Imagine designing a website, app, print brochure, and an Alexa skill—all using the same content. Sound like a stretch? It’s not—if your content is structured.
Structured content is a game-changer in modern UX, product design, and content strategy. It’s the discipline of breaking down content into reusable, flexible, and meaning-rich components—"chunks" that can live beyond any single screen, channel, or interface.
Let me show you what that looks like with a real-world example.
📐 Projects, Unstructured vs Structured
I recently came across a content modeling example in Designing Connected Content that uses civil engineering projects as a teaching tool. It struck a chord because it so clearly demonstrates the difference between content for pages and content as objects.
In a traditional model, you might write a webpage about the Golden Gate Bridge that includes paragraphs of text, a few images, and links—one page, one format.
But with structured content, you define the types of content first, like so:
Engineering Project Object
- Project Name
- Project Type
- Description
- Location
- Claim to Fame
- Year Completed
- Image
- Primary Engineer (linked object)
Engineer Object
- First Name, Last Name
- Credentials
- Biography
- Important Projects (linked list)
- Photo
- Birth/Death Dates
These aren’t just data fields—they're content chunks, designed to be reused, queried, and displayed anywhere, in any format. It’s content that’s smart enough to serve websites, app screens, databases, voice interfaces, and search engines—without rewriting a thing.
🧱 The Power of “Chunks”
Why is this important?
Because today’s content ecosystems demand omnichannel delivery. Your users don’t just read your content on one screen—they search it, speak it, sort it, and scan it across dozens of platforms.
Structured content gives you:
- Reusability: One description used across detail pages, search results, and previews.
- Interoperability: Chunks can feed into AI tools, APIs, CMS systems, and even future interfaces.
- Flexibility: Need a new listing page that shows Project Name, Location, and Year? Easy. You’ve already got the fields.
- Scalability: Structured content sets the foundation for future personalization and machine learning.
🧠 Shift from Pages to Patterns
When we structure content, we’re modeling the real world—not just building web pages.
Instead of asking, “What pages go on our site?” ask:
- “What objects live in our domain?”
- “What attributes define them?”
- “How do they relate?”
- “What metadata helps describe and connect them?”
In the engineering example, a project like the Hoover Dam is no longer just a paragraph on a page—it’s a collection of portable facts and media, linked to people, places, and accomplishments. This object-oriented approach to content lets designers and developers build smarter systems and richer experiences.
📊 From Content Strategy to Design Systems
For product teams, structured content is more than a CMS feature. It’s a bridge between UX, engineering, and content strategy. When paired with design systems, it ensures consistency not just in style, but in substance.
Think:
- Atomic design for interfaces → Chunked content for systems
- Figma components → Content types
- Tokens for style → Metadata for meaning
🛠️ Start Structuring Today
If you’re working in UX, product, or content roles, here are a few ways to get started:
- Model your domain: What are the real-world objects your users care about?
- Break content into chunks: Text, images, facts, links—separate and label them.
- Define relationships: How do objects connect? Who links to what?
- Add metadata: Make your content machine-readable and human-meaningful.
Final Thought
Structured content isn’t about adding complexity. It’s about unlocking content’s true potential—freeing it from screens and formats so it can live, breathe, and scale anywhere.
The future of digital experiences isn’t flat pages—it’s rich, interconnected content ecosystems.
Are you designing for that future?
No Comments.