July 2025
What are stormwater treatment measures (STMs)? Your answer is as good as mine — Until I was tasked with creating a video and revamping a webpage about how to maintain them!
We completed the video before starting the webpage, as we thought the web edits would be quicker. The STM page used to be cut and dry. It technically had everything you needed to know about STMs and the requirements, but it could use some TLC.
Just like with any outreach or collateral, the staff on the program side need to provide the communications side with the content. The STM team wanted three components: An STM overview, types of STMs, and an FAQ.
1: The Overview
The overview took the most time to refine, as it was the bulk of the page’s content. The team initially sent an extremely detailed write-up, but I advised against overly technical language, as STM owners can range from a homeowner to a casino manger. I always advocate for language that’s at an eighth grade reading level and follows plain language standards for most outreach.
They came back with their version of simplified language, but it was still too technical. I ended up “marrying” the two versions. Even though we didn’t end up using either version, both of them helped me understand STMs more than if I only read one of them!
Below is the before:
Below is after:
2: Types of STMs
The STM team envisioned a carousel or a presentation slide webpart for this section, but our website does not have those capabilities. Instead, I suggested accordions, as they can be closed on default which saves on page real estate.
I wanted to keep the user’s experience in mind as I was working on this page. There are many sections to this page, in addition to the resources column on the left. Including this column, narrows the middle portion of the page, leading to users having to scroll more to find the information.
Below are the closed accordions with the accompanying video and an open accordion:
3: FAQ
The final component was the FAQ section. The team initially requested it be on the main STM page, but I recommended it live on its own page, as there were many questions and categories for them.
I reviewed the content for plain language standards and an eighth grade reading level, just as I did for the main content.
rinanguyen.com 