Top 10 Actions To Improve Website Content And Design

Top 10 Actions to ImproveWebsite Content and DesignNational WebinarAugust 8, 2019State Capacity Building Center1

Introductions Karen Ruprecht, Child Care State Capacity Building Center Clem Auyeung, ICF Jennifer Drake, National Center on Parent, Family, andCommunity Engagement Jennifer Towell, Child Care Services, Oklahoma Departmentof Human ServicesState Capacity Building Center2

Poll 1.What is your position or role?State Capacity Building Center3

Moving from Compliance to a Commitmentto QualityState Capacity Building Center4

Websites Should Be Action Oriented Every piece of information onyour website should help yourtarget audience do somethingto achieve their goals. Think about this question:What can I do next after Iread this content?State Capacity Building Center5

Ask Yourself Does my website support the reasons peoplecome to use it in the first place? Does my website help people complete a task,taking into account how they want to complete itand when? Does my website use words that people caneasily understand? Is it clear what people cando next?State Capacity Building Center6

Top 10 Actions to Improve Your WebContent and Design1. Reach out to your target audience6. Check for dead ends andconfusing navigation2. Inventory how your audience finds 7. Ensure your website isand reaches your websiteaccessible3. Evaluate web pages forredundant, outdated, or trivialcontent8. Organize information aroundyour audience’s top tasks4. Prioritize the most importantinformation9. Check your website on mobiledevices5. Follow plain language guidelines10. Test and measure changesState Capacity Building Center7

Action 1. Reach Out to Your TargetAudienceWhat Information Do They Need to Accomplish aTask on Their To-Do List?State Capacity Building Center8

Use Your Target Audience As a North StarGood web experience starts with defining your audience, identifying their most frequentand important tasks, and making sure your contentguides them to finish thosetasks.State Capacity Building Center9

Reach Out to Members of Your TargetAudience Find out their top tasks and what frustrates them Find out the information that they are alreadylooking for and the questions they have Find out whether the website is organized theway they expect Find out which are the top pages they visitState Capacity Building Center10

State Example: OklahomaCard sorting is a method to categorize pages ortopics covered in your website Ask participants to categorize items according tohow they would expect them to be organizedand labeled Analyze the outcomeState Capacity Building Center11

Foundations for Quality: A ConsumerEducation and Engagement SeriesNational Center on Parent, Family, and Community Engagement. (2019). Foundations for quality: A consumer education and engagementseries [Web page]. Retrieved from sState Capacity Building Center12

Action 2. Inventory How YourAudience Finds and Reaches YourWebsiteWhat Do They Typically Do to Land on Your Site?State Capacity Building Center13

People Use Different Channels toReach Your Website Search engines (for example, Google, Bing) Social media (for example, Facebook, Yelp) Other websites (via a link to your website) Word-of-mouth (which may still include an onlinesearch using keywords)State Capacity Building Center14

Resource GuidesChild Care State Capacity Building Center. Consumer education webinar series [Web page]. Washington, DC: Office of Child Care. Retrieved tion-webinar-seriesState Capacity Building Center15

Inventory Your Channels Map sources of traffic to your website usinganalytics and note the volume of visitors eachchannel brings Search for a page on your website using phrasesyour audience might type in (for example, “I need ” or “How do I ”) and see its ranking Check for missing metadata (information searchengines use to display snippets about a web page)State Capacity Building Center16

Example: Google Search ResultSource: Google. (n.d.). Single result on a search engine results page displaying title, URL, description, and related links [Google Search].Retrieved from https://www.google.com/. Google and the Google logo are registered trademarks of Google LLC, used with permission.State Capacity Building Center17

Action 3. Evaluate Web Pages forRedundant, Outdated, or TrivialContentWhat Content Helps? What Distracts? WhatNeeds an Update?State Capacity Building Center18

How Much Is There, and What Is theQuality? You’ll get both quantitative and qualitative data. You don’t have to evaluate the entire website allat once. If possible, you should automate the inventory ofpages on your website.State Capacity Building Center19

Example: Audit TemplateChild Care State Capacity Building Center. (n.d.). Consumer education webinar: Content audit [Excel audit template]. Washington, DC: Office ofChild Care. Retrieved from EXPJ9OibfBLbzK89oS5MuGt2yM3s6wsLI/edit#gid 0State Capacity Building Center20

Make Decisions Together with Stakeholders Consolidate duplicate content Update incorrect content (Re)move content that target audiences don’tneed Rewrite contentState Capacity Building Center21

Action 4. Prioritize the MostImportant InformationWhat Are Your Audience’s Burning Questions?State Capacity Building Center22

Make the Most Important Thingthe Most Important Thing Serve the broadest audience first and answertheir burning questions (inverted pyramid) Limit the levels your audience members need tonavigate through to reach content theyfrequently need Ensure the most important information andactions are visually prominentState Capacity Building Center23

Example: ChildCare.govOffice of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). District of Columbia:Understanding and finding child care [Web page]. Retrieved from https://childcare.gov/state-resources?state 56State Capacity Building Center24

Action 5. Follow Plain LanguageGuidelinesCan People Understand What They Found?State Capacity Building Center25

Language Draws or Repels PeopleEvery sentence either gets people to read more orleads them to stop reading altogether.Source: Plain Language Action and Information Network. (n.d.) Use positive language [Web page]. Retrieved se-positive-language/State Capacity Building Center26

Plain Language Makes Your ContentMore Readable and Usable Write short, concise sentences Use descriptive headings and bulleted lists Use simpler words and phrases Use names and terms consistently Offer alternative ways to summarize complexinformation, such as tables, graphics, and videosState Capacity Building Center27

Example: Replace JargonSource: Plain Language Action and Information Network. (n.d.). Avoid jargon [Web page]. Retrieved id-jargon/State Capacity Building Center28

Action 6. Check for Dead Ends andConfusing NavigationCan People Find What They Need?State Capacity Building Center29

People Look for Clues to Navigate aWebsite Menu categories (and what is in them) Labels for navigation links and buttons Visual landmarks to signal people’s currentlocation (and how they got there) Internal and external links in the main contentareaState Capacity Building Center30

Example: ChildCare.govOffice of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Five steps to choosingcare [Web page]. Retrieved from s-to-choosing-careState Capacity Building Center31

Help Your Audience Accurately PredictWhat They Will Find Ensure content is organized into mutuallyexclusive categories Use task-based menu labels Do a broken links scan Indicate current location in the menu andbreadcrumb navigation Write descriptive link text that includes keywordsState Capacity Building Center32

Action 7. Ensure Your Website IsAccessibleCan People with Disabilities Use Your Website?State Capacity Building Center33

People with Disabilities Rely OnAccessibility Features Vision-impaired or low-vision: screen reader, colorcontrast, visual cues other than color Hearing-impaired or deaf: plain language, closedcaptions, and transcripts Limited mobility: keyboard-only navigation Cognitive difficulties or dyslexia: plain language,alternative media formatsChild Care State Capacity Building Center, Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S.Department of Health and Human Services. (2019). Designing Websites that are Accessible to All Families,Consumer education webinar series [Web page]. Retrieved from webinar-seriesState Capacity Building Center34

Section 508 RequirementsSection 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 states thefollowing:“When developing, procuring, maintaining, or usingelectronic and information technology, each Federaldepartment or agency shall ensure that the electronicand information technology allows individuals withdisabilities to have access to and use of information anddata that is comparable to the access to and use of theinformation and data by [those] who are not individuals withdisabilities.”Excerpted from 29 U.S.C. § 794(d).State Capacity Building Center35

Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF)Final Rule RequirementsTo ensure that the website is accessible for all families, it must provide for the widest possible access to services forfamilies who speak languages other than English andpersons with disabilities . [and] meet all federal and state laws regarding accessibility,including the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990,to ensure individuals with disabilities are not excluded,denied services, segregated, or otherwise treateddifferently because of the absence of auxiliary aids andservices.Excerpted from Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Program, 81 Fed. Reg. 67,438, 67,475 (Sept. 30, 2016) (codified at 45 C.F.R. pt.98).State Capacity Building Center36

Optional Activity: Keyboard-Only NavigationTask: “I am looking for child care for a preschool for my 3-yearold child. I need to find care and learn about my care options.”Question: How easy is it to tab through the site content to selectthe link that is related to your task?Directions: Navigate the site in one of the following ways: Mac: option-tab (to go backward, use option-shift-tab). Windows: tab (to go backward, use shift-tab). Push the return button to select the appropriate link.State Capacity Building Center37

Action 8. Organize InformationAround Your Audience’s Top TasksCan People Use Information They Find to Make aDecision?State Capacity Building Center38

Help Your Audience Make Smart Decisions Break up a complex task into smaller steps; pointout which step people are on and how far they haveto go Write descriptive and meaningful button labels thatsay exactly what will happen Let people know if an action was successful afterthey press a button (or if there was an error) Write concise instructions in plain languageState Capacity Building Center39

Example: Comparing Button LabelsOffice of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Oregon: Understandingand finding child care [Web page]. Retrieved from https://childcare.gov/state-resources?state 42& SubmitState Capacity Building Center40

Action 9. Check Your Website onMobile DevicesCan People Complete Tasks Just as Easily as on aDesktop Computer?State Capacity Building Center41

More People Are Accessing Content onMobile PhonesData on device usage from Administration forChildren and Families for June 2019Office of Child Care, Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). [Screenshot of user datafrom Google Analytics dashboard]. Unpublished raw data.State Capacity Building Center42

Is Your Website Mobile-Friendly? Do links, buttons, and form fields have enoughspace for fingers? Is the menu still clear and easily accessible? Are text, images, and tables resized? Are images and graphics optimized to reduce pageload time? Do dynamic elements like hover features respond totouch?State Capacity Building Center43