Designing VA Websites
The truth is, users don’t read Web pages; they scan them, looking for things they can read very quickly until they find a relevant piece of information. What does this mean? Write pages the way people use them. Make them scannable.
Content management
All information disseminated by VA websites must be accurate and relevant to the maximum extent possible:
At a mimimum, VA websites will…
- Be reviewed by the content owner or manager at lease once a month to ensure published information is current and accurate. Annually, relevant subject matter experts will conduct an in-depth content review. In addition, content owners or managers should update content as quickly as possible in such situations as emergencies, changes in regulation or law, and medical information that impacts on patient, family, survivor, public, stakeholder, and visitor safety. Examples include weather emergencies, alerts, and closings. Content owners or managers should also provide real-time updates in certain situations, such as changes in emergency management alerts (tornadoes, hurricane, earthquakes), addresses, phone numbers, and contact information.
- Content owners or managers should review phone numbers at least once a month to ensure published information is current and accurate. Annually, relevant subject matter experts will conduct an in-depth content review. Phone trees should be reviewed monthly. Phone tree structures should allow Veterans, their family members, caregivers, and survivors, full access to human customer service. If not, new tree structures should be developed and uploaded within 14 days. When phone numbers are listed, brief descriptions should be provided, including which VA administration or staff office the number connects to.
- Have a site map (entitled “Site Map”) that provides an overview of the major content categories across the site. There must be a link to the site map from all web pages within the site.
- Be organized in a logical and intuitive way so visitors can easily find the information they are looking for.
- Help visitors easily navigate to the content they need and want most, with minimal navigation complexity and the fewest drill-downs. Content must be easy to read and with no excessive text or graphics. Graphics may be used that complement and give additional meaning to information.
- Categorize and organize information so website visitors can find the information they seek in accordance with the E-Government Act Section 207(d). Examples include a thesaurus or taxonomy
- Provide information about regulations and link to the regulations.gov portal.
- Link to the Find a Form website when recommending a VA form. For a non-VA form, link to the authoritative source for that form (e.g., General Services Administration). Links to online forms will be to the authoritative source and used whenever an online form is available. All or a portion of an approved form may not be created or altered for use on a VA website to conduct official business, such as collecting data from Veterans or other visitors.
VA websites will not …
- Contain sensitive information that could be used to exploit VA employees, VA resources or Veterans.
- Duplicate or recreate content that already exists on other websites. Instead, sites will use crosslinks to connect Veterans and other site visitors to relevant information to its single-source-of-truth location. For example, sites will link to the modernized VA.gov benefit hubs for benefit information. Sites will link to each administration’s website for administration-centric content. Health care content will link to Veterans Health Administration. Benefits content will link to Veterans Benefits Administration. Burial and memorial content will link to National Cemetery Administration.
- Data Sources–Requests for website data sources should be directed to WCOs to collaborate and use pre-existing sources first.
- Publish empty pages (“Under Construction” or “Coming Soon”)–New VA websites, pages, revisions to page sections, or applications should not be “live”—available to internet or intranet access—until cleared and ready for use. VA content managers and application developers must not post any pages containing an “under construction,” “coming soon” or similar notice. A robots exclusion file should not be relied upon to prevent search engines from indexing files as some search engines do not recognize them. An imprecise “check back soon” notice only adds to user frustration.
Content formatting
People read content online differently than they do in a book or magazine.
Review the tips below on formatting content in a way that makes it easy for people to read and share. Following these tips will also help boost content ranking in search engines, bringing more people to your pages and widening your audience.
- Use emphasis judiciously: bold, italic, or CAPITALS are often used to bring attention to text. If overused they will lose their impact.
- Do not use all caps.
- Avoid italics, which are hard to read online. Use bold instead.
- Minimize use of bolded text.
- Do not underline text unless it is a hyperlink.
- Do not center text: centered text is hard to read. Imagine having to read a book where all the text was centered.
- Break up large paragraphs of text with headings and bulleted points.
Best practices
We must design pages so people can find, understand, and use content based on individual needs, reading abilities and styles.
The VA.gov content style guide provides additional guidance on how to write content for VA websites.
Research by the Poynter Institute for Writing and the Nielsen Norman Group shows web pages must employ scannable text using:
- Highlighted keywords (hypertext links, typeface variations, color)
- Meaningful sub-headings (not “clever” ones)
- Bulleted lists
- One idea per paragraph (users will skip over any additional ideas if they are not caught by the first few words in the paragraph)
- The inverted pyramid style
- Half the word count (or less) than conventional writing
- Usability recommendations: usability and user scanning occurs in an “F” shape and user experience and human-computer interaction design
Create content tailored to your audience
Get to know your audience. Keep in mind that you don’t write for your co-workers or for yourself. Your website and your content strategies are probably aimed at the large masses, so you have to use common sense and your knowledge of the targeted audience to create readable web content pieces delivering a crystal clear message that supports your optimization goals. A U.S. Department of Education study on adult reading proficiency indicates the average American reads and assimilates information at a basic 8th (or even 7th) grade level, so write your content without relying on unnecessary explanations or adornments that couldn’t be understood at those grade levels.
Organize content in an inverted pyramid
Organize your content as an inverted pyramid; put the most important information at the top and less important information at the bottom.
Add headings
Keep your paragraphs short – no more than 3-4 lines of text. Look for opportunities to cut words, sentences, and even entire paragraphs if they do not contribute necessary content.
Write actively, not passively
Always write using active voice. For example, say “we mailed your form” not “your form was mailed.”
Use bulleted and numbered lists
Use bulleted or numbered lists when appropriate.
Link and bold important pieces of information
Use hyperlinks and bolding to highlight important pieces of content, but be judicious–less is more.
Link meaningful words
- Do not use “Click Here” for hyperlinked language – use keywords and language that describes what will be found when clicking the link (Examples: “Read more about diabetes/Find out more about diabetes/Learn about diabetes”).
- Look for opportunities to link to related content, especially using keywords – if the content is about the flu vaccine, link to the words “H1N1 Flu Vaccine.”
- Do not include the URL itself on the page – hyperlink text when possible (if you’re unsure, do ask how to hyperlink text). An exception is when you expect a document to be printed out and used largely off-line.
- Avoid beginning a sentence with a link.
- Copy the link URL directly from your Web browser and not from an email message in Outlook. This will lead to broken links.
- Check URLs to make sure they are working after you publish your page.
- We recommend the use of keywords separated by dashes (i.e., xyz-annual-report.html, new-east-river-virus.html). Do not use underscores (_).
Avoid acronyms and jargon
Don’t use acronyms and jargon. If you must use acronyms, spell out the words the first time they appear on every web page.
