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Separating content from layout
What is content?
The content of a website is the words or pictures that defines its purpose. Generally speaking, we think of content as copy or text. It is the essence of the website: the
information the website is built to convey. Without the content, a website is art. The website is merely a vehicle to present information to an audience.
If we consider content more closely, we can see that it often breaks into meaningful sections, naturally. It is possible to convey the message in a structured way. Often,
this is done through a hierarchy of titles or headings, paragraphs, bulleted lists etc. We aim to order our content � give it shape, consistency, structure so that the
audience can locate and digest the information required.
In terms of websites, this structure often lends itself to sections and pages, then to headings and subheadings.
What is layout?
The layout, whether web or print-based, is an arrangement of elements on a page. This arrangement aims to enhance the meaning of the content, enforce structure and to
present the information in an approachable and digestible way.
The layout can be further enhanced by typographic treatment of the textual page elements. This refers to font style, size and weight, and spatial relationships between page
elements. Typographic treatment of textual content enforces the structure of copy and assists legibility and comprehension. The treatment of images can be viewed in much the
same way. A photo gallery still has a content �layer�, so to speak, and a layout. The content may simply consist of a list of images, however the way in which they are
presented, their size, arrangement on the page and so on is determined and controlled by the page layout.
Layout and content combined
Generally speaking, two parties are involved in the creation of a website. One generates and edits the content, the author, and it is the other�s job, the designer, to
create the layout into which the content is poured. These are two parties with different skills with a common goal in sight. These two parties may be made up of teams, but
essentially there exists: the author, responsible for the content and the designer, responsible for the presentation of the content.
The usual procedure when developing a website is that the designer produces a design, a page layout that is approved by the client. The author who is best placed to pitch
the purpose of the site, the requirements of the client, provides the copy and the designer then builds the site with the final copy, following approval of the page layout
design.
The resulting work is a live site with considered content, presented in an attractive, complimentary and sympathetic page layout. Time passes and information becomes
outdated. Some of the copy and images need to be removed or replaced. Whole sections have changed. The content needs amending. The complexity of updating this content is
very much dependent on the way in which the page layout has been constructed. The design of a page layout can impact on the page construction. If a page has been designed
and built in such a way as to surround and engulf the content in complex code so that the content and the layout are tightly interwoven, then any change to the content can
inflict fundamental adjustment to the page layout. Furthermore, this change demands the assistance of the designer and his or her skills in HTML in order to manipulate the
layout code to accommodated the change to the content. Such an intervention for a laborious task can be costly.
If we turn the tables and imagine how this time the author is confident of the integrity of the copy yet would like to update the appearance of the site, how does this
impact? This time the designer would need to create a whole new page layout and once approved, would need to rebuild the site and build the content into its new �skin�. This
may take a little less time than building a site from scratch, but not a huge amount.
Separating content from layout
Now for the crux of the argument. Imagine if the site had been designed and built in such a way that a division could be drawn between content and structure. This is not to
imply that the two fail to compliment each other. This is to say that the content existed as a structured page in its own right, complete with marked headings and paragraphs
and lists. The complex instructions to arrange these elements in a pleasing and meaningful manner were kept separately from the page itself. How would this scenario differ
to that previously outlined when updates to content and layout are applied?
When the author needs to make an update, he or she is able to make this adjustment themselves. There is no requirement for in-depth HTML skills, he or she is able to change
the content without the risk of �breaking� the page layout. Any change to the content has no bearing to the appearance of other aspects of the page. Even if the designer is
asked to make these changes rather than the author, their time input is dramatically reduced and updates are therefore less costly for the client.
If a designer is approached to make changes to the design of the site, whether it be colour adjustments or changes to a navigational menu. Once approved, the design can then
be created in one location and applied globally across the site so that the content remains consistent and the new skin ripples across. As the content remains untouched,
there is no risk of compromising its integrity through inadvertent deletion.
So we see how, by changing the approach to website construction, it is possible to create a site that is more robust and easier to maintain. The W3C recognised the value in
this approach and set about introducing standards for the language, Cascading Stylesheets (CSS), that combined with HTML, would allow modern browsers to interpret this
approach. More about CSS another time now we understand the principle behind its use (or visit 'What is CSS?')!
Article by clear breeze | design
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