It’s an age-old question that has hounded content marketers and web designers: What is more important? Website design or content? Should we focus on creating a website where guests would love to stay and “lounge” around while browsing through the images and videos we have created? Or should I focus more on researching and providing relevant information to web visitors?

Web designers love to romanticize what they do for a living (or for passion). Instead of merely creating website designs, they see their job as developing ideas, thoughts, and products. They are more than just a website that cares for its aesthetic appeal. No, web designers believe that a well-designed space will show the customers that you want to contribute something fun and meaningful to their lives.

On the other hand, content cannot be unfazed. In the past several years, content marketing has been ubiquitous in the internet and social media, in particular, have been used extensively by marketable and household-name products. The use of high-quality and educated-based content has never been as in-demand as they are now. If content really is a non-factor in the success of websites, then why do website managers try their hardest to hire writers who can deliver fast and relevant information to their website visitors?

Well-researched content has also become essential in creating awareness, building trust, converting leads, serving customers, and generating referrals. In fact, media strategists believe that the internet and social media are an endless cycle of information, thanks to the massive content found on every page of the world wide web.

The fact that content is flexible and can be re-arranged and re-structured according to the market it will be addressed to makes it easier to decide that content is, in fact, a critical part of a website design. If you want to market your products to different audiences, all you really need to do is create separate content for every market. A design is harder to manipulate or flex. You cannot have different websites for different audiences so you are going to be stuck with a “generic” site that’s purposed to work for everyone.

Content and website design, however, cannot be separated. They are like yin and yang. They balance each other out and they create a harmonious space where relevant information is being delivered to the right audience. Good design attracts audiences to your site but good content is what you need if you want them to stay or return.