by Thu Nguyen

Created on: September 17, 2010

Most readers online will simply scan through the content they find. They don’t have the time to read an article head to toe. If it seems too long, they will either skip it or bookmark it for later. Thus, the quality of the content is dependent on several things - usability and design.

Moreover, readers prefer quality more than random articles that have no relevancy to each other. Therefore, the philosophy of great content oftentimes preaches, ‘if the content isn’t of quality, don’t publish it’. However, some users will argue that quantity is better for the search engines while quality will retain the readers in the long run. For this article, we’ll look at why the importance of quality is preferred more than quantity.

Less Distraction is Quality

Whenever a user visits a random site, there is at least 1-5 points of distraction trying to steal their time. These might come from searches found on Google or even a recommended link on a social network share. So imagine yourself trying to read through an article and suddenly a pop-up comes by asking you to subscribe to their newsletter. This then takes away the quality from the article and even though there are more topics you want to explore, it isn’t even worth it now to be distracted. Here, without quality, quantity won’t even matter.

That’s why when a user sees information on websites attacking them with marketing strategies, the quality is then diminished. No matter how much material is available, the visitor is less than likely to return. Therefore, the quality is much more important in terms of accessibility rather than force. Writers online might want to consider this point when they position their article then. This way the reader will more than likely feel compelled to take action on what is read by sharing the post or leaving feedback.

Great Design Means Quality

The second thing which pushes quality content ahead of quantity comes from the design of the website. Nothing beats the disturbed feeling you get when the text on the site suddenly becomes a problem. Even though the article can be good, if the layout and usability is not complimentary, the reader will go elsewhere. Moreover, sites that are attractive by nature will attract more feedback even though the content within can be mediocre. Here is where the quality also overrides quantity.

Therefore, great content means great design which further becomes a quality website with quality content. It’s all about the experience from hereon. For the writer, when the quality of the content is shifted to the design, everything else inside is also affected. Furthermore, no matter how great the content, if the navigation, impression and design is out of place, it won’t be read long. So keeping in mind how important quality content is through usability and design kicks out quantity anytime.Thus, without quality, quantity wouldn't even exist.

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