The wonderful folks at NSW Government have these amazing Behavioural Insights in Action guides (I’ve shared a few before). 

This one is around reducing “Sludge” on websites.

The Guide has 4 key areas and tips for each area, here are some I summarized, however, it’s best you use the guide, as it has so many good things:

1. Access and Navigation:
-Make your website easily discoverable using search terms your customers would use.
-Create a mobile-optimized, accessible experience for all users.
-Prioritize intuitive navigation with descriptive hyperlinks.
-The goal is a seamless, user-friendly experience to minimize website sludge.

2. Design:
-Embrace simplicity with digestible text chunks and short, relevant headings.
-Use white space effectively to avoid visual clutter.
-Highlight key information with strategic placement, symbolic icons, and color coding.
-Good design is clean and salient, keeping users engaged.

3. Language and Content:
-Keep content simple and clear with plain language and short sentences.
-Replace jargon with easy-to-understand alternatives.
-Offer clear links to translated material and provide pop-up definitions for complex terms.
-Use first-person questions to break up information and keep users engaged.
-Clarity is the guiding principle for effective content.

4. Outcome and Feedback:
-Understand user behavior through monitoring engagement and drop-offs.
-Provide real-time feedback channels to continually improve user experience.
-Success lies in listening to and understanding your customers’ needs and experiences.

People may sometimes take the work of Governments for granted, but when it comes to Behavioral Insights, they have some amazing resources that can easily be translated for the public sector.

You can read the full guide here.

Have fun removing sludge!

Robert