Your website is exhausting
If your website feels hard to use, the problem is probably cognitive load.
On most government websites, people have to deal with jargon, long pages, unclear instructions, and images that don’t help. That’s a lot of mental energy spent before they’ve done a thing.
Cognitive load is the mental effort someone needs to understand and act on something. Every time a person has to decode jargon, read through a wall of text, or figure out where to click, you’re adding load. A little is unavoidable. Most government websites pile it on unnecessarily.
Why this matters for government
People come to your site to get something done: pay a fee, apply for a permit, report a problem, avoid a fine.
They’re often stressed, short on time, and unfamiliar with your processes.
High cognitive load creates frustration. It results in things like incomplete applications, missed deadlines, and more phone calls.
Where cognitive load shows up in your content
Walls of text
Long paragraphs with no structure force people to read everything to find anything. They have to hold too much information in working memory while scanning.
Break content into clear sections with helpful headings.
Too many words
You can have short paragraphs that still say too much. This shows up in filler phrases, redundant explanations, long indirect sentences, the main point buried at the end. Even just saying “please.”
Users spend extra effort parsing sentences instead of understanding meaning.
Lead with the point. Cut unnecessary words. Keep only what helps someone take action.
Instead of: “Applicants are required to submit the application form prior to the commencement of any work activities.”
Write: “Submit your application before you start work.”
As George Orwell says: “If you can cut a word out, always cut it out.”
Jargon and internal language
Terms like “applicant,” “pursuant to,” or department names assume insider knowledge. People have to translate language before they can act.
Use “you” instead of “the applicant.” Use “we” instead of “the City” or “the Public Works department.” Use everyday words instead of legal phrasing.
Plain language writing is a skill, and most governments don’t do it well.
Images that don’t have a purpose
The wrong images add cognitive load. Generic stock photos, like a picture of a calculator on a page about the budget. Or icons with unclear meaning. People have to interpret them and decide whether they matter. That’s extra effort.
Too many images create visual clutter. Even individually useful images can overwhelm a page when there are too many. Users lose focus, the hierarchy breaks down, and the actual task gets harder to find.
The right images can reduce load significantly. Use them to show what something looks like, guide a step, or simplify complex information. When they’re purposeful, images reduce reading, speed up recognition, and help people act faster.
If the page feels busy, you probably have too many. If you remove the image and nothing is lost, it shouldn’t be there.
Vague page titles and headings
Page titles like “Services” or “Information for residents” and headings like “Overview” or “Additional information” don’t help people navigate. Users can’t predict what’s in each section.
Use specific, task-based titles and headings: “Check if you need a permit,” “Apply online,” “Pay your fee.”
Take our 7-minute course: “How to write page titles and why they matter.”
Unclear link text
Buttons and links that say “Learn more” or “Click here” don’t tell people what will happen. Link and button text needs to be more descriptive.
This is an accessibility problem. Screen reader users sometimes navigate link text separately from the surrounding context, so you can’t rely on it for someone to know where it will go.
Links and buttons should describe where they take you: “Apply for a building permit,” “Report a pothole,” “Pay your parking ticket.”
The test is: if you read the link text alone would you know where it would take you?
Cluttered landing pages
Landing pages have one job: help people find what they’re looking for and move on. Every extra element (like a banner image, a welcome message, a news carousel) adds decision time and slows them down.
This is where cognitive load is most costly. Users arrive with a goal. If the page doesn’t surface the right path quickly, they scan, backtrack, or give up.
Keep landing pages lean. Lead with navigation, not content. If someone has to read a lot before they can choose where to go, the page is working against them.
PDFs
PDFs increase cognitive load by default. They’re hard to scan, poor on mobile, and often badly structured.
People have to navigate a document instead of a clear, guided web experience.
Default to web pages. Use PDFs only when you absolutely have to.
Remove before you add
The fastest way to reduce cognitive load is to cut content. Ask: is this necessary? Is it duplicative? Is it relevant? If not, remove it.
In addition to completeness and accuracy, you also need to think about mental effort. Content that’s technically correct but mentally exhausting is still failing.
Reducing cognitive load requires clearer thinking, simpler writing, better structure, and the willingness to remove what doesn’t help.
When you make things easier to understand, everything else gets easier too.
Learn more
Take our 8-minute course: “Writing for people who are stressed.”