Most website visitors spend less than 15 seconds deciding whether or not the web page they are on has valuable information before moving on. Visitors quickly scan and scroll, looking for headers and links that will lead them to what they need. Users quickly learn a website’s organization and navigation to “follow the scent” of information. To keep content on the OVPR website focused on our audience, we should a always ask our selves whether or not the content is appropriate, useful, user-centered, clear, consistent, concise, and supported.
Ask yourself if the content you want on your webpage:
- Meets an audience’s or program’s need?
- Focuses on the most frequently used information?
- Displays only current and accurate content?
- Avoids duplicating information that can be found elsewhere on the web?
- Follows all established web styles?
Avoid the following:
- Using a long word where a short one will do — If it is possible to cut a word, always cut it out.
- Large tables of information — filters are not available on our site.
- FAQs — If it is important information, it should exist on the website and be easy to find in the navigation structure.
- Complex images/graphs — alternative text will be required for anything displayed as an image.
- Putting everything on the website — focus on your audience’s most frequently asked questions. OVPR's website is NOT an archive.
Readability
When creating content intended for a general/public audience, aim for writing at an eighth-grade level. You can test the grade level by running the spelling and grammar check in Microsoft Word or by copy/pasting into Readability-score.com.