This is the final blog in my wee series looking at website content review processes – aimed at website managers working in public sector and research organisations. Read the first blog on overall processes, the second on content reviewer guidelines and the third on tone, formatting, link checking and SEO.
In this blog I’m going to outline a few websites which I think are great examples of content which showcases research and policy information.
I’ll be concentrating on language and tone, as I think this can often be overlooked, particularly when dealing with complex research information.
As a side note about language and tone, it is interesting to note that, on all the sites, content tone changes depending on the part of the site. For example, the About Us section tends to be the most ‘friendly’ but publications metadata and more technical explanations tends towards a more formal tone.
Useful to keep this in mind – think about why a person is reading a particular bit of text on your site, not simply thinking of it as generic website content.
I’d also like to flag up 4 Syllables – a fab Australian web resource for web writing. I found this page and the accompanying checklist really helpful.
Anyway, on with the good practice examples:
Social Research Unit at Dartington
Overall use of a friendly tone but still appears professional as the overall tone and language are at the right level. The text also outlines very clearly what the organisation does, eg: ‘We are also a strong advocate of prevention and early intervention based approaches.’ This is a good tip – be clear and avoid management-speak if you possibly can…
I particularly like how the About Poverty main section briefly outlines the main questions: ‘What is poverty, how is it measured and what can be done about it?’ and then goes on to give the reader an overview of this complex issue and how it links to the JRF’s work.
Their About Us section also has a clear message right at the top, briefly explaining their overall aim: ‘The Joseph Rowntree Foundation is an independent organisation working to inspire social change through research, policy and practice.’ Clear and concise, without jargon!
Nice examples on the ‘Issues we work on’ page of encapsulating a top level message about topics the organisation works on – for example:
Food: We’re working towards a world where everyone has enough to eat and the opportunity to earn a decent living.
Businesses and poverty: Good business is about more than making money. Companies can help lift millions of people out of poverty.
This not only gives a message about what the aims are but also helps the user to navigate easily around the content by giving a ‘hook’ to get people interested in reading more.
Thanks for reading – hope you found this series of blogs useful and feel free to tweet me any tips of your own!