Content design principles
When redesigning or creating a new website, always start with content. Content will help inform design decisions.
Starting with content guidlines is very important. These are some things to think about:
- Readability / plain language guidelines - California law requires we make every attempt at creating content that reads at ninth-grade level, and ideally at a sixth-grade level.
- General body content line length. Exception: Cards (link to cards).
Below are some good approaches to creating good content:
- Sheduling regular content audits.
- Information architecture (IA) that helps guide users to the correct page, the first time.
(IS HIS REALLY A THING? I JUST COPIED IT IN FROM THE OLD DS OR TEMPLATE PAGE.) - Content standards and priciples.
- How content informs design.
Focus on user needs and services
People come to a government website to do something. This could be completing a transaction or learning what they need to do. If they cannot perform their task, people can feel stuck.
People expect digital interactions in their lives, including their government interactions. It’s our job to meet this expectation.
Do this in your writing
When writing, ask yourself questions like:
- How will someone use this information to take action?
- What do they need to do on this page?
- Have you given them enough information to complete their task?
- “We just want people to know this” is not a good reason to include content.
Ensure content addresses user need
Make the top user needs central in your writing, such as:
- Using language familiar to the user. Do not prioritize the names of your program or people.
- Talk about the services and benefits available today. People are most interested in the current state.
- People are not interested in how we got here or what’s coming.
- Do not apologize for the limits of a program.
Encourage stakeholders
Focus content on requirements instead of recommendations by:
- Use must when telling people what they need to do.
- Use should as little as possible and only for recommendations.
- When stakeholders want to use should, ask them if people have to do something or if it’s a suggestion.
- Learn more about how to write about requirements at plainlanguage.gov.
Meet your audience where they are
Why this is important
- When you write with your audience in mind, your content is more likely to be useful to them. Content designed with an audience in mind makes people feel like they’re heard and understood.
- When content meets an audience where they are, it reduces the struggle to complete tasks. The audience’s cognitive burden is lower and they’re more pleased with their experience.
- Meeting the audience where they are shifts the burden of understanding processes from the user back to the government, where it belongs. It puts the “serve” back in “services.”
Do this in your writing
- Do people come to this content as part of a larger process? Processes can span multiple agencies.
- What friction points exist in the process? Highlight how to work through them if you cannot solve them.
- Does your audience have concerns that would block them from using your service? Address them.
User testing
If possible, test your content with your audience before publishing it. Even if you only talk to one or two people, you can learn things you can use to improve your content.
Need some more content here...
Google analytics
Google Analytics tracks user behavior on websites. It’s an easy way to learn about your audience and how well you’re meeting their needs. Performing full user research is important, but Google Analytics can answer a lot of questions without having to interview people.
Talk with your web engineers about enabling Google Analytics on your website.