Thousands of people use guidance on child arrangements every month, often at some of the most stressful moments in their lives.
We wanted to find out whether it still met people's needs, and what we could do to improve it.
In September 2024, I formed a content improvement team with another content designer and a user researcher, focused on Private Family Law content on GOV.UK. This is how JDDS approaches digital services more widely, bringing different skills together around a single user problem rather than working in separate lanes.
Our goal was to revamp live content and user journeys based on regular user research. We wanted to understand our users and their needs in detail, while showing the value of improving content that is already live.
Since we formed, we have:
- published eight tranches of changes, helping people who divorce or separate to understand how to make child arrangements
- tested with more than 100 users, and improved the user experience by working closely with policy colleagues and the Government Digital Service (GDS)
- built relationships and shared our research, involving stakeholders and building enthusiasm for content design
- shown that content design is not just writing. It is a technical skill that delivers measurable improvements for users
One example shows the impact of this work. Research found that users were often unsure whether mediation was right for their circumstances, which led to confusion and further searching. By restructuring the guidance and explaining the process more plainly, users could better understand their options and what to do next.
Here are the lessons we have learned along the way.
1. Test with scenarios, not opinions
When we first tested live GOV.UK content, users often said it was good, or fine. However, people do not come to GOV.UK to read, they come to do something.
When we set users a task, asking them to do or find something specific, we found vital information was missing. Content can be written in plain English and still fail to meet user needs. Research helps you find out where that is happening.
2. Let evidence decide what to add
Users will usually tell you if something is missing, but they rarely tell you to delete something they do not need.
If you think a piece of content has unmet needs, test it with the gaps still there, unless there is an obvious factual omission such as a missing fee. For everything else, let research show you what is missing, rather than adding more content without evidence it is needed.
3. Good content design works
We do not have to guess what works on GOV.UK. We have an evidence-based style guide and established design patterns to draw on, alongside experienced content designers across government.
Research consistently showed that specific, descriptive headings helped users find information faster and feel more confident navigating the guidance. A good heading does as much to help someone skip what they do not need as it does to help them find what they do.
4. Build a process to get things published
If your team has no process for changing GOV.UK content, start one. Do a content audit to see what is live, then find out who needs to fact check any changes and who maintains the content, whether that is GDS, your own organisation, or someone else.
Explain to policy colleagues and fact checkers what you are doing and why, and keep the group of people involved as small as possible. If you work with GDS, ask about their process and agree a way of working together. Track how long each stage takes, and after each publication, note what worked and what did not.
5. Measure success
Our changes to the mediation chapter increased average engagement time per session by 74 per cent. The usefulness rating rose from 67 per cent to 80 per cent, and the number of users clicking through to find a mediator rose by 14 per cent once we explained how the process works.
Page views and sessions increased, while searches on the page went down, both good signs that people were finding what they needed. Use analytics alongside user research findings to show the value of your changes.
Why this matters beyond family law
This work focused on family law guidance, but it reflects how JDDS approaches digital services more widely. Bringing together user research, multidisciplinary teams, and decisions based on evidence rather than assumption is not specific to one project. It is how we try to make sure any service, across the justice system, continues to meet people's needs long after it first goes live. Continuous improvement only works if it is built into how teams operate day to day, not treated as a one-off fix.
What is next for family law content
We have published a major revamp of the apply for a court order chapter, giving users more information about their options before they go to court. We are adding a help and support chapter so users can find advice from charities and other organisations, and we are continuing to look at the wider journeys people take across GOV.UK.
There will always be more to do, and that is exactly how it should be. Family law content should keep changing, because the people using it do too.
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