The two words that strike fear into any Chief Digital Officer are Cyber Attack.
Just 15 days before Xmas our last writing job was to help ODOB (Optometrists and Dispensing Opticians Board) write up a temporary website after being caught up in an external IT provider cyber breach.
But while many enterprise companies now have a backup plan for systems & software, few have a Plan B for their content. Consider this: Having to ‘lift and shift’ literally thousands of words of content and pdfs to a new site is not an overnight exercise.
The last time you audited your site was when? 2010? A good content audit should be a comprehensive blueprint for a new website. It should cover and audit of all existing pages, prioritised for importance, stakeholder interviews, Digital & SEO strategy, Tone of Voice including cultural nuances, governance, process, budgets and timelines and, ideally a wireframe. You can pick this plan up, take it to your insurance company, and get going.
It may surprise you what your top 10 pages are. It could be, for example, a loan calculator, or addresses of all your stockists. Then, there could be some legal must-haves, along with who you are and what you do.
With any content job, a committee will be your undoing. Work hard to have just a few decision makers in charge of content.
One thing is for sure. As attacks like this become more prevalent, it certainly puts the investment of updating to a new, more stable website back onto the boardroom table as a must-have for companies.
