Develop Content With Your Audience in Mind

In the web and mobile worlds, useful is the new cool. When you deliver information that your audience needs, they will appreciate it. When a page is formatted so they can read it quickly, act fast and move on, they are more likely to return next time they need something. It pays to develop your web page content with usefulness in mind. Here are some questions to ask yourself as you develop content.

General Questions

Is the information relevant to my audience?

The primary audience for the website is prospective students and their families. Information solely for current students, faculty or staff belongs in myMCC. See Web Platform Guidelines for help choosing the right platform for your audience.

Is it relevant to my area?

If the information is relevant to your area but resides elsewhere on the site, link to it instead of duplicating it.

Is it relevant at all?

Special projects come and go. Keep the important, current information available and remove the rest.

Is it up-to-date?

Set reminders to edit dates. Better yet, make your content “evergreen” so it doesn’t need frequent updating.

Will it appeal to the masses?

Delivering content that appeals to a small group may confuse visitors. So, provide content that most visitors will think belongs on your site. If only a handful of people need it, then deliver it a different way. 

Can web analytics help me deliver content that visitors want? 

Yes! Ask for web analytics for your site. Web Services keeps a record of how many people have visited each page of the website.

If page visits are low, here are some factors to consider:

  • If the page holds required regulatory information, light traffic may not be a problem.
  • If it delivers information that visitors need, ask for help to make it easier to find. Simple changes like a new title or better link wording can have an impact.
  • Sometimes you think the information is important but your visitors do not. This happens to everyone. You may need to retire the page or find a new way to share the info.

Do my links work?

Hyperlinks to external websites change frequently, so check them frequently.

Is my writing concise?

Visitors browse, they don’t read. Use headings and lists appropriately. Remember that many visitors are browsing your site on their phones.

Use simple words and keep sentences short. Hemingwayapp.com can help. Cut mercilessly, then build back one word at a time. For more writing tips, read Hampshire College’s Web Writing Style Guide.

Images

  • Do my images look outdated?
  • Do they add value to my page?
  • Do they convey the right messages?

Remember to add meaningful alt text to images so everyone gets your message.

Guidelines for group shots:

  • A group shot may look great in full desktop view, but be imperceptible on a phone.
  • Shots of one or two people are a safer bet.
  • Include some context in group shots. For example, library stacks or lab tools.

Documents (PDFs)

Would my PDF be better as a web page?

  • PDF’s are not mobile-friendly. Half of your visitors may be on mobile.
  • Web pages are easier to find: search engines give higher rank to web pages than PDFs.
  • It is usually much easier to make web pages accessible.
  • Consult with Web Services when you are considering turning PDF’s into web pages.

Is my PDF really a scanned image?

  • If you can’t copy and paste portions of your PDF, that means it is a scanned image.
  • Scanned images are not recognized by screen readers, so they cannot go on the web.