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Web Content Review Checklist: 15 Things to Check Before MLR

Written by Annalise Ludtke | May 3, 2020, 5:00:00 AM
Quick answer: Reviewing web content before submitting for MLR review means checking more than copy. Because digital pages add interactivity, responsiveness, images, and title tags, teams need a structured checklist. This guide covers 15 things to check across five areas: content, images, brand, design and accessibility, and functionality, so your digital content is compliant, on brand, and ready for MLR review.

Life science organizations are investing, more than ever, in creating digital content to support a no-touch sales process. Sales reps are trading in their brochures and one-pagers for landing pages and HTML5 apps to reach HCPs in today's digital world. This burst in demand for digital content leaves many marketers and medical, legal, regulatory (MLR) reviewers feeling overwhelmed. Not only is there a high volume of content to create and review, there's an added layer of complexity due to the detailed components that come with digital content: images and copy, interactivity, responsiveness, title tags, and more.

Because there is so much to consider, we created a checklist to reference as you create and review web content. This checklist will help you achieve faster review cycles and ensure your digital content amplifies your sales and marketing efforts. It also pairs well with the broader cornerstones of an effective MLR review process. The 15 items below are from our comprehensive web review checklist of 35 + items. Download the full checklist.

The 15-point web content review checklist at a glance

Content

  • Is the content concise and easy to read?
  • Is the button copy engaging and representative of the user experience?
  • Are all claims appropriately substantiated prior to submitting for MLR review?

Images

  • Do all images look crisp?
  • For photos with a text overlay, is the text legible?
  • Do all images use alt tags when appropriate?

Brand

  • Is the messaging on brand?
  • Does the web page or website use the correct brand fonts?
  • Is the logo used in brand-compliant ways?

Design and accessibility

  • Do all interactive elements look interactive?
  • Are interactive elements large enough and spaced out for mobile users?
  • Do buttons and images pass the color contrast check?

Functionality

  • If you have any rotators or tabs, click through all of them. Is content formatted appropriately?
  • Does the web page look correct across all of your supported browsers?
  • If you have a responsive site, how does it look on tablet and mobile screen sizes?

What content checks should you run before MLR review?

Great web content is clear, compliant, and resonates with the target audience. In addition, great content contributes to search engine optimization (SEO), and we all know the value of ranking high in search results. When preparing and reviewing content for the web, ask yourself:

  • Is the content concise and easy to read?
  • Is the button copy engaging and representative of the user experience?
  • Are all claims appropriately substantiated prior to submitting for MLR review?

How should you review images for web content?

Images add personality and amplify information on a web page. However, large images can contribute to a slow page and frustrate users. In a best-case scenario, images look great and load quickly. Ask yourself:

  • Do all images look crisp?
  • For photos with a text overlay: is the text legible?
  • Do all images use alt tags when appropriate?

How do you keep life sciences web content on brand?

Your brand can send a confident message, or it can confuse your users. With a website, consistent branding can be particularly difficult, given the constant need for updates and, depending on your organization, the multiple teams and agencies involved. As a general rule, reference brand guidelines that your company has created. Ask yourself:

  • Is the messaging on brand?
  • Does the web page or website use the correct brand fonts?
  • Is the logo used in brand-compliant ways?

What design and accessibility checks should healthcare web content pass?

Your website's users vary in many ways, from role to age to people with disabilities. Accessible design makes sure you account for everyone, and is almost always a win-win. In the healthcare space specifically, developing a consumer website that is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is not only ethical, but also helps reduce the likelihood of large fines. Ask yourself:

  • Do all interactive elements look interactive?
  • Are interactive elements large enough and spaced out for mobile users?
  • Do buttons and images pass the color contrast check?

What functionality checks should you run on web pages?

Web pages provide ample opportunities for interactivity and interesting content. That interactivity, however, can also create churn during MLR review if content is missed or overlooked unintentionally. Ask yourself:

  • If you have any rotators or tabs, click through all of them. Is content formatted appropriately?
  • Does the web page look correct across all of your supported browsers?
  • If you have a responsive site, how does the site look on tablet screens? On mobile screen sizes?

Frustrated with your current review process for digital content? Vodori enables remote collaboration and compliance for all types of promotional content.

Frequently asked questions about web content review

What is web content review?

Web content review is the process of checking a web page for quality, brand consistency, accessibility, functionality, and compliance before it is published or submitted for MLR review. Unlike static materials, web pages include elements like interactivity, responsiveness, and title tags that all need to be reviewed.

What should you check before submitting web content for MLR review?

Confirm the copy is clear and all claims are substantiated, images are crisp and use alt tags, branding is consistent, interactive elements are accessible and pass color contrast checks, and the page functions correctly across browsers and devices. The 15-point checklist above walks through each area.

How is reviewing web content different from reviewing a brochure or PDF?

A brochure is static, but a web page is interactive and responsive, so reviewers also have to account for rotators and tabs, behavior across browsers and screen sizes, and accessibility. For more on adapting review for digital, see why digital marketing teams in pharma need different MLR approaches.

Why does accessibility matter for healthcare web content?

Accessible design makes your content usable for everyone, including people with disabilities, and in healthcare it also supports compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), which reduces both ethical and financial risk.

Get the full web content review checklist

The list above covers 15 essentials. For the complete set of 35 or more checks your team can use on every web review, download the full checklist.