# Scannability Review

Improve headings, lists, summaries, visual cues, and information prominence so task-focused readers can locate, understand, and act on the right content.

## Usage note

Use this review on a realistic page at its expected screen sizes, not only on text copied into a document. Scannability supports readers who are locating a fact or step, but it does not mean reducing every subject to fragments. Preserve explanations, cautions, and qualifications that readers need to make a sound decision, and test important tasks with representative users where possible.

## How to use this template

1. Define the page's primary task and the exact facts, actions, and warnings a reader must find.
2. Perform a timed scan at desktop and mobile widths, recording where the route becomes unclear.
3. Review heading meaning, information order, lists, links, tables, summaries, and visual prominence.
4. Revise the hierarchy while preserving qualifications and relationships that require continuous prose.
5. Recheck semantics, keyboard flow, mobile behavior, and comprehension of the final path.

## Blank template

### Page and task

- **Page URL or file:** [Location]
- **Primary reader:** [Role and context]
- **Primary task:** [What the reader must accomplish]
- **Must-find information:** [Three to five items]
- **High-impact warning or exception:** [What cannot be missed]
- **Devices reviewed:** [Desktop, mobile, other]
- **Review date and owner:** [YYYY-MM-DD; name]

### Scan observations

- **First clear signal:** [Heading, summary, label, or action]
- **Time to primary answer:** [Observed time]
- **Point of confusion:** [Where and why]
- **Vague heading:** [Current wording] — **Revision:** [Specific wording]
- **Dense section:** [Location] — **Treatment:** [Split, list, table, or retain]
- **Buried requirement:** [Location] — **New position:** [Where it belongs]
- **Unclear link or button:** [Current] — **Revision:** [Descriptive action]
- **Mobile issue:** [Overflow, obstruction, or order]

### Final checks

- [ ] The main answer is prominent without losing necessary conditions.
- [ ] Headings describe content and follow a logical level order.
- [ ] Lists contain parallel items and steps retain sequence.
- [ ] Tables have useful headers and remain usable on small screens.
- [ ] Links and buttons make sense outside surrounding sentences.
- [ ] Warnings use text and structure, not color alone.
- [ ] Visual hierarchy matches semantic document structure.
- [ ] Continuous reading still preserves context and reasoning.