UX Design For Government Websites

🌎 Designing Cross-Cultural And Multi-Lingual UX. Guidelines on how to stress test our designs, how to define a localization strategy and how to deal with currencies, dates, word order, pluralization, colors and gender pronouns. ⦿ Translation: “We adapt our message to resonate in other markets”. ⦿ Localization: “We adapt user experience to local expectations”. ⦿ Internationalization: “We adapt our codebase to work in other markets”. ✅ English-language users make up about 26% of users. ✅ Top written languages: Chinese, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese. ✅ Most users prefer content in their native language(s). ✅ French texts are on average 20% longer than English ones. ✅ Japanese texts are on average 30–60% shorter. 🚫 Flags aren’t languages: avoid them for language selection. 🚫 Language direction ≠ design direction (“F” vs. Zig-Zag pattern). 🚫 Not everybody has first/middle names: “Full name” is better. ✅ Always reserve at least 30% room for longer translations. ✅ Stress test your UI for translation with pseudolocalization. ✅ Plan for line wrap, truncation, very short and very long labels. ✅ Adjust numbers, dates, times, formats, units, addresses. ✅ Adjust currency, spelling, input masks, placeholders. ✅ Always conduct UX research with local users. When localizing an interface, we need to work beyond translation. We need to be respectful of cultural differences. E.g. in Arabic we would often need to increase the spacing between lines. For Chinese market, we need to increase the density of information. German sites require a vast amount of detail to communicate that a topic is well-thought-out. Stress test your design. Avoid assumptions. Work with local content designers. Spend time in the country to better understand the market. Have local help on the ground. And test repeatedly with local users as an ongoing part of the design process. You’ll be surprised by some findings, but you’ll also learn to adapt and scale to be effective — whatever market is going to come up next. Useful resources: UX Design Across Different Cultures, by Jenny Shen https://lnkd.in/eNiyVqiH UX Localization Handbook, by Phrase https://lnkd.in/eKN7usSA A Complete Guide To UX Localization, by Michal Kessel Shitrit 🎗️ https://lnkd.in/eaQJt-bU Designing Multi-Lingual UX, by yours truly https://lnkd.in/eR3GnwXQ Flags Are Not Languages, by James Offer https://lnkd.in/eaySNFGa IBM Globalization Checklists https://lnkd.in/ewNzysqv Books: ⦿ Cross-Cultural Design (https://lnkd.in/e8KswErf) by Senongo Akpem ⦿ The Culture Map (https://lnkd.in/edfyMqhN) by Erin Meyer ⦿ UX Writing & Microcopy (https://lnkd.in/e_ZFu374) by Kinneret Yifrah

Here’s the exact AI content strategy I use to take sites from page 5 to page 1 in 2025: 1) Topical Mapping • Start with a root topic. Think “Digital Marketing,” not “How to run Facebook Ads.” • Use ChatGPT to break it into subtopics + FAQs. This is your first-pass topical map. • Validate each subtopic by checking traffic potential via tools like Ahrefs/SEMRush. • Organize content into silos (pillar + clusters). Every piece should fit somewhere. 2) AI Content Workflow (the right way) • Don’t write and publish raw AI. You’ll get nuked. • Use AI for draft generation and outline speed. • Human editor polishes for tone, accuracy, and nuance. (Or use a tool like SurferAI) • Inject real experience, stats, or original examples. That’s how you stand out. • Cap output to ~3–5 articles per day/site. Don’t trip Google’s velocity radar. 3) Entity Optimization (critical in 2025) • Think beyond keywords - identify key entities for your niche. • Use tools like SurferSEO to extract relevant entities from top pages. • Weave entities naturally into headings, body copy, image alt text, etc. • Use internal links to connect related entities and pages. • Use schema markup to help Google understand entity relationships on your site. 4) On-Page Setup for AI Content • Match search intent by checking SERPs and aligning format with top-ranking pages. • Main query in H1. Subtopics covered in H2-H3. • Answer user query as fast as possible. • Add internal links to parent and sibling pages. • Include media (images, video embeds, infographics) to lower bounce rate. • Write naturally. Google's NLP understands natural speech patterns. Explain topics as if you're talking to someone in conversation. 5) Topical Authority Building • Cover each topic fully to position your site as the best resource in that niche. • Avoid shallow posts. Go deep. Expand on how-tos, FAQs, comparisons, pros/cons. • Build out each silo based on topic size and search demand. • Revisit old posts monthly. Merge duplicates. Expand thin content. • Use internal links to connect related articles within the same silo. 6) Link Building That Complements • Don’t build links to garbage AI content. Clean it up first. • Focus on niche-relevant guest posts, citations, and digital PR. • Use branded anchors primarily. Sprinkle in partial matches where it makes sense. • Internal links do 80% of the work early on. Don’t ignore them. 7) Content Maintenance Between Core Updates • Track rankings in GSC or Ahrefs weekly. Flag drops and check affected pages. • Add new internal links when publishing fresh content. • Update old pages with new data, media, and search queries from GSC. • Remove deadweight content that doesn’t rank or convert.

Inclusive form design isn’t a luxury, it's a civil right. Most registration processes are forms based. Without accessible forms, people who use assistive technology can't get through the door. When we talk about submit buttons, the choice to make them active all the time isn’t about “just making things easier” — it’s about removing real accessibility barriers. An active submit button means users who rely on screen readers or keyboard navigation can always finish what they started. But most designers/UX folks talk about submit vs in-line field validation as an "or." I propose we look at them as an "and." Just like the little girl in the meme says, "why not both?" If you have an active submit button and ALSO add in-line validation, which flags issues as they arise, you are creating an experience that sets the standard for a best practice. You aren't just following the guidelines to achieve compliance, you are making sure that people with disabilities have the best chance of becoming customers as anyone else. Real-time feedback reduces stress for those who may struggle to go back and forth in a form, helping everyone complete it without hassle. Active submit combined with user-friendly error message means users don't get stuck looking through a long form trying to figure out which required field they missed. Companies like #Amazon have it right — they combine both. When we prioritize both an always-active button and in-line validation, we’re making digital spaces accessible, user-centered, and, most importantly, equitable. Alt: first image is a female child seated in an office with the caption: "Submit Button always active" on the left side and "in-line field validation" on the right side. Beneath it is a question: "why don't we have both? " second image shows group of persons lifting the female child up in celebration. #AccessibilityMemeMonday #InclusiveDesign #AccessibleForms #DigitalEquity #Disability #Inclusion #UserCenteredAccessibility https://lnkd.in/ecX_YG93

Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) isn’t just about inserting keywords—it’s about understanding your audience’s intent and structuring your content to address their needs effectively. By focusing on keyword intent, clustering, and topical relevance, your law firm can improve search engine visibility and attract the right clients. 1️⃣ Keyword Intent: Align Your Content with Client Needs Understanding the intent behind a client’s search helps you create content that meets their expectations. >> Informational Intent: Clients seeking answers or guidance: “What are my rights after a workplace accident?” “How does probate work in the UK?” Strategy: Publish blogs, FAQs, and educational resources addressing these queries. >> Navigational Intent: Clients looking for a specific service or firm: “Best family law solicitor in Birmingham.” “Smith & Partners legal advice contact.” Strategy: Ensure your website is optimised with clear service pages and detailed contact information. >> Transactional Intent: Clients ready to take action, such as hiring a solicitor: “No-win, no-fee personal injury lawyer near me.” “Book a legal consultation online.” Strategy: Provide strong calls to action, online booking systems, and client testimonials. 2️⃣ Topic Clusters: Build Content Hubs Search engines prioritise websites that demonstrate topical authority. Instead of individual, isolated keywords, focus on clustering related topics under one umbrella: Example Topic Cluster: Divorce Law in the UK >> Pillar Content: “The Ultimate Guide to Divorce Law in the UK.” Cluster Content: > > >“Understanding the Divorce Process.” > > >“How Child Custody is Decided in England and Wales.” > > >“Divorce Mediation vs. Litigation: Which is Right for You?” Strategy: Link all related content back to the main pillar page, reinforcing its authority and creating a seamless user experience. 3️⃣ Focus on Topics Over Keywords Google’s algorithms are increasingly prioritising the overall relevance of content rather than exact keyword matches. Shift Your Focus to Questions Clients Might Ask: Instead of targeting “probate solicitor,” write a guide like “Everything You Need to Know About Handling Probate in the UK.” Instead of “employment lawyer,” address specific pain points, like “What to Do If You’ve Been Unfairly Dismissed.” Strategy: Create comprehensive, client-focused content that answers multiple related questions in one place. 4️⃣ Tools and Strategies for Success >> Use platforms like Google Search Console, inLinks, Dragon Metrics, and AlsoAsked to identify questions, intent, and related searches. >> Monitor which queries drive traffic to your website. >> Optimise internal linking to guide users through relevant content, keeping them engaged on your site longer. By focusing on the bigger picture—client intent, interconnected topics, and a well-structured content strategy—you can better establish your firm as a trusted authority. #lawfirmmarketing #digitalmarketing

Want to create AI-powered products that users actually love? Master the essential UX principles for AI and build experiences that are intuitive, trustworthy, and effective principles include..... 1) Human-centered AI design Prioritizing user needs and aligning AI features with user expectations to augment human capabilities 2) Seamless human-AI interaction Designing intuitive interfaces and clear communication to ensure a smooth collaboration between humans and AI 3) Balancing AI capabilities and constraints Understanding the strengths and limitations of AI to optimize algorithms and data quality 4) Explainability and Transparency Explaining to the user why the AI behaves, recommends, or suggests a result by providing clear explanations for AI decisions 5) User control balancing AI automation with user control by offering settings and preferences to adapt AI behavior and override AI decisions 6) Feedback mechanisms Establishing channels for users to offer feedback on system performance, enabling continuous improvement based on real user experiences 7) Managing user expectations Providing a detailed description of what users can expect from the app to manage expectations successfully 8) Error Handling Providing clear feedback and guidance to help users understand and address errors effectively #ux #ui #uxui #ai #aiux #llm #generativeai #productdesign #deepseek #chstgpt

If you think about design too late, it's like lipsticking a pig. A fantastic, free collection of Laws of UX. They can help us: - Come up with better product ideas - Come up with better hypotheses - Analyze and understand any usability issues The top eight: 1. Aesthetic-Usability Effect Users perceive designs that are aesthetically pleasing as more usable. Product teams should recognize this effect, particularly when testing user prototypes. 2. Doherty Threshold Productivity peaks when interactions between a computer and its users occur in less than 400 milliseconds. You can enhance the perceived speed of your product with techniques like animations or progress indicators. Also, try to search for posts on LinkedIn. LinkedIn quickly displays an empty skeleton with animations before getting any response from the server. 3. Von Restorff Effect In a group of similar items, the one that stands out is most remembered. A common approach is highlighting one “primary action” the user is encouraged to take. 4. Goal-Gradient Effect Users’ motivation increases as they get closer to completing a task. You can encourage users by showing them how close to the end they are with the help of progress bars or checklists. You can also consider presenting an illusion of progress, such as starting from 20% or moving the bar regardless of whether the progress can be determined. 5. Hick’s Law The time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices. Reduce options when quick decisions matter. Break down complex tasks into smaller, manageable steps. 6. Miller’s Law The average person can only keep 7 (+-2) items in their working memory. Focus on breaking down information into manageable chunks. For example, in the jobs section, LinkedIn displays 5 icons in the top menu, 7 links in the left menu, and 7 suggested job searches in the middle. 7. Peak-End Rule People remember the most intense point and the end of an experience more than the entire journey. Product teams should focus on enhancing the high-impact moments and the final step of the user experience. For example, HubSpot celebrates creating an account with animated confetti. 8. Postel’s Law Be liberal in what you accept and conservative in what you send. Let's say you have a form that requires a phone number. Forcing users to use a specific format might cause frustration. Yet, it’s a widespread mistake. When editing an Instagram account, you can enter your phone number in the following format: "+48-667 111-2 22." After refreshing the page, you will see "+48667111222." ----- A complete, free collection prepared by Jon Jablonski: https://lawsofux.com/ Examples for PMs and how to apply those laws to product management: https://lnkd.in/dUj6FNsQ --- After 15 years, I'm still learning and don't know everything. Any laws or resources you would add to the list?

💡Laws of UX Laws of UX are a set of principles rooted in psychology and behavioral science that guide user experience and user interface design. Below are some of the key principles I frequently apply in my work: 🍎 Peak-end rule People judge an experience based on how they felt at its peak (most intense point) and at its end rather than the overall experience. How to apply: Ensure users have a positive final experience with your product, no matter if it's a conversion (smooth checkout process) or offboarding (no hidden charges when closing the account). 🍎 Pareto principle (80/20 Rule) 80% of the effects come from 20% of the causes. How to apply:  ✔ Attract right target audience: 80% of company revenue comes from 20% of its customers ✔ Feature prioritization: 80% of a product's usage involves 20% of its features. Prioritize features that provide maximum value to your target audience. ✔ Error handling: 80% of errors are caused by 20% of components. Refine scenarios where users can face problems. 🍎 Aesthetic-usability effect Users perceive aesthetically pleasing designs to be more usable. How to apply: Invest in an attractive and clean design to make the product look visually appealing. However, balance aesthetics with functionality to ensure usability is not compromised. 🍎 Hick's Law The time it takes to make a decision increases with the number and complexity of choices. How to apply: Simplify decision-making for users by reducing the number of options or breaking down complex tasks into smaller, manageable steps. For example, finding the right product on the eCommerce website with too many options can overwhelm users, so grouping items into categories and subcategories and using filters can reduce cognitive load. 🍎 Miller's Law The average person can only keep 7 (±2) items in their working memory at any given time. How to apply: Chunk information into smaller, digestible groups to prevent overwhelming users. For example, in form design, grouping related fields together can help users process information more easily. 🍎 Doherty threshold Productivity increases when a computer and its users interact at a pace where neither has to wait on the other (within 400 milliseconds). How to apply: Ensure your interface responds quickly to user interactions. Minimize delays, loading times, or other interruptions to keep the user engaged and productive. 🍎 Zeigarnik effect People remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed ones. How to apply: Encourage user engagement by providing visual cues that indicate incomplete tasks, such as task lists, prompting users to return and complete the tasks. 📘 Guides ✔ Laws of UX (by Jon Yablonski) https://lawsofux.com/ ✔ Laws of UX diagram https://lnkd.in/dAmjWQhg #UX #productdesign #design #uxdesign #userexperience

Client: 300+ blog posts. 1K/mo (declining) traffic. Me: 0 new blog posts. 120K/mo traffic. How? Content optimisation. Here's the background: The client published 300+ blog posts over 2 years but only had ~1K/mo traffic (which was declining). They had invested 6-figures into their blog and wanted to get more out of their existing content. Here's what we did: 1. Content audit We identified: - Posts nearly ranking (low-hanging fruit) - Posts with potential but poorly optimised - Posts without any value to users or Google - Posts targeting multiple 'intents' to separate - Posts on the same topic that could be merged We prioritised the posts based on getting the quickest increase in traffic possible. 2. Content optimisation We optimised content that had potential (~20%). For each post, we focused on: - Introduction - Internal linking - Word presence - Topic coverage - Matching intent - Term frequency - Featured snippets - Content structure We completed this over a 90-day sprint. We hit 120K+ per month in 180 days. Soon after, we started publishing new content and quickly surpassed 150K+/mo SEO traffic. Questions? Ask below: (I'm responding to them all) Do you want to turn SEO into a 7-figure sales channel? Let’s talk: https://lnkd.in/dMZTehMy

This could fix India’s government app experience. UX4G Design System 2.0 just launched. The Government of India has launched the UX4G Design System - a unified framework to make all government apps and websites consistent, accessible, and user-friendly. This is part of the Digital India Programme, implemented by the National e-Governance Division under MeitY. Here’s what makes this significant: 1) Ready-to-use resources Figma kits and code libraries available for designers and developers. No need to start from scratch for every government project. 2) Accessibility first Built for inclusivity and GIGW compliance. Government services should work for everyone, including people with disabilities. 3) Consistency across ministries Faster, standardized rollouts across different government departments. Citizens get familiar interfaces regardless of which ministry’s app they’re using. 4) Open source approach Available to the entire design and development community, not just government teams. The goal is clear: enhance user accessibility, promote consistency, and empower product teams with modern UI/UX practices. If executed well, this could transform how citizens interact with government services - from tax filing to passport applications. Having used various government apps that feel completely different from each other, a unified design system makes perfect sense. Kudos to the team behind this initiative.

Here are data-driven insights from 12+ years of content-led SEO that I recently shared at brightonSEO San Diego: 1. Content Section Web Design: Sticky top nav = 39% more conversions and 12% more page sessions. Smaller hero images? 7.6% longer time on site. Don’t overlook internal linking - sites with 2%+ of their internal links pointing to content sections perform best. 2. Keyword Research: Start with a keyword research tool and you’ll find high difficulty terms that don’t convert. Start with audience research and you’ll find low difficulty terms that do. Adjust traffic value to fit your brand using a relevancy score refinement (i.e. times by 3 if hyper-relevant, 2 if less so, 1 if a stretch), and remember: refresh content using the average update date of page one results as a guidepost. 3. Content Creation: First-party data is gold, driving 83% more traffic value and 34% more backlinks across all content, not just the original data story. And Google shows images 24.4% of the time, so use custom, high-quality graphics at least every 4 posts to match SERP intent. 4. Content Distribution: Your site architecture can do the heavy lifting. Strategic placement in navigation and content hubs helps assets perform without constant outreach. Stay tuned: Next month, I’ll share a full video of my presentation for those interested in a deep dive. Thank you to everyone who attended my session at #brightonSEO. Meeting with fellow SEOs in sunny San Diego was a highlight, and I loved all the questions and conversations that followed. If we haven't connected yet on LinkedIn, let’s please stay in touch.