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.

At last, content problems no longer have to break the hearts of web designers. Content Critical offers many solutions for making better web sites. Content is so often an after thought (Cut and paste) of web site design, this book clearly states why people are visiting your site (To read) and just how important quality content is. You'll find yourself quoting the easy to understand explanations of XML, search engines, content categorization, navigation design and web site design fundamentals.

How to describe this Book ? Of course it's clear and precise but above all it's :
- Pratical
- Useful
- Pertinent

It clearly describes and demonstrates the two key points of Internet :
- Reader is King
- Be the best servant of the King by giving him what he wants and deserves, contents, stories, facts ...

Create, edit, publish, feedback, modify, publish etc .. is the perpetual cercle what the previously called Webmaster will have to do on his website.

This books will let you understand how to write pertinent content for the Web and how to publish it.
Best suited for ex WebMaster and New Chief Publisher or Head Manager who wants to set up a Content Management Policy.

Reader is King

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.

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.

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.

Writing for the Web is not the same as writing for print because people read differently on the Web.
Every Web writer and designer needs to learn from the standards, rules and insights that this book delivers. It's the first book that understands that the number one thing people do on the Web is reading.

Dear Readers.

Gerry McGovern and Rob Norton have nearly restored my faith in "computer books" and I've bought hundreds of them.

But this bright red-covered CONTENT CRITICAL document I'm holding in my hand isn't exactly like any of the other ones, is it?

The authors write in clear, straightforward, Standard English. Do you have any idea how rare that is? It is so pleasant to read good, useful ideas without the necessity of untangling acronyms and technobable.

This book is the real stuff.

Quick examples of straight talk:
"Search functions on many individual websites are hopelessly inadequate.",
"People are under a lot of pressure today...the average reader doesn't have the time for content that doesn't get to the point."

The authors don't just ask the questions, they follow through. They show you how to fix the glitches, how to organize your content.

That's it.

They speak English and they know how to explain things.

I can't get into greater detail now because I only have a thousand words, and no pictures.

If you are serious about teaching a web class or improving the content of your own pages, this book is well worth the price.

Thanks,

Ken Wade
Associate Professor
Champlain College
Burlington, VT

If you have to manage a website with a lot of content, say more than 20 or 30 pages, this book will help you a lot.

'Content Critical' brings a publisher's and an editor's view to content for the web. It explains it in a way that makes it simple for people with a managerial or technical point of view to understand.

'Content Critical' talks about topics such as metadata and full-text search, but looks on them from an editorial point of view, rather than a technical point of view. Unlike other books on related topics, this one starts with what your customers want, not with the technical ramifications.

As the book says, the main thing people do when they visit a website is read. To make it a pleasant visit, the text has to be readable and it has to be pretty obvious how to find your way around the website.

If you already have a journalistic background, you'll find this a useful handbook for website issues, as well as a good reference for colleagues who come from a different worldview.

If you don't have a journalistic background, it's an invaluable introduction. You will learn a lot from this book about the basic nuts and bolts of running a big website.

Usability is a growth area for marketing research and all market researchers will find this a valueable read. For its essence is the very essence of marketing research namely that sucessful businesses are the ones that make an effort to understand the needs of the customer and give primacy to understanding their customers experience.

All marketers will applaud his central thesis that in a publishing media, such as the web, it is not the content that is all-important, as is so often stated, but rather the one using the content. "In business the customer is king ... (and) if the reader is king then content serves the reader. (Yet) It's a strange and fascinating thing how easily content gets disassociated from its reader. There are billions of documents on the Internet today. A great many of them were not written with the reader in mind. They are boring, too long, verbose, incoherent, misleading out-of-date, unreadable".

In short publishers who are not customer focused and who do not make the reader king will fail to get a return on their online investment.

Like all McGovern's work this book comes highly recommended.

Usability is a growth area for marketing research and all market researchers will find this a valueable read. For its essence is the very essence of marketing research namely that sucessful businesses are the ones that make an effort to understand the needs of the customer and give primacy to understanding their customers experience.

All marketers will applaud his central thesis that in a publishing media, such as the web, it is not the content that is all-important, as is so often stated, but rather the one using the content. "In business the customer is king ... (and) if the reader is king then content serves the reader. (Yet) It's a strange and fascinating thing how easily content gets disassociated from its reader. There are billions of documents on the Internet today. A great many of them were not written with the reader in mind. They are boring, too long, verbose, incoherent, misleading out-of-date, unreadable".

In short publishers who are not customer focused and who do not make the reader king will fail to get a return on their online investment.

Like all McGovern's work this book comes highly recommended.

Too much, far too much content on the Web is not presented in a way that makes use of the media the way it is meant to be used. I have been guilty of this myself and soon realized that a different approach to writing and presenting content on the Web was essential. Since reading this book eagerly from cover to cover I soon realized the wisdom of the approach presented by Gerry McGovern and Rob Norton. Less is more! Yes! Drill down to the facts and the heart of your Web content. I'm looking for information, don't waste my time with pretty colors and graphics, I want to learn!

This book has inspired me and given me a new attitude to my work - I teach System Analysis and Design at the University of Regina. My students now use this book in my classes! They tell me this book has been invaluable in creating effective Web sites for clients as part of their term project. I have observed that the extent to which the Internet has penetrated organizations has outstripped our understanding of the effective use of the technology. This book resolves that conundrum. You won't go wrong in buying this book.

Gerry Mc Govern is one of the "movers and shakers" of the young Internet industry. This is not easy when you are an author and a commentator - and you have been active in more than 5 years.
But people who read Gerry McGovern's newsletter "New Thinking" will appreciate that that is exactly what McGovern does. He thinks in a new and fresh way - always !

His new book, Content Critical, is a 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 (GB is chairman of DEBA Scandinavia's largest network of e-business companies )

Gerry McGovern takes the complex matter of designing a Website and managing its content and simplifies it into the logical world of production. He compares and contrasts Web publishing to print production, providing illumination for the many of us struggliing to organize, staff, and maintain top-notch sites. Must reading!

Hey Boss Mr McGoverrn is saying the same things I am saying on content management.Result - boss takes book =likes book - and I never see book again. So I buy second book from Amazon (check records - excellent delivery!- both times )
- just in time for me to give it to my project manager yesterday
- now I am on to my third book
- hey Gerry -
royalties!?

Bang on Gerry 5

...

This is an excellent book for academics and practitioners alike. It cuts through the hype that has surrounded Internet-enabled business since its inception - at first by over-enthusiasm and then, after the NASDAQ crash, over-pessimism. But this book is more than just another book about how to deal with the Web - it should be read by managers in any information organisation, since it presents valuable insights into communication.

Gerry McGovern, one of the founders of Nua Internet Surveys, is known to many Internet professionals worldwide for the thoughtfulness, insight, and clarity of writing of his e-newsletter, New Thinking (now available from www.gerrymcgovern.com), and he has teamed up with a professional journalist, Rob Norton, to create this book.

The underlying philosophy of Content Critical is summarized in the opening to Chapter 3: "In business the customer is king. On the Internet, we hear that 'content is king'. But that's like saying from a business perspective that 'product is king.' It's the exact opposite of what 'customer is king' thinking is about. If the customer is king in business then the customer (reader) is king on the Internet. If the reader is king then content serves the reader...A classic fault of writing and publishing is that it puts the ego of the author or editor before the needs of the reader...If the reader doesn't read you, you don't have a business model" (p.45). Few could argue with that. Indeed, a reminder that the Web is subject to the same basic marketing principles as the rest of the world, and an encouragement to develop beyond a production orientation, is to be welcomed by any Web user, be that in the management of content or the hardware that drives it. McGovern and Norton take the basic principles of marketing and communication and apply them with clarity and insight to publishing on the Web.

This book 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?) It has an accessible style, making the strong analysis and good practical ideas easy to understand and implement. It would be a good textbook in a course on Web content management. On behalf of all users of the Web, this reviewer hopes such courses grow and prosper!

...

The cliched explosion of the web has resulted in a wide spread phenomenon of lousy writing, bad grammar and useless information. With the advent of applications that makes everyone a website publisher, the technology has run away with the cart, leaving behind the entire purpose of the World Wide Web: communication.

But communication shouldn't be about "See how I can write kewl code". It should be about COMMUNICATING. And doing that on the web requires an approach that is though out, literal and utilizes an economy of words.

For the past year, as Director of Information Services and Web Producer for Drury (I spent 5 years prior to this doing websites for MSN), I have been fortunate to understand this from the get go. But when the Dean of the Evening school approach me and asked me to teach a class, utilizing my approach, I knew I needed a textbook to compliment the material. It was a wonderful surprise to find Content Critical. The book fits the course to a T.

The medium (in this case, the Web), is NOT the message and 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.

I also recommend the companion book: The Content Critical Style Guide. You'll use it for years as a reference book on how to deal with a variety of issues from abbreviations to capitilizations.

Gerry McGovern and Rob Norton are experienced journalists who write unashamedly about text content. They define visitors as `readers', not `users', who come to a web site to read and gather content. If that makes Content Critical old fashioned, it is old fashioned for all the right reasons.

It deals with the fundamentals of web site content; its purpose, its design, its creation. Readers of McGovern's weekly newsletter won't be surprised by the content, themes or style of the book. It is direct, business-like, sometimes humorous and always well argued.

Content Critical is the best non-technical book on the subject of web content that I have come across to date. It is comprehensive and well structured. It demonstrates the authors' long fascination with the Internet as a publishing medium as well as their advocacy of information architecture as a professional discipline.

Content Critical has an important message and presents it according to its own rules and guidelines.

Content Critical analyses the benefits and costs of content with a model for comparing the cost of content to its reach and value.

It is easy to forget when we are surrounded by technological marvels that great content is still difficult and expensive to produce. The proliferation of television channels offering cheap to produce content is clear evidence of that.

The central chapters provide checklists and examples for the principles on which the majority of content rests. Topics include:
*Creating content and the importance of editorial (since `even the best writer needs an editor')
*Information architecture as the foundation upon which a web site is built and developed
*Principles for good navigation design
*Content layout and design.

Content Critical is particularly scathing about headlines and summaries: `Most headings and summaries on the Internet are poor. Headings often give you very little clue as to what the document is actually about.' Nor does it pull its punches when it comes to common stupidities: `At all costs avoid "intro" or "splash" pages. They are a total waste of time.'

The final chapters cover building a web site production team and the publishing strategies required if an organisation is to treat content as a high-value asset rather than as a commodity.

Content Critical can be summed up by a recent Gerry McGovern newsletter: `Time is our scarcest resource. The less time we have the more our attention span contracts. Write simply. Keep headings, summaries, sentences, paragraphs and documents short. Get to the point. Then stop.'

I've read gerry mcgovern's columns on web use for years - he has quite a cult following - and always thought he spoke a lot of sense. I was reluctant to spring for a full price copy, but eventually dug deep.
He talks sense here at greater length and the money was well spent.
The very first of mcgovern's arguments is that almost everywhere but T&A sites (he doesn't say that) people come to the web and read. Calling them users is kind of stupidly non-specific. People use toasters and bicycles and cheese-graters. It is a useless description.
He calls them readers. Once you accept that, all kinds of mysteries of web-design become clear. All the pop-ups, and funny colours and distracting gee-gaws become an obstruction to the purpose of the site - they distract readers from what they are there to read.
Even ads - if they bring in the money to keep the site going, but then stop people from reading it - then what was the point?
McGovern and Norton lay out how you should create a site that has effective content nice and simply.
They don't pretend to be high priests who hold the secret, just people who've looked at what works and they can help you do it too. I made just a couple of changes to my site, dearauntie, after reading the first couple of chapters and I could feel the difference.
Like a lot of plain good sense, once you've read it, it all seems perfectly obvious - it is hard to believe you didn't know that all along. But if it was so obvious, how come you kept littering your site with pop-ups and flash. After all, if they're such a good idea, how come turn-the-pages books outsell pop-ups by about ten million to one.
Go on, buy it, it'll improve your site, and it is a tax deductible after all.

The World Wide Web is the world's largest publishing medium, and one of the most important. It is a news source, reference tool, sales venue, meeting point, marketplace, exchange, and entertainment center. It is also an information point and service center. The Web connects millions of organizations to many kinds of clients, customers, members, and publics. The Web is one of the great tools of the information society. It is also our greatest source of information overload.

Web problems commonly develop because individuals and organizations fail to recognize that using the Web to aggregate and distribute information is publishing. Gerry McGovern and Rob Norton have written this useful book to help those who write, edit, or design Web content to publish effectively.

Effective Web publishing involves getting the right content to the right person at the right time. In this useful, well written book, McGovern and Norton explain how to do it.

Content Critical book is a how-to-do-it manual. Written in direct, clear language, the book offers systematic explanation for dozens of useful techniques and principles. It is also a primer in the theory of Web publishing. It explains why the techniques and principles work. It encourages readers to develop a useful philosophy and theory of web design.

Most web sites do not work well and many do not work at all. McGovern and Norton attribute this to the lack of common publishing standards on the Web, where the libertarian attitude toward freedom of content is mistakenly confused with failure to consider legibility, ease of use, and ease of navigation. According to McGovern and Norton, this confusion is made worse by designers who mistake the web for an extension of MTV and programmers who see the Web as a playground for new technologies.

The solution this book offers is a five-stage publishing strategy with usable checklists and serious conceptual tools for analyzing the situation, defining publishing scope, designing information architecture, building a publishing team, and designing appropriate technology.

This book 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. KF

Ken Friedman. Book review. Design Research News, Volume 7, Number 1, Jan 2002 ISSN 1473-3862.

This book is a must read for those planning, creating or managing websites.
The sub-title of the book captures what it is about, Gaining competitive advantage through high-quality web content.

Gerry McGovern, through his internet newsletter, New Thinking, has been on a consistent crusade to get all of us to recognize the working content of a web site is words (effective messages) and that website visitors are readers. The book examines this reality in considerable detail and contains many helpful suggestions for improving the effectiveness of website investments

The writers make the point that a website is essentially a publication, and needs to be managed in the same sense. The site publisher needs an involved editor, and should use skilled writers----and should not leave content to the nearly obsolete "webmaster"

The authors make the point that in many cases the words in a web site are not written with needs of the reader in mind and fail to get the desired response. Their message as too "the seven things readers want from your web site" is a real gem. These are:

1. Readers want to be able to find things.
2. Readers want your advice.
3. Readers want up-to-date, quality content
4. Readers want relevant and straightforward content.
5. Readers want to do things
6. Readers want to interact
7. Readers want Privacy.

Two passages from the book are effective summaries of its main message,

"Remember that the reader is king of the Web, and that everything about your website needs to be done with the reader in mind, is the key to online success.
If you know your readers, know how they behave in our information-literate society, and know the seven things they want from your website, you'll be well on your way to success. Remember the best word that sums up the online reader is - impatient".

"Few investments in website design are as critical - and as difficult - as planning, testing and implementing a navigation systems that's simple, intuitive and comprehensive enough to serve readers. ..........Readers like a variety of ways to navigate through a website. Make sure you include a wide enough range of navigation options to account for different readers' habits and tastes".

The book is filled with clear thinking, practical advice and suggestions. It is an absorbing read, worth your time and money.

This book is a must read for those planning, creating or managing websites.
The sub-title of the book captures what it is about, Gaining competitive advantage through high-quality web content.

Gerry McGovern, through his internet newsletter, New Thinking, has been on a consistent crusade to get all of us to recognize the working content of a web site is words (effective messages) and that website visitors are readers. The book examines this reality in considerable detail and contains many helpful suggestions for improving the effectiveness of website investments

The writers make the point that a website is essentially a publication, and needs to be managed in the same sense. The site publisher needs an involved editor, and should use skilled writers----and should not leave content to the nearly obsolete "webmaster"

The authors make the point that in many cases the words in a web site are not written with needs of the reader in mind and fail to get the desired response. Their message as too "the seven things readers want from your web site" is a real gem. These are:

1. Readers want to be able to find things.
2. Readers want your advice.
3. Readers want up-to-date, quality content
4. Readers want relevant and straightforward content.
5. Readers want to do things
6. Readers want to interact
7. Readers want Privacy.

Two passages from the book are effective summaries of its main message,

"Remember that the reader is king of the Web, and that everything about your website needs to be done with the reader in mind, is the key to online success.
If you know your readers, know how they behave in our information-literate society, and know the seven things they want from your website, you'll be well on your way to success. Remember the best word that sums up the online reader is - impatient".

"Few investments in website design are as critical - and as difficult - as planning, testing and implementing a navigation systems that's simple, intuitive and comprehensive enough to serve readers. ..........Readers like a variety of ways to navigate through a website. Make sure you include a wide enough range of navigation options to account for different readers' habits and tastes".

The book is filled with clear thinking, practical advice and suggestions. It is an absorbing read, worth your time and money.

There are relatively few books available regarding presenting content on the Internet. This book, Content Critical, not only serves a need but is also a great book for anyone publishing to the Internet. It opened my eyes to so many web content related issues that I had never even considered before.

Web content is much different than hard-copy material and the author points this out in the clearest and comprehensive way. For authors, Web content managers, web designers and developers, as well as marketers on the Web, I highly recommend reading this as well as the Style Book by Mr. McGovern.

The importance of this book is that the authors genuinely provide advice that is authoritative and comprehensive. What is pleasantly surprising is their ability to put it in layman terms - this is amazing. It is also suitable as a reference book.

I totally agree with the contents of the book as I run a few portals.

This book is a must-read for people who have a web presence. Aspiring writers will also find this book very relevant to prepare them to have an online presence.

Good work.