Optimising content for a mobile-first experience
Introduction:
Northumberland County Council (NCC) is one of the largest local authorities in the UK, serving a diverse population with essential services ranging from education and business funding to social services and leisure. As part of their initiative to enhance the user experience on their website, NCC embarked on a project to significantly optimise the site’s content, ensuring it was mobile-friendly, user-focused, and in line with modern web design principles. Zoetecha (formerly Zoe Hartill, Freelance Content Marketing) was brought in to help condense and refine the website content, working as an integral part of NCC’s web and marketing team.
Challenges:
NCC’s existing website content was lengthy, often technical, and spread across thousands of pages. Much of the content had been written by different stakeholders, subject matter experts (SMEs), and professionals across the council, leading to inconsistency in tone, voice, and readability. It was also not optimised for mobile devices, nor was it user-friendly or SEO-friendly. As part of the council’s major website overhaul, we were tasked with condensing the content by at least 60%, while ensuring that the content was concise, easy to read, and aligned with the principles of Gov.UK standards.
Our approach:
Zoetecha worked closely with NCC’s web team, including project managers, content editors, copywriters and subject matter experts, to rework and condense the website’s content. Our key priorities were:
- Condensing content: We reduced content by 75%, streamlining information without losing essential details, ensuring it was more digestible for users and suited to mobile-first design.
- UX focused design: The new content was written using plain English and structured to improve usability, following the Gov.UK guidelines and making sure it adhered to accessibility standards.
- SEO optimisation: Alongside the content revisions, we optimised the copy for SEO, ensuring key terms were used effectively to improve visibility in search engine results.
- Creating consistent tone: We worked to establish a single, clear tone of voice across the entire site to ensure consistency and alignment with NCC’s values.
- Collaborative work with subject matter experts: We interviewed key stakeholders across various departments—ranging from public services to education, employability, social and adult services, and business funding—to ensure the content was accurate, relevant, and covered all essential aspects of local authority services.
- Interactive and practical features: We worked on high-traffic features like the interactive bin calendar, making it more intuitive and user-friendly.
In addition to revising content, Zoetecha also assisted with the content upload process to the new platform, edited existing work to fit the new style guide, and developed brand and copy guidelines.
Once the project was completed, we also provided training to other members of the council’s web team, equipping them with the skills and knowledge to continue adding content in the same style and tone.
The results:
The project led to the following significant results for Northumberland County Council:
- 75% reduction in content: The content was successfully condensed by 75%, making the site cleaner, faster, and easier to navigate.
- Improved user experience: The revamped website saw a significant uplift in traffic and engagement, especially with the most popular features such as the interactive bin calendar.
- Decreased customer service queries: With more accessible and user-friendly content, there was a noticeable decrease in customer queries to the council’s customer service number, as users found answers directly on the website.
- Public feedback: Users reported that the website was much easier to navigate and find relevant information. The simplicity and clear design ensured a more intuitive experience for all, as confirmed by internal stakeholders as well.
- Successful training: The training provided to the NCC team ensured the continued success of the website, with other team members now able to independently add and maintain content in the new style.
Why Zoetecha?
Zoetecha’s experience in content creation, SEO, and user-centred design made us the ideal partner for NCC’s website overhaul. By working as an integral part of their team, we were able to provide tailored solutions that met both their technical and user experience goals.