Why we write the content model before the design
Deciding what fields each page has, before anyone draws a layout, saves weeks later on.
A content model is a list of every page type on a site, the fields each one has and how they link together. A case study has a client, a sector, a year, results and a story. A role has a team, a location and a salary.
We write it in the first week, before design. Designers then work with real fields, editors get forms that match what they know, and the developers build each template once.
When the model is left until later, designs show fields nobody can fill in, and pages that look the same are built in three different ways.