The Met Office has issued a yellow warning for ice from 6pm Monday 16 February to 10am Tuesday 17 February.
If you see a highways emergency, please call 0345 606 6171.
Find out more about severe weather affecting Suffolk, including how to prepare.
Our writing guidance is based on established best practices, such as the ISO standard for plain language which states content must be relevant, findable, understandable and usable.
People read differently on the web compared to on paper.
They will scan web information, rather than reading every word, looking for what they need. Research shows that people only actually read 20 to 28% of a webpage.
Website users will also read in an F-shape pattern. They scan across the top of the webpage, then down the left side and across to find what they need.
This means your content should be written so people can easily scan it. Users should be able to understand the information without having to read every word in order.
Applying a reading age to content tells us how hard it is to read. The higher the reading age, the more difficult it is to understand.
There are many readability tests, such as the Flesch-Kincaid readability test.
Many website users have a low reading age. This may be due to poor literacy skills, or because English is not their first language.
You can make sure the content is easier to read and understand by writing simply and concisely. Simple writing makes content easier to understand for all users, not just those with a low reading age.
For suffolk.gov.uk we aim for a reading age of 9 to 11 years old.
Write content simply, using plain English. This will make it easier for people to understand your information.
Plain English means using short, simple and familiar everyday words. It avoids long words, technical language or jargon, which is vague and unspecific.
For example, this sentence is full of jargon: 'We engage in horizon-scanning to anticipate future growth of demand for services.'
You could instead write it in plain English: 'We plan for who might need to use our services in future.'
If you need to use legal, medical or other terms only known to specialists, explain what it means using plain English.
You can check the clarity of your writing using Hemingway Editor. (Only check 'Green', non-sensitive/confidential data).
A longer list of words can be found on the gov.uk website.
The inverted pyramid is a practice where you put the most important information at the top of the webpage.
The pyramid shape reflects that your writing should go from the broadest facts down to the smallest details.
For example on an 'Apply for a school place' page, information about:
The way people read online means you should 'front-load' page titles, sub-headings and bullet points. This involves putting the words people are scanning for at the left of the title, heading or bullet.
Example: 'Roadworks in Suffolk', not 'Find out about roadworks in Suffolk'
Our tone of voice is:
Websites are not conversational mediums. They are different to how we might communicate with a user on webchat or social media.
Example: 'You can contact us', not 'give us a ring'.
Write using the active voice. It's clearer and more direct. Avoid passive language.
Example: 'Report a pothole online' is active; 'Potholes can be reported online' is passive.
You can find out if your writing is active or passive using the Hemingway Editor.
Refer to the user as 'you' where possible. It helps make content clearer.
Example: 'You can apply using the portal', not 'Applications can be made using the portal'.
You can refer to Suffolk County Council or a specific service as 'we' if it's clear who 'we' are.
Users can arrive at a webpage from anywhere. So be clear in your title, summary and first paragraphs if 'we' are the whole council, a directorate or specific service.
Use positive contractions such as 'you're' and 'we'll'.
Do not use negative contractions such as 'can't' or 'don't'. These are harder to read, and users may misunderstand them.
Using contractions does not make your content unprofessional or too casual. It's an everyday way of speaking that makes content feel more natural.
Some tips for writing disability-related content:
Shorter sentences are easier to read.
Here's an example of a sentence that's too long: If a sentence on your webpage is over 25 words in length, try editing it into two or more shorter sentences without any unnecessary words included.
Instead, you should write: 'Sentences over 25 words are too long. Edit long sentences into two or more shorter sentences.'
Separate two sentences using a full stop, not a semicolon.
Concise paragraphs are also easier to read. Try to break up long paragraphs into a series of short paragraphs.
Sometimes a paragraph can be a single sentence.
Nudges are psychological techniques used to shape a person's behaviour.
They've been used by companies for a long time. Now they're increasingly being used in the public sector, for example: to encourage better health choices.
We use behavioural nudges to manage the user journey on suffolk.gov.uk.
There are many reasons we might want use behavioural nudges. For example, to encourage people to contact us online. This saves money compared to phone calls.
Examples of nudges:
Nudges are not a 'dark art' if used for the right purposes. Our aims for nudging people are ethical and justified.
Research shows that nudges can work even if we're told we're being nudged. This means you can be transparent with users, and let them know why we are trying to shape their behaviour.