Make information as succinct as possible

Accessibility

Content that is short, succinct, and well structured is a great way to insure users can access it easily.

Text that is long and dense is off-putting and sometimes impossible to access for many users. this includes many people who do not consider themselves as someone with a disability.
For instance, a user who has been multiple sites/pages looking for info might be tired. they may also have better examples of sites to compare content to.
This means someone might come from, for example, a site at uOttawa which had more streamlined textual info and simply shut down if they come to a Carleton site with dense, disorganized content.

Remember that organization is also key
Write short, straight-forward sentences, in brief paragraphs.
Use the pyramidal approach – place the most important information you need to convey in the first sentences of the first paragraph.
Use unordered/ordered lists appropriately where possible
Sometimes a page has to include much info. Employ the table of contents feature if you have a long page.

Obviously the inverse practices make content inaccessible. So avoid dense and verbose text, on long and unorganized pages.

Usability: This features helps users quickly scan a page for content they need.
SEO: Google and other search engines place a huge emphasis on pages with proper headings and hierarchy to prioritize pages in their rankings.
Marketing: If people can find content quickly and easily there is more chance they will apply to Carleton or use the university’s services.

From WCAG:

“Users with disabilities that make it difficult to decode words and sentences are likely to have trouble reading and understanding complex text.”