Digital Iceland
Content strategy
Table of contents
About Iceland.is Content Strategy
Ísland.is is an informational website where people can find all information and services provided by the government.
Accessible content and presentation are essential for a good website. Accessibility is the highest priority regarding all implementation and presentation of content. More on Ísland.is accessibility guidelines.
The purpose of the content strategy is to ensure quality content and navigation through the site for the users. This helps both the users and the service providers.
Content processing and access on Ísland.is
A good information site must meet the following three conditions for users:
1. The information needs to be there
1. Information on governmental services or instructions that help people complete what they need to do
For example:
information on child benefits
marriage rights
application for maternity/paternity leave
This content should be in the primary navigation system of Ísland.is.
2. Information on governmental institutions
For example:
purpose and role
location and opening hours
news
events
This content should be on the institution pages.
The purpose of content research is to establish:
Who the users are
What they need from you (test any assumptions you have about what the user needs)
How to talk to them
Who are the users?
If we can't get reliable statistics on the user group, discussions on social media and bland.is to get a sense of the user group.
If the user group in question is for example people with disabilities, it can be helpful to draw on knowledge from organizations.
What do they need?
What questions are people asking the helpdesk? It is helpful to collect these questions and use them to write content.
What social media discussion groups exist on the subject?
What are people asking about in online discussions and chat groups?
What answers do people give? Are people giving the correct answers, or is the discussion at odds with reality?
How to talk to people?
Consider the vocabulary people use, for example on Bland or social media when talking on the subject
Have a look at the statistics
very few page visits may indicate a discrepancy between the vocabulary on the page and the vocabulary used by people
can indicate that people are accessing the wrong page, let’s look at what’s causing the problem.
let us be aware that a high bounce rate can indicate that the page is fulfilling its purpose very well, that people find the information they need, and then leave
what are people clicking on
if people spend long periods of time on pages with a clear function (Call To Action), this might indicate that something on the page is unclear
discussion threads and social media are great places to get information about the vocabulary people use on the topic
what text was on the link they clicked on to access the current page
Businesses and institutions tend to publish content that they want rather than what the user needs to know. This makes it difficult for users to understand the content and make decisions based on it.
All content published on Iceland.is should have a clear user need that is backed by data.
User need structure
Photo: Cybermedian
Example:
As a stepparent of a child under 18 years of age
I want to know how I can legally adopt the child
so that we have the same rights as other parents/children
This need is answered when the user knows:
the legal effect of adoption
the preconditions for adoption
the necessary approvals
the documents required
the process and how long it will take
what happens when the application has been sent
Define the user (who)
The user need should never start with "as a user". You should know who the user is and be able to define them based on what they are trying to do.
"A user" typically represents a group of people who are trying to do the same thing.
Example: A user needs to apply for a passport for a child. The applicant can be a parent, grandparent or legal guardian of the child. There is no need to write user requirements for each person.
Examples of users/user groups:
pensioner
teacher
vehicle owner
agent of a company
people who wants to move to Iceland
people who wants to work in Iceland
Define the action (what)
User needs and the content on Ísland.is often based on an action or a task that needs to be solved.
Example of actions:
apply
announce
accept
file
pay
hand in
edit registration
send an inquiry
Define the need (why)
Understanding the real need helps us find better solutions and write better texts. If we don't know what the need is, we need to talk to users or frontline staff.
2. People can find it
Through the site map/navigation of Ísland.is
Through an internal search on Ísland.is
Through google.com or another search engine
Through the landing page of an institution - island.is/o
Things to consider when grouping content in navigation:
The titles of service categories and groups describe what the content is about. They are not intended to describe which institution the content belongs to or who the content is for.
No two categories or groups should have the same title. Group titles appear in search results and users need to be able to distinguish between them.
Titles should:
reflect the content - not the target audience, institution, department or type/format of the content
describe the content clearly - may not be contradictory or vague
be able to stand alone - do not need to be in the context of a parent category or other related categories for users to understand what the content is about
be written in simple and concise Icelandic - avoid technical language, language extensions, symbols and numbers as much as possible
be written in the language used by the user - not legal or institutional language unless the user generally uses it as well
not include abbreviations unless they are more commonly used
All content on Ísland.is will eventually be grouped based on the topic - not the institutions. Categories become more specialized as a user digs deeper into the navigation system, and the titles should reflect that.
The groupings are divided like this:
Service categories, accessible from the front page, e.g. 'Family and welfare'
Groups are the next layer under service categories, e.g. 'Death and inheritance'
Articles are the content pages of the website and they belong to groups, e.g. 'Death Certificate'
Breadcrumb trail shows how articles are grouped.
Arranging the articles in groups
Articles should be arranged in alphabetical order when a group contains few articles unless you specifically decide to arrange them differently.
When a group contains many articles, it is recommended to sort them better so that the user can scan through the contents of the group based on the topic. You can create subgroups in the web management system that have the sole purpose of making it easier for the user to find information quickly and efficiently through the web's navigation.
Within each sub-group, the web's articles are arranged in alphabetical order, unless it is specifically chosen to arrange them in a different way.
Avoid repetition
Repetition of content can mislead the user and increases the likelihood that they will look for information in other ways, for example via e-mail or telephone.
The goal with Ísland.is is to eventually create one place where people know they can find the facts about governmental services. This is often referred to as a 'single source of truth'. Repeated content produces worse search results, confuses the user and damages the credibility of Ísland.is.
The number of categories, groups and articles that the user has to choose from each time must be set in moderation. A rule of thumb is to:
limit the number of service categories on the front page to 18. Over time, it will hopefully be possible to further reduce the number or to only publish on the front page the categories that are most relevant to the public.
limit the number of groups in each category to 20 if possible.
limit the number of articles per group to 12 if no subgroups are used. If the number of articles increases, the possibility of subgroups should be considered.
The sorting of articles into groups and subgroups needs to be constantly reviewed. When the content of the website increases, it will be necessary to combine or split up groups according to the scope and nature of the content.
Site map: All articles belong in one specific place on the site map. This location determines the breadcrumb trail of the article.
Navigation: An article can be referenced in more places in the navigation system to help users find the content. The same content can be relevant to different users who search in different categories of the website.
For example, an article about financial aid to families of children with disabilities could belong in the category Family and Welfare / Financial Assistance in the site map, but could also be accessed from the category Poeple with disabilites.
URLs on Ísland.is are designed to be simple, predictable and user-friendly. They follow a specific structure so users can quickly understand how they work.
Most URLs are generated automatically when a new subpage is created in the Contentful web management system.
Sometimes short URLs are created for marketing purposes.
URL structure
Content pages (articles) are without a prefix in the URL - island.is/[page name]
All other site types have a descriptive prefix - island.is/[page type]/[page name]
Types of pages and suggested prefixes:
Navigation:
island.is/en/category/family-and-social-welfare#parental-leave-and-registering-a-childArticles (content pages):
island.is/en/parental-leaveLife Event:
island.is/en/life-events/having-a-babyInstitutional pages:
island.is/en/o/district-commissionerNews:
island.is/en/news/30-agencies-websites-soon-moved-to-island-is
Page titles (H1) should:
be 65 characters or less
be descriptive and distinguish the content of the page from all other pages of the website (can stand alone in search results)
include the main keywords in the front of the title
not contain hyphens or slash marks
not contain a period at the end
be written using the same vocabulary used by users
Example of a descriptive title:
✅ Social work and service centres for senior citizens
🚫 Social work and service centres
Example of a front-loaded title:
✅ Adopting a stepchild under 18 years old
🚫 Important information when adopting a stepchild under 18 year old
Title length
A title should be 65 characters or less.
More than 65 characters may be used if necessary to make the title clearer or unique, but please note that:
Google only uses the first 65 characters and ignores the rest
long titles are more difficult to understand
As a rule, 80% of the users need the same 20% of the information. Our job is to figure out what that 20% is and
have this information at the top of articles/text pages
have these articles at the top of their categories in the navigation system
3. People can understand it
Users enter the web for a specific purpose. There is something they need to know or need to do related to governmental institutions.
Most commonly they are
trying to complete a specific task, for example
- apply for increased child support
- apply for a residence permit
- move legal domicilesearching for information, for example
- when child benefit is paid and how much it is
- on visitation rights of non-custodial parents
- what needs to be done when a person dies
The aim is that each article responds to one defined user need. We need to find out what those needs are.
Example:
A person who wants to adopt their 7-year-old stepchild should not have to scan all the information about foster child adoption or child adoption from abroad. These are very different processes and people need different information to complete these tasks.
→ That's why these are separate articles on Ísland.is.
Most web users want to achieve their goal as quickly as possible, with as little effort as possible. People visit a site to find an answer quickly and safely - not to read an essay on the topic.
People scan text instead of reading it. People scan by jumping back and forth on the page, skipping content, and then going back to scan what they skipped.
Scan pattern
There are many known scan patterns.
🚫 F-shape pattern is an example of a bad scan pattern.
✅ Layer-cake pattern is what we are after.
Photo: Nielsen Norman Group
Users spend the most time on the text at the top and left side of the page. Then they jump down and look there for a while, but not with the same concentration as at the top.
As they move down the page, they scan fewer and fewer words per line, forming an F-shaped pattern.
People use this method when they are not interested enough to read every single word and when the text is presented in large chunks without structure.
The F-shaped pattern is bad for users and for the company or institution. Users may miss important information simply because it appears on the right side of the page. Users don't realize this because they don't know what they don't see.
A good text structure reduces the F-shaped pattern.
Photo: Nielsen Norman Group
Users look mostly at the title and subheadings until they find a chapter they are interested in, and then they start reading.
This is considered the best way for users to scan pages.
The layer-cake pattern is achieved with
short passages of text
subheadings where keywords are at the front of the sentence
good structure of text to highlight main points, for example with bulleted lists
Photo: Microsoft
People don't read text letter by letter. People focus on a word or part of a word, receive
the information, then skip and focus on another word. The brain creates the context that people miss when they skip words, it fills in the blanks.
Short, simple words are easy to predict when the eyes scan. Complex and uncommon words are harder to predict without focusing on them for a while, which slows down reading.
→ Speed up reading by using common words and avoiding legal terms, technical terms and complex words that few people know how to use.
Use the same vocabulary that people use when they discuss the topic with each other. Avoid technical language, legal language and other complicated words that only a few are comfortable using.
Use clear words.
✅ Services for people with disabilities
🚫 Social services
If it is necessary to use a complex term or word, it should be explained when it first appears in the text.
Write the text based on the user and not based on the institution.
✅ The contract can be collected after the official registration
🚫 The contract is handed over after official registration
Personas that represent a few of the user groups of Ísland.is
The tone of Ísland.is is positive, warm and clear. We take our role seriously as we are speaking to the nation, 24 hours a day. We need to be aware of our tone of voice, tone and texture of every message wherever we deliver it.
The tone needs to be positive and effortless, without trying to be particularly 'cool'. The appearance must be refined and professional, without being dry and boring. We get straight to the point with the goal of helping people quickly and safely find what they're looking for.
We are:
informative — not complicated
tactful — not pretentious
helpful — not pushy
accurate — not pedantic
positive — not upbeat
We use Icelandic whenever possible. In written language, we avoid slang and technical language (jargon). We do not use emojis. However, they can be used in chat and in more personal communication like online chat.
The text should always be concise and to the point. If detailed explanations are needed in the text, you can refer to supplementary material. This also needs to be kept in mind within the institutions, in presentations, videos, e-mails, reports and other material that passes between employees.
We take care in addressing the genders and use gender-neutral terms. We never talk down to any groups and are aware of users who are not native speakers of Icelandic or who have difficulty reading or understanding it.
Ísland.is — straight to the point
Examples of tone of voice
Informative — not complicated
Now:
Registering a religious or life stance affiliation in the national register does not mean that the National Register of Iceland keeps a separate membership list of religious or life stance affiliations, but is only a matter of recording where the parish fees should go according to the provisions of Act on parish fees no. 91/1987 and the Act on Registered Religious Societies and Life Review Societies no. 108/1999.
Better:
The registration keeps track of where the parish fees go. The National Registry of Iceland does not maintain a separate membership list of religious or life stance affiliations. See the provisions of the law on court fees no. 91/1987 and registered religious associations and religious associations no. 108/1999.
Tactful — not pretentious
Now:
You may only look up by country code, property number or property name.
Better:
You can look up the name of the property, its number or its country code. Helpful — not pushy
Now:
A separate account must be given of its consequences according to Article 9 law on passports.
Better:
Its consequences must be accounted for. See Article 9. law on passports.
Worse:
It is necessary to immediately make a special account of its consequences according to Article 9 law on passports.
Accurate — not pedantic
Now:
The information provided is paid for at a rate that is in effect at any time (licensing fee plus transaction fee) and under applicable law. The invoice will be sent out on a monthly basis.
Better: Invoices are sent out on a monthly basis. Now: Information is paid for under a tariff (licensing fee and entry fee).
Positive — not upbeat
Now:
Was the content on the site helpful?
Worse:
Hi, did you find everything you needed?
Helpful material for printout
Áherslur fyrir efni (pdf)
Gátlisti við efnisskrif (pdf)
Follow-up: Are there a lot of questions on the same subject?
If the helpdesk receives many questions on the same topic, we need to look at what causes the problem and seek to fix what is wrong.
Let us examine the website. Talk to users. Research the following:
If the content that users need is simply not available on the website, it needs to be improved.
Let's start by defining and justifying the need for it as follows:
AS [user]
I WANT [action]
SO [reason/benefit]
and then make a new article on the website that meets this user need.
Is the content not sorted well enough on the website?
Do we need to move it in the navigation system?
Do we need to make a new reference to it in another class?
Is the title of the article not descriptive enough for the topic?
Make the title more descriptive.
Use the right keywords
Are the subheadings not descriptive enough?
Make the subheading better.
Divide the content more.
Is the text too far down on the article?
Would it be better to rearrange the sections of the article?
Is the wording too complicated?
Simplify it.
Rewrite legal texts and other technical languages that few people are comfortable using.
Shorten paragraphs.
Are we not using the vocabulary that people use?
Learn the words that people use when they talk about the subject. Social media and online forums are good places to meet users.
Is the text too long, are people not bothered to read it to understand it?
Get straight to the point. Have the most sought-after content at the top of the article.
Shorten or divide long texts into smaller sections with good subheadings.
Make it easier for people to read by highlighting the main points with bulleted lists or numbered lists.
