Web Content Rewrite Process

1. Review data

• Review web stats to identify existing high value / high traffic content
  • Submit a request to Corp Web to provide you with web stats for your website from the last 365 days.
  • Tip: Use the excel spreadsheet to help you identify and categorize top content and the users who access the content.
  • This can be the basis of a content inventory
• Review results of any surveys or user research completed.
  • The winnipeg.ca website has collected user feedback in the footer “Was this information helpful?” section since May 1, 2020. This feedback is sent to one identified recipient in each department monthly to collect and review the feedback.
  • For feedback data collected on pages in Drupal, submit a request to Corp Web.
• Ask your department’s 311 KML for call driver data.

2. Think about user needs

For rewrites, use to the data from step 1 by identifying what content is being visited – what users would be accessing this information and why?

• Who are our main users?
• What do they want / what are their needs?
• What problems do we need to solve for them through content and data?
• What benefits will each of them get from what you’re creating
• What are our customer service goals?
• What are the calls-to-action?
• What formats should the information be provided in? Ie. maps, charts, videos, etc.

3. Create user stories

For any given project, it is advisable to limit yourself to the main audiences for the site, and only 3 or 4 of them at best. The more users you have the more granular the population you are working toward supporting. It is better to paint with a broad brush and meet the needs of the larger populations than try to meet the needs of everyone.

“As a <role/who>, I want/need <feature/what> so that/in order to <reason/why>”

• User stories give important context and associate tasks with the value that those tasks bring, and keeps the focus on the end users.
• Needs/tasks: What does the user need to do or find? What tasks do they do which are relevant to your project? The need will be goals that are aligned to an outcome.
• Pain points: What are the obstacles that prevent them from being able to do the task? Are they being informed well enough? What other factors are preventing them from getting the task done?
• Risks: What could go wrong if they can’t do the task or find the information? What is the impact of any implication–personal, financial etc.
• Motivation: Why does the user want to complete the task? How is successful completion of the task going to affect them?

4. Create a content outline

From the identified tasks and goals, create a content outline. Using the user stories, think about how the journey to completing the task can be made as intuitive as possible.

• Keep to a topic/service based structure and not an organizational structure.
• Think about what the topic/service area landing pages will link to, how each page opens up a different sub-page, how all those sub-pages interact with one another etc.
• Jot down topics, headlines and keywords for each of the pages – the points of interest of your future visitors. If you can, include short descriptive sentences about each topic to use in the content writing step.
• Will there be images, videos, charts, or other visualizations? Where will they go?
• This will form the site navigation structure and all the pages and sub-pages in the website
• Design content outline for mobile first. On small screens, there is limited real estate, so important content must be prioritized to give the user the content that they absolutely need.

5. Review with Corporate

After the above items are created, reach out to Corporate Communications and Corp Web to discuss and review the user stories and content outline before moving on to the next step.

6. Write web content

If the website is large and doing a full rewrite all at once is not achievable, approach the rewrite in sections, and focus on high-value, priority content/sections. Starting with redesigning the service/program landing page is a good start to improve user experience.

Read the Writing Web Content Guide for detailed guidance on writing accessible, user-focused web content.

• Focus on the user
• Writing Style Guide
• Write accessible, user focused content
• Descriptive link text
• Images & charts
• Documents
• French content
• Promotional information

Writing and language (City of Winnipeg Design System)

Readability & plain language

• Write to a maximum of a grade 8 reading level.

Writing Style Guide - Plain language

7. Review & approve content

Review the draft content, keeping the following in mind:

• Is the content written so that all users can read and understand it? Have you thought about people who speak English as a second, third or fourth language?
  • Is the content written using phrases and words your users are likely to use?
  • Is it written in plain language and using active voice?
  • Is a consistent tone used across the website?
  • What is the readability level of each page? You can use a readability tool like the Hemingway App to estimate this.
• Are the headings structured using heading levels 1 through 6?
• Does the first sentence help users to decide if the page is relevant?
• If you include links, does the link text identify the purpose of the link?
• Are the links working and relevant? Test your links by reading just the links in your content out loud. This will help you verify if they make sense out of context. 
• Do you need to link to PDFs or can they be condensed into web page content?
• If you do need documents or PDF formats, are they accessible and accompanied by an HTML extract or description?
• Are any images decorative? If so, consider removing them.
• If images are to be included, have you provided meaningful alt text for each image?
• If any old content is being kept, is the content relevant to a user? Does it help them achieve a goal or meet a need?
• Is any of the content located elsewhere on your site or on another department’s site? If so, consider removing one of the pieces of content to avoid duplication and conflicting information. If cross-departmental content is identified, ensure you discuss with the other department's communication officer.
• Is any content/information missing?

Once content has been reviewed, submit for approval.

8. Translate approved content

Public-facing materials, including brochures, pamphlets, advertisements, website content, social media, etc. must be translated into French under the following circumstances: 

• If the initiative is related specifically to the Riel District (St. Boniface, St. Vital, and St. Norbert - Seine River wards, as well as portions of Transcona) 
• If the initiative has city-wide implications 
• For guidance on providing services in both official languages, contact French Language Services at City-FR@winnipeg.ca  

9. Create & test web pages

• Design for mobile first and ensure the site displays properly across all screen sizes. Think about how the user will interact with the website on a mobile device/smaller screens, and keep important information easily accessible to the user.
• Have you provided closed captions, audio descriptions or transcripts for videos?
• Is the meta description written as a call-to-action using relevant keywords?
• Is each heading length optimised for search?
• Are data tables formatted using table headers and captions?
• Test the site – responsiveness, links, accessibility