Best practice for adding or updating a service

Here you will find our top tips on what to include and how to format your record.

Content 

  • Make sure your title explains what your service does not just your company name. For example, “Digital skills courses from Manchester Adult Education Service” rather than just “MAES courses” 
  • Ensure that if you have several listings with the same title, you highlight the venue or location where each activity is taking place.
  • Keep it short and to the point.
  • Go straight into your offer/call to action. Citizens don’t need to know everything about your company to decide if it is a service they may find useful. 
  • Try to use simple language and avoid jargon. 
  • Avoid adding downloads like leaflets. Users are unlikely to download a file just to find out when your service operates or what it does, include the information in the body of text instead. 
  • Include a Manchester post code if you have one. This will show your service on our map and in results when people search by distance from their location. If you are an online only service, you can leave the address section blank. 
  • Use a team email account if possible.

Accessibility and Readability 

  • Break phone numbers up. For example, “0161 234 5001” is easier to read than “01612345001”. If you have multiple different numbers, you can have each on a separate line. 
  • Give descriptions to images and logos. This helps users of assistive technology or people with slow connections understand your content without needing to see the image. 
  • Use clear, descriptive links such as “visit the Help and Support Manchester homepage.” rather than “To visit our homepage click here.”. This helps users understand your content, especially if they are using assistive technology like screen readers. When adding your website URL, you can use the label function to add a descriptive link.
  • List time in AM/PM and rather than 24-hour time. For example, “11am to 4pm” rather than “11:00 – 16:00”. Some users struggle with 24-hour time and AM/PM is also clearer to screen readers. 
  • Write dates in full: “10th December 2022” this is clearer than “10/12/22 or 10-12-22" 
  • Do not use ‘&’ as these symbols are difficult for users of assistive technology to read.

Required Fields for Creating a Record

  • Title
  • Description
  • Cost: Yes/No 

Only those sections are needed to list a record but the more sections you complete the more likely a citizen will be able find and choose to use your service. 

Actions

Is the information on this page correct? If not, please let us know.