Planning your content

Before you start writing, plan how you're going to structure your page and ensure it meets user needs.

Who is your content for?

Every page on suffolk.gov.uk should have a purpose.

Before you start writing be clear about:

who your page is for (your user)
what they need to do (user needs)
why do they need to do it (how does it help them?)

Please note: suffolk.gov.uk is not appropriate for real-time information, for example live updates on an emergency response. The most effective way to share concise, time-sensitive information is on official social media channels, where users expect to find this content.

What's the user journey?

Pages don't exist in isolation. They are one step in someone's journey through a website, online service or the internet in general.

Make sure you understand:

where your user is coming from - what are they expecting to find when visiting your page?
what their task is, for example finding information or accessing a service
where they need to go next

You should also think about how to help people 'self-serve' (complete their tasks themselves without contacting us).

What do you need to include?

Before writing the actual content, make a bullet list of what the page needs to cover. It might help to format this as questions the page needs to answer.

For example, an 'Apply for a skip licence' page list might include:

What is a skip licence? (Assume the user knows nothing)
How will the licence help the user?
Who provides the licence and how does it work?
What’s the eligibility to apply for the licence?
Is there a cost or deadline when applying for the licence?
How long will it take to apply for a licence?
What does the user need to know/to hand before applying for a licence?
What happens after the user applies for a licence?
How does the user start applying for a licence?

You can see that this list is the basis of your page structure.