{
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    "title" : "Spring Cleaning Tips for Web Content |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Spring Cleaning Tips for Web Content",
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    {"kicker" : "This Week's IDEA","title" :"Spring Cleaning Tips for Web Content","deck" : "Three tips to tidy up the content on federal websites","summary" : "This week, we’re providing a few tips for tidying up redundant, outdated, and trivial content.","date" : "2020-04-07T09:00:00-05:00","date_modified" : "2024-04-02T09:45:13-04:00","authors" : {"ammie-farraj-feijoo" : "Ammie Farraj Feijoo"},"topics" : {
        
            "accessibility" : "Accessibility",
            "analytics" : "Analytics",
            "content-strategy" : "Content Strategy",
            "digital-service-delivery" : "Digital Service Delivery",
            "plain-language" : "Plain Language",
            "search-engine-optimization" : "Search Engine Optimization"
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      "filename" :"2020-04-07-spring-cleaning-tips-for-web-content.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2020/04/2020-04-07-spring-cleaning-tips-for-web-content.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/cm-topics-button-component/content/news/2020/04/2020-04-07-spring-cleaning-tips-for-web-content.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/cm-topics-button-component/content/news/2020/04/2020-04-07-spring-cleaning-tips-for-web-content.md","slug" : "spring-cleaning-tips-for-web-content","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/2020/04/07/spring-cleaning-tips-for-web-content/","content" :"\u003cdiv class=\"card-quote \"\u003e\n    \u003cblockquote\u003e\n      \u003cspan class=\"q\"\u003e“\u003c/span\u003eDispose of anything that does not fall into one of three categories: currently in use, needed for a limited period of time, or must be kept indefinitely.\u003cspan class=\"q\"\n        \u003e”\u003c/span\n      \u003e\u003ccite\u003e—Marie Kondo\u003c/cite\u003e\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n  \u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cdiv class=\"image image-right\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/this-weeks-idea-icon-wk3_w200.png\"  alt='A line drawing of a lightbulb in white, on dark blue background'\n    srcset=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/this-weeks-idea-icon-wk3_bu.jpg 48w,https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/this-weeks-idea-icon-wk3_w600.png 600w,https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/this-weeks-idea-icon-wk3_w400.png 400w,https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/this-weeks-idea-icon-wk3_w200.png 200w\"\n    sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 40vw, 400px\"\n  /\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eWelcome to This Week’s IDEA, where we talk about one essential topic around \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/resources/21st-century-integrated-digital-experience-act/\"\u003e21st Century IDEA\u003c/a\u003e and share resources and tools that you can use to start making small, incremental changes to your websites and digital services.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDid you know that 90% of data is never accessed again 90 days after it is first stored? Eighty percent of downloaded apps are never used again after 90 days? Ninety percent of data has been created in the last two years?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccording to Gerry McGovern, author of several books about \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/event/2018/04/11/a-deep-dive-into-top-tasks-with-gerry-mcgovern/\"\u003etop tasks\u003c/a\u003e, we should delete 90% of the information on a typical website to make the site useful. And use \u003ca href=\"https://www.plainlanguage.gov/\"\u003eplain language\u003c/a\u003e to make the remaining information more effective—1,000 words can often be \u003ca href=\"https://www.plainlanguage.gov/examples/before-and-after/\"\u003eedited down\u003c/a\u003e to 200 to make it more effective and easier to understand.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e21st Century IDEA says new and updated executive agency websites should “not overlap with or duplicate any legacy websites and, if applicable, ensure that legacy websites are regularly reviewed, eliminated, and consolidated” (\u003ca href=\"https://www.congress.gov/bill/115th-congress/house-bill/5759/text\"\u003eP.L. 115-336\u003c/a\u003e §3(A)3).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYour website exists to deliver good content to your visitors. You need to understand the content you have, what information your customers are accessing, and how it speaks to them. It’s time to clean up that redundant, outdated, and trivial content!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"three-tips-for-tidying-up-content\"\u003eThree Tips for Tidying Up Content\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eTo make your content work better, follow these three tips, which are adapted from the \u003ca href=\"https://www.usda.gov/digital-strategy/content/plays\"\u003econtent plays\u003c/a\u003e in the \u003ca href=\"https://www.usda.gov/digital-strategy\"\u003eUSDA Digital Strategy Playbook\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"tip-1-edit-your-content-for-plain-language\"\u003eTip 1. Edit Your Content for Plain Language\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAssess your content at least quarterly to keep it relevant and useful to users.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eStarting with your most-viewed pages, edit content for plain language. For example, design your content for reading on the web:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse active voice and address your customers directly (you, we).\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eChoose words that are more familiar.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse sections, spacing, and relevant headers and subheaders.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUse paragraph breaks and lists to break up big blocks of text.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVisit \u003ca href=\"https://www.plainlanguage.gov/\"\u003ePlainLanguage.gov\u003c/a\u003e for more information on writing for your customers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"tip-2-audit-your-content\"\u003eTip 2. Audit Your Content\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAudit your content to understand what content you currently have, identify gaps that exist, and prioritize improvements.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAfter you set the goals and scope of your audit, you’ll need to collect and analyze data. See, for example, this \u003ca href=\"https://www.usda.gov/sites/default/files/documents/content-audit-template.xlsx\"\u003esample spreadsheet to audit content\u003c/a\u003e (.xlsx, 19 kb, two tabs).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVisit \u003ca href=\"https://methods.18f.gov/\"\u003e18F Methods\u003c/a\u003e, a collection of tools to bring human-centered design into your project, to learn more about \u003ca href=\"https://methods.18f.gov/decide/content-audit/\"\u003econtent audits\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch3 id=\"tip-3-help-customers-find-your-content\"\u003eTip 3. Help Customers Find Your Content\u003c/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOptimize the content on your site to ensure customers can find your content when they’re searching online. Search engines are less likely to highlight your content when it lacks good structure. You can improve your content by:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIncluding \u003ca href=\"https://search.gov/manual/metadata.html\"\u003emetadata and tags\u003c/a\u003e and setting up a \u003ca href=\"https://search.gov/manual/robotstxt.html\"\u003erobots.txt file\u003c/a\u003e;\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRegistering your site with the major commercial search engines; and\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePublishing an \u003ca href=\"https://search.gov/manual/sitemaps.html\"\u003eXML sitemap\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eVisit \u003ca href=\"https://www.search.gov/\"\u003eSearch.gov\u003c/a\u003e for more tips on \u003ca href=\"https://www.search.gov/manual/how-search-engines-index-content-better-discoverability.html\"\u003ehow to get search engines to index the right content for better discoverability\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"up-next\"\u003eUp Next\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eJoin the PLAIN Community of Practice on April 15 to discuss \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/event/2020/04/15/accessibility-intersection-between-plain-language-508/\"\u003ehow plain language intersects with 508 compliance requirements\u003c/a\u003e to make federal electronic documents and information technology accessible to people with disabilities.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLearn about the \u003ca href=\"https://digital.gov/event/2020/04/23/dap-learning-series-an-introduction-basics/\"\u003ebasics of the Digital Analytics Program\u003c/a\u003e (DAP) on April 23—the interface, common terminology, and basic reports in Google Analytics.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"from-the-field\"\u003eFrom the Field\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e“Agencies are encouraged to update their .gov websites to the greatest extent practicable to provide agency service delivery information to Federal Government consumers and to direct Federal Government consumers to the appropriate digital and telephonic resources to obtain needed services. We also encourage agencies to assess the usability of its digital resources, and to improve user centered design and customer service aspects of its websites, web applications, and other citizen-facing interfaces.”\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/M-20-19.pdf\"\u003eOMB 20-19, Harnessing Technology to Support Mission Continuity\u003c/a\u003e (PDF, 195 KB, 5 pages, March 22, 2020)\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDo you have a 21st Century IDEA-related comment or question? Or would you like to give a shout out to your colleagues? Send it to us at \u003ca href=\"mailto:digitalgov@gsa.gov\"\u003edigitalgov@gsa.gov\u003c/a\u003e, and we’ll work to incorporate it into the next newsletter.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDisclaimer\u003c/strong\u003e: All references to specific brands, products, and/or companies are used only for illustrative purposes and do not imply endorsement by the U.S. federal government or any federal government agency.\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
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