Content structure
How your content is organised, and whether it supports consistency and reuse
Taxonomies and their implementation
How clearly defined are they? How are they used across site search, schema code and different page types?
Navigation and user journeys
How easily users can move between different types of content
Search and discovery
Whether users can find what they’re looking for quickly
Content connections
How well related content is surfaced across the site
Email and social media integration
How well does your CMS automate the process of circulating your work to create the most impact? Generally, your email lists should be segmented (at least by interest) and social media sharing should be built in
Editorial tools and governance
Content governance and the process content goes through to get published is often important within research-led organisations. It should at least be possible to split the roles of author and editor within your CMS, so that you can support both roles effectively
What areas does the audit cover?
1. Content Structure
How content is structured in large websites is the foundation of its impact. We start here before we look at anything else.
- How content is organised
- Use (or lack) of taxonomies
- Content duplication / fragmentation issues
- Orphaned or rarely-linked to content
2. Navigation and User Journeys
Having looked at content structure, we start to focus on navigating the site as your key audiences.
- How well the main and any secondary navigation works
- How easy it is for user to move between topics, taxonomies, authors and related content
- Are key audiences well served by the site’s navigation
3. Search and Discovery
Next, we start to look at how easy it is to search for or find content throughout the site.
- Internal search effectiveness
- Filtering and findability
- How easy it is to locate specific research, experts and topics of interest throughout the site
4. Content Connectivity
Finally, we look at how well connected content is throughout the site.
- Are pieces of content linked meaningfully?
- Do reports lead to authors, related work and deeper exploration of topics?
What will I get?
The most important part of this is that you’ll get a simple, actionable report at the end which will allow you to focus your resources effectively. We’ll also walk through the report with you, so that we can talk about how the recommendations could work in your organisation.
- A concise report outlining key issues and opportunities
- Practical, prioritised recommendations
- A walkthrough session to talk through findings and next steps
We base this on your live website, so there’s minimal input required from your team. Just give us the context, and we’ll get started. Typically, we’ll have your report completed in 1 – 2 weeks from start to finish.
Ready to get started?
Just fill in the form below, and we’ll be back in touch within one working day.