{"id":9476,"date":"2025-01-15T14:35:21","date_gmt":"2025-01-15T14:35:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.d-id.com\/?post_type=af-resource&p=9476"},"modified":"2025-01-15T14:53:03","modified_gmt":"2025-01-15T14:53:03","slug":"structured-content-authoring","status":"publish","type":"af-resource","link":"https:\/\/www.d-id.com\/resources\/structured-content-authoring\/","title":{"rendered":"Structured Content Authoring"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Structured content authoring tools create significant advantages for anybody who wants to save time creating content. Whereas the \u201cwrite once, run everywhere\u201d (\u201cWORA\u201d) concept used to be reserved for software, now it\u2019s an ability that you can apply to everything from cake recipes to medical device documentation. And, just as importantly, structured content management can be designed to accommodate artificial intelligence for scalable, efficient solutions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is Structured Content Authoring?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Structured content authoring is the process of using a fixed structure to organize text or text modules. \u201cFixed\u201d means the document template is determined before the content is inserted, usually by the publication manager. They can design whatever template meets their requirements, which might change for any document. However, once the structure has been set, the contributors must include their material in the relevant section.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead of working with MS Word or other common word processing software, authors insert their text into a specialized content authoring platform that includes metadata (see below). This function makes a body of text \u201ccross-media capable\u201d so that both the whole text and individual modules can be published on many channels. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The primary programming language publication managers use for structured content authoring is Extensible Markup Language (XML). Both humans and computers can read documents that use XML. XML dates back to the late 1990s, and other languages have since been developed, including Markdown, TOML, YAML, and JSON.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Benefits of Structured Content Authoring<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Creating a document structure and fitting your content accordingly is a bit time-consuming. But eventually, managers and writers acclimatize to the process. In addition, by using the same template for various content pieces, managers don\u2019t need to reinvent the wheel each time. Once the process becomes a standard way of composing documents, organizations enjoy its many advantages, which include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Efficiency <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

According to an IDC InfoBrief<\/a>, the frequency of updates is a significant factor for increasing the complexity of authoring documents. In light of this, the main objective of using structured content is the ability to deploy it across platforms and update it incrementally. So, instead of dealing with different format requirements for various apps, content creators who leverage structured content can repeatedly post the same files.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When a part of the file needs to be changed, structured content allows this change to be updated wherever the content has been posted, which avoids the tedious requirement of modifying files across platforms. And, because the content in any document is labeled as part of its structure, you can assign separate text modules to a platform instead of manually dividing the sections. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Consistency<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Without structured content authoring, you risk your content showing up as a mess of fonts, spacing, and even missing parts. This situation can be compared to websites not explicitly coded for mobile users. A lack of consistency hurts both your branding and the ability of the content consumer to read it. In comparison, structured content ensures that uploads appear exactly as you want and look professional. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a similar story with search functions. For structured content, the semantic markup and metadata enable labeled content to be detected by whatever search mechanism is deployed on a platform. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Localization<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

When you operate through international markets, you often encounter situations where only part of a document needs to be translated. Structured content authoring tools allow you to avoid converting entire content pieces to another language.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

AI Rendering<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Artificial intelligence requires structured data to detect and \u201clearn\u201d about data, which allows it to complete tasks such as personalization and analysis. These days, many organizations that are already involved with AI technology are using structured data. However, by implementing structured data protocols, any company can \u201cfuture-proof\u201d its content for whenever artificial intelligence applications become relevant to it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Structured Content Authoring Works<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The basis of structured content authoring is \u201cmetadata tagging.\u201d Metadata can be described as \u201cinformation about information,\u201d in other words, digital tags attached to the data of (in this case) a document. When it comes to structured content, metadata tagging takes three forms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n