All pages

FOR ALL PAGES

When Check that the page... Record any feedback… The perfect page...

Alignment to bis.gov.uk proposition

New/review £ ...has a clear audience ...helps the user complete a task (find X or do Y), or the organisation fulfil a
New/review £ ...has a clear purpose goal, which is within scope of the site's overall audience and purpose
New/review £ ...deals with a subject which is current ...can be relied upon by visitors to be relevant and accurate
New £ ...has been approved for release ...is cleared by press office or a senior policy official for publication
Review £ ...is receiving respectable traffic levels ...is found useful by visitors in numbers which match expectations
New/review £ ...is comprehensive ...leaves no obvious questions unanswered and raises no new ones
New/review £ ...has a current content owner ...is reviewed regularly (every 6-12 months) by its author/owner

Findability and usability

New/review £ ...can be found by searching ...shows in the top 5 results or as a featured result for relevant searches
New/review £ ...can be found if misspelt ...offers 'did you mean' search prompts for common misspellings
New/review £ ...can be found by browsing ...is located in the section where visitors are most likely to look for it
New/review £ …is promoted from other relevant pages …is offered as a suggested link from other, similar topics in the site
New/review £ ...has a clear 'short title' in the left nav …has a navigation label which can be instantly understood
New/review £ ...has a clear 'long title' ...conveys its purpose clearly to users and search engines via the title
New £ ...has a memorable URL ...has a URL which can be typed in or dictated, with no acronyms
Review £ ...has not changed its URL ...always retains the same URL as when it was first published
On deletion £ ...has copied to the National Archives ...is preserved for posterity as part of national public records
On deletion £ ...has not caused broken inward links ...contains links that all work, even when pages are moved or deleted
New/review £ ...uses popular keywords in the text ...uses the same words that visitors use when searching and scanning
Layout and template
New £ …is in the right template for its type …has a consistent look and feel with other pages of the same type
New £ …has a suitable number of columns …uses a three-column layout unless it contains wide tables or images
Editorial style and impact
New/review £ ...is in plain English
...can be understood without specialist language or prior knowledge
New/review £ ...defines abbreviations on first use
New/review £ ...uses an appropriate tone of voice ...uses a friendly tone consistent with content elsewhere on the site
New/review £ ...has a clear summary/first sentence ...makes its point and purpose clear in the first 30-50 words
New/review £ …is structured with headings and lists ...can be scanned quickly by the reader for meaning and structure
New/review £ ...uses images and media effectively ...is visually appealing and engaging
New/review £ ...uses formatting effectively ...breaks up content with italics, pull quotes and bold – but sparingly
New/review £ ...is concise, using short sentences ...can be read and understood quickly, with simple language and no
redundant words or irrelevant detail
Page 1
 All pages
...can be read and understood quickly, with simple language and no
New/review £ ...is not excessively long overall redundant words or irrelevant detail
New/review £ ...contains no misspelled words ...is spelt correctly in UK English to house style
New/review £ …contains no grammatical errors …is grammatically correct UK English to house style
New/review £ ...uses capitalisation appropriately ...avoids misleading the eye with unnecessary use of capital letters
New/review £ ...uses house date and numbers style ...contains dates and numbers in a format that is easy to read

Syndication, interaction and re-use

New/review £ …encourages re-use of data (if any) ...provides public datasets (if any) in a linked open format for re-use
New/review £ ...has appropriate syndication options ...can be subscribed to by email and/or RSS feeds if frequently updated
Review £ ...has correct minor/major change flag ...reliably alerts subscribers to significant updates but not minor edits
New/review £ ...has appropriate sharing options ...makes it easy for readers to bookmark and share the URL
New/review £ …provides appropriate social media tools …encourages interaction, feedback and engagement with the topic
New/review £ …includes well-chosen sidebar panels …presents useful/interesting content from other sources in the sidebar
Links and contextual information
New/review £ ...contains no broken links ...contains links that all work, even when pages are moved or deleted
New/review £ …uses titles of target pages as link text …contains links that describe what is being linked to (never 'click here!')
New/review £ …provides thorough inline links ...helps readers go to directly relevant content whenever it's mentioned
New/review £ ...provides well-chosen sidebar links ...helps readers see tangentially relevant content they may also like
New/review £ ...signposts content on gov supersites ...helps people find related content we publish to other gov sites
New/review £ ...shows relevant contacts/ministers ...helps people understand who does what in our organisation
New/review £ ...links news, speeches, publications ...presents a recent history of pertinent official announcements
Files and downloads
New/review £ …provides clear links to any downloads …can be scanned quickly by the reader for any downloadable files
New/review £ …provides accessible PDFs (if any) …provides PDF files (if any) in a bookmarked, fully accessible form
New/review £ …contains no oversized files …provides files (if any) at small enough sizes for low bandwidth users

Metadata
New/review £ ...contains relevant keyword metadata
...conforms to the eGMS government metadata standard and can be
New/review £ ...has relevant IPSV subject term(s)
indexed by the website software and other systems in multiple ways
New/review £ …has meaningful description metadata
New/review £ …has a suitable review date, max 1 year ...is reviewed regularly (every 6-12 months) by its author/owner

Legal and technical

New/review £ ...has appropriate copyright clearances ...has written copyright clearances for all content from 3rd parties
New/review £ ...provides text alternatives for media ...does not discriminate against any visitor irrespective of ability
New/review £ ...passes Wave accessibility check ...conforms to AA level accessibility against WCAG 2.0

Page 2
 All pages
New/review £ ...passes W3C validation ...is written in valid XHTML1.0 and CSS 2.0
New £ ...is available in Welsh if applicable …does not discriminate and complies with the Welsh Language Scheme

FOR POLICY PAGES

When Check that the policy page... Record any feedback… The perfect policy page...
New/review £ ...warrants an entry in the policy listing ...is a significant, discrete programme, initiative or area of work
New/review £ ...has appropriate syonymn titles ...can be found under all A-Z letters where users may be looking for it
New/review £ ...has appropriate 'theme' metadata ...can be found under all Themes where users may be looking for it

FOR PUBLICATIONS
When Check that the publication
New £ ...has a unique reference number (URN)
New/review £ ...is an accessible, bookmarked PDF
New/review £ ...is appropriately branded & designed
New/review £ ...is optimised for downloading online
Record any feedback…
The perfect publication…
...is catalogued in BIS systems and deposited in the British Library
...is tagged for screen readers and bookmarked for online navigation
...uses the corporate front cover, back page and boilerplate
...is a small enough file size to download on slow bandwidths

FOR CONSULTATIONS
When Check that the consultation Record any feedback… The perfect consultation…
New £ …is approved by Better Regulation …conforms to the consultation code of best practice
New £ ...has correct opening and closing dates ...makes it clear when the period for submitting repiles starts and ends
New £ ...has full, accurate contact details ...provides multiple ways for people to respond in writing and online
New £ …has correct RDFa data …is marked up in RDFa for indexing on Directgov and elsewhere
New £ ...provides a meaningful abstract ...states clearly what the consultation is about and who it's for
New £ ...has all consultation files(s) attached …provides consultation documents that are easy to download and print
New £ ...has the impact assessment attached
Review £ ...has the response document attached …is updated with the government response when available

Page 3
 Media sizes
Media type Dimensions

Images in regular slots

Homepage primary story
Homepage secondary story
Homepage tertiary story/feature
Minister – main
Minister – small
Consultation front cover
Publication front cover
Partner logo
313 x 251 (check 310 x 310 and any height)
211 x 205 (check 210 x 210 and any height)
277 x 84 (check 275 x 85 and align left/ right combos)
210 x 210
175 x 175
135 x 190
135 x 190
Any width x 45 (check a few partner logos)

Images in the body of pages

Summary box image 100px x 100px
Thumbnail 100px x 100px
Medium 250px wide x (height determined by aspect ratio)
Large (full width) 450px wide x (height determined by aspect ratio)

Images in sidebar panels

Thumnbail 75 x Any height
Full width 225 x Any height

Embeddable media
Youtube video Use Rich text editor control
Scribd publication Use Rich text editor control
Flickr set/library Use Rich text editor control
Etc.

Page 4
 Media sizes
File size & format Alignment

Web optimised jpg/gif/png

Web optimised jpg/gif/png
Web optimised jpg/gif/png
Web optimised jpg/gif/png
Web optimised jpg/gif/png
Web optimised jpg/gif/png
Web optimised jpg/gif/png
Web optimised jpg/gif/png

Web optimised jpg/gif/png Aligned left

Web optimised jpg/gif/png Aligned right
Web optimised jpg/gif/png Aligned right
Web optimised jpg/gif/png No aligment

Web optimised jpg/gif/png Aligned right

Web optimised jpg/gif/png No aligment

Max 15MB?

Page 5