Web writing and publishing: Guidelines for health data and dashboards on Canada.ca

Designing for the Infobase

If you are preparing a data product for the Health Infobase, use this manual:

• Health Infobase Design Manual

Web writing

The Canada.ca Content Style Guide provides rules and guidance for writing and formatting Government of Canada web content. The Style Guide is based on user testing and best practices and emphasizes writing in plain language.

Once you’ve completed a draft of your content, a web writer will work with you to further refine it and ensure it meets GC standards and plain language requirements.

One person on the program side should be assigned to work with the web writer. That person will consolidate all feedback from program’s side before sending it back to the web writer in a single document. Your document will likely go back and forth between the web writer and the program representative several times before final content is agreed upon.

Once the content in one official language is finalized, the web writer will arrange for translation and concurrence.

Data product publishing process

We strongly recommend a phased project approach to establish deliverables based on what can be accomplished with resources, time, software and budget available.

Before you start working on a data application, make sure your management is engaged from the start to the end. Gather the right people around a table and discuss resources, roles and responsibilities, maintenance, process, timeline, approval level and life cycle. Defining who is responsible, accountable, consulted and informed will help you to shape your phases and steps.

Based on best practices, here is a quick overview of phases and steps identified for the web publishing process and approval.

Table 2: Publishing process: phases and steps for the integration of data and dashboards

Phases	Steps
1: Define requirements	1: Define audience, content and data requirements 2: Refine content and data requirements 3: Validate location in the information architecture (IA)
2: Edit content and data	4: Draft content 5: Web content quality assessment 6: Adjust content or data as required 7: Approve final content, data and concept 8: Translate content
3: Web development	9: Add UTM code, metadata, content and data on Development site 10: Accessibility and usability quality assessment 11: Approval (greenlight to go live) 12: Publish content on Production site (go live)
4: Performance evaluation	13: Collect data (questions, analytics) 14: Analyse data 15: Evaluate results
5: Life cycle	16: Update content (new iteration, new layer) 17: Archive or unpublish