ams responsible for health-related content had to wrangle hundreds of existing pages into a simplified architecture. We helped streamline the content down to exactly what users need.
The challenge
ACT Government’s health-related content remediation project was over 2 years in the making. The client’s team had worked hard to plan the transition to the new whole-of government site. But with time running out and internal changes in progress, they needed support.
With a content audit and draft architecture in place, our task was to consolidate the existing content into the new structure, fixing any problems along the way.
A number of content challenges were clear.
- Quantity: at times, up to 20 pages or more needed rewriting into a single page.
- Navigation: existing content was buried in a structure 6 or 7 levels deep.
- Duplication: content was repeated across multiple pages.
- Messaging: information for general and specific audiences, such as health professionals, had to fit together.
- Relevancy: many pages hadn’t been reviewed in over a year and potentially included broken links and outdated information.
- Readability: most pages had a reading grade higher than recommended for a public site.
Our approach
We’re experienced wrangling a lot of content in a short time frame. We immediately set up a clear project process and tactical plan that we know works. This helped us assign work, track content production and keep the client updated. We ran a short pilot project on a small batch of pages. This tested our systems, workflows and assumptions to ensure they were robust enough to roll out across the project.
We grouped similar content to make production more efficient and improve our content knowledge. It also helped us see where we could make structural improvements. We met regularly with the client to set priorities and incorporate feedback. We created an engagement plan to let subject matter experts and approvers know when to expect edited content for their review. This helped to speed up workflow for the client.
Our content design and edit focused on a clear user journey and improving readability. We simplified content as much as possible without losing its meaning. For each page:
- opening sentences set the context
- headings made sense and were scannable
- language was plain but engaging
- the structure followed a logical flow.
We also:
- removed repetition
- updated old information
- aligned content to the Australian Government Style Manual
- ensured links (where needed) were to authoritative sources
- incorporated the customer feedback on existing content.
The result
Our health-related content remediation work for the ACT Government helped them successfully transition their content to a new website. We worked flexibly to deliver all pages within the required timeframe and helped the client team meet their deadline. We lowered the average reading grade across all pages and made it easier for users to access and read the information they need. We enjoyed a strong working relationship with the client and received favourable feedback on both the quality of the work and the process.
