About

We want our most used and important pages to be as good as they can be, making them easy to use and understand.

There are a number of checks that we complete to help us do this. This helps us to understand how well our services are performing for our users, where it needs to be improved and build a clear a plan to improve it

The checks are completed annually for our top 100 pages. The pages are picked by how important they are, our statutory services and pages with high pageviews and visitors.

We give the pages an overall score of good, moderate or poor. For the pages that we score moderate or poor, we then look at ways to improve them from our findings

Our checks

Here are the checks that we use against each page in our top 100 list.

1. Page name and description is clear
   The page name clearly describes the subject or action. And the description is a simple summary of what the user can find on the page. The guidelines we follow for titles are on GOV.UK.
2. Logical menu structure (easy navigation)
   Page can be found easily through the site navigation and landing pages, and with few clicks. More information can be found on our How pages are structured page.
3. Transaction has a button
   There is a single button for any online transactions. There may be exceptions to the number of buttons. Advice on when buttons are used is here.
4. Service is found in Google and in the site
   Page is easy to find using common search terms on Google and the site search. Information on our search and keywords is here.
5. Page can exist in isolation
   The page content can be understood on its own without relying on other pages. The information is found in one place and not across multiple pages or websites.
6. Explains who the service is for
   The page clearly explains who the information is intended for. Find information on knowing our audience here.
7. Shows how long it takes
   The page describes the timescales for services or processes if needed, depending on the type of service.
8. Uses correct layout for form links
   Where there is a link to a transaction, our form button layout is used. Only one button should be used per page. Use a button to help users carry out an action like starting an application or saving their information. Buttons shouldn’t be used to move a customer between topics, to send them to a different content page or to link to an external resource.
9. Explains customer journey
   The customer journey using the form or process are clearly described. Find out what we try to do with each service for user needs and customer journey.
10. Service can be completed end to end
    Where there is a transaction, the service can be completed entirely online. Content is complete and covers all that the user needs to use the service.
11. Form easy to use and working
    Any forms are clearly designed and laid out, easy to use and working.
12. Explains acronyms
    Acronyms and technical terms are described throughout the page. How we use acronyms is explained here.
13. House style language for headings
    Page headings and subheadings are written consistently. The guidelines we follow for titles are on GOV.UK
14. Information architecture mirrors how services will be used
    The content is organised around how the customer would understand it – not by the service structure. More information on how we arrange our content is on our Information architecture page.
15. Good signposting
    Page can be found easily from appropriate menus and related pages.
16. Content answers the question
    Content fully answers user needs and what they came to the page to do and clearly explains how a service or process works.
17. Low reading age
    The reading age meets our standard of 9 to 12 years of age.
18. Written in plain English
    The page meets our playbook plain English standards in how it is written.
19. No tables
    Page is laid out without the use of tables. Read about why tables are not accessible.
20. No dropdowns
    Page is laid out without the use of dropdowns. Read about why dropdowns cause accessibility problems.
21. High accessibility score
    Page is site average or above (currently 94%) of WCAG 2.1. We use software called Silktide to check that a page reaches this score.
22. Documents are accessible
    Documents are in PDF format, meaningful and usable. Documents are not used where the content should be on a webpage.
23. Page has been updated in the last 6 months
    Page content has been reviewed in the last 6 months (not just updated). The date of the last review is on the bottom of each webpage
24. Further help offered if needed
    Page clearly signposts to further resources if needed.
25. Alternative contact routes
    Page signposts to contact information if needed.