthought content.
Content strategy makes everything else work better. Your SEO improves because you’re creating content worth ranking. Your paid ads convert better because landing pages answer questions. Your sales team spends less time on basics because your website already handles that.
Most importantly, prospects trust you more. A website with clear, helpful, current content signals you’re professional, knowledgeable, and actively operating. Thin content and outdated posts signal the opposite.
Nigerian businesses that plan content before building consistently outperform those that don’t. Not because they have bigger budgets, but because they understand that content is the website’s job. Design is how it looks. Content is what it does.
If you’re planning a new website, start with a content strategy. If you have an existing website that isn’t performing, audit your content before you redesign. Most website problems are content problems wearing design clothes.
Thinking through your website content strategy? Let’s talk about what content your website needs before you spend on design.
