Our digital content strategy

Our departmental website is a key channel to connect with the public. 

Trust in us and our services is built by delivering consistent, reliable information that meets user needs. Our goal for the website is to engage users and make it easy for them to find and understand our content. We need engaged, informed users to meet our objectives as a department.

Our digital content strategy sets out the key principles and approach to achieve this goal.

What we deliver and where

Each digital service we deliver must have a clear purpose.

We define and communicate this purpose through everything we publish. We use this purpose to help decide what belongs on the digital service.

Identify the right channel

We start by identifying the need to publish something on our website.

Not everything has to be a web page. Sometimes other channels, such as social media, are a better way to achieve the desired outcome.

agriculture.gov.au is our core department website and our core digital service. Through this channel we provide our users with:

• help to comply with laws we administer
• updates on our activities and outcomes of our work
• an entry point to many of our online systems.

All web content should have a clear purpose and objective. It must meet both a user and business need, and clear action the user can take. To publish on our website, we should be best placed to share and manage that content.

Types of content

We only publish content on our website that is valuable to our users and stakeholders. Use this checklist to help you decide if you need to publish on the website.

Your content should meet at least ONE of these criteria.

• Mandatory requirement – information that must be made available under the Information Publication Scheme. This includes FOI requests, portfolio budget statements, org chart, statutory appointments.
• Regulatory information – guidance materials to help people understand and comply with laws we administer.
• Access to programs and services – advice on how to access services, programs and grants we currently deliver.
• Work we deliver – details of strategies, policies and engagement we undertake to support growing Australian agriculture industries and protecting our biosecurity.
• Data and insights – industry data and analysis we generate through our science and research functions, that offer value to end users.

We publish content where we are the authority. This may be in our role as a regulator, as the department delivering a service or program, or as the lead agency on a cross-jurisdictional activity.

We link to other websites for anything that doesn’t fit this definition.

Choose the right format

We publish two key streams of content on our website.

User context

Context of our users should always inform how we develop and maintain content on our website. This is how we develop useful, inclusive content.

While user needs can vary audience to audience, these are high-level principles to keep in mind. These are the crucial factors that drive the need for clear, simple content.

Time-poor

User behaviour is often driven by being time poor.

Website users scan, they don’t read. They will generally look for the first suitable answer, rather than comparing links for the best answer. Users also scan content and decide next action within a matter of seconds.

Seeking simple answers

Both infrequent and expert users report wanting simple information. They want to see processes clearly outlined and information grouped logically, so they can be sure they have read everything relevant.

Task-oriented

Many come to our websites to perform the same or similar tasks. They want to do this quickly and accurately. They need to find information easily, so they can complete the task and leave.

Increased AI engagement

Around 50% of users are adopting AI search functionality over standard web search.

In AI search, our content is summarised for consumption within context. This means users can find an answer without visiting our website. Our content needs to be optimised for simple summaries by AI.

Device use

More than 40% of our users access our website from a mobile or tablet device. This split is broadly consistent across most pages of the website.

Consider how this impacts their ability to scan and understand content. Particularly if it is complex or lacks structural elements such as headings or bullet lists.

Service principles

Our digital service delivery is driven by these 8 simple but essential principles.

Purposeful

What we publish has a purpose that is unique to us. This purpose informs our approach to the content and is clear on the page.

Inclusive

We consider the user’s context when we decide how to publish. All users need equal access to information. They may be time poor, live with a disability, have low literacy, speak English as a second language, or have poor internet access.

We create content for all website users. This informs the format we use, the way we write, and how we approach the offline experience.

Readable

Users trust content they can understand. They want to be able to quickly consume information and know what to do next. 

We use plain language with a Grade 5-9 readability. This ensures content is clear, direct and easy to scan.

Navigable

We design our online solutions to be intuitive and easy to users. This supports our users to find what they need, when they need it.

Relevant

We provide accurate and credible information that users can trust. Content is regularly reviewed to ensure it is reliable, useful and in the right format.

Data-driven

We design with data and use evidence to inform how we design and maintain the service. We test our assumptions and iterate our solutions.

Consistent

We establish a clear tone, style, design and brand and stick to it. This applies to content and the way we use components in the website, to assure it is easy to understand and navigate and meets user expectations.

Collaborative

We work together to draw on the right expertise and deliver quality solutions.

We listen to our users, clearly define our business objectives and design with these needs in mind. We test solutions to ensure they are fit for purpose.

Flexible

We are open to new insights and willing to change our approach to meet new demands.

We continue to measure, iterate and improve our digital services.

Content lifecycle

Our goal is a constant cycle of improvement. We deliver an evidence-based service, measure user interactions and success, and update in response to real-world evidence of user needs.

We adopt the service principles at each stage of the content lifecycle.

Plan

Decide if the content is right for this website. Use evidence to inform a user-friendly approach.

Create

Draft the content in line with principles in this strategy.

Approve

Engage the right subject matter and communication expertise to review the content.

Publish

Make content live on the website. Have a plan for how it will be maintained.

Measure

Monitor and gather insights on how content is used to inform potential improvements.

Improve

Content on the website should be reviewed at least every 6 months. Use evidence to decide how to improve the content. This can be archiving it if no longer needed.

Return to the ‘Plan’ stage to develop your improvements. Action your updates as a web publishing request.

Digital intelligence

Data and insights are the foundation of each stage of the content lifecycle.

We gather user insights to inform new or improved content. We measure the success of content to identify where iteration is needed. We test proposed changes to ensure they are fit-for-purpose.

The Web User Experience team can help you gather and apply insights to your web content.

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