01 / Inventory
Name what the reader came to do.
Write a one-sentence reader question at the top of your draft. Below it, list every piece of content you have: explanation, evidence, examples, definitions, navigation, and next steps. Mark each item as necessary now, useful later, or outside the page.
Move repeated answers together. If two sections make the same point, combine them or give one a different job. If the reader needs a term before understanding an example, introduce that term first.
02 / Sketch
Arrange relationships before decoration.
Make three rough rectangles for the opening, the main explanation, and the next step. Write the purpose of each inside it. Add a sidebar only when its content has a clear secondary role; use a full-width section only when the material needs the span.
Choose a few alignment edges and spacing intervals. Use a visible change in spacing to mark a meaningful change in subject. Keep related captions, labels, and examples together, including when the layout becomes a single column.
03 / Reading pass
Follow the words without admiring the boxes.
Read the headings in order. They should describe the progression of the page even when the paragraphs are hidden. Next, read only the opening sentence of each paragraph. Look for missing transitions, repeated claims, and examples that arrive before their context.
Read a longer paragraph at a comfortable size. If finding the next line is difficult, narrow the measure or revise the typography. Then check a long heading and an unusually long link; the layout should absorb real variations in content.
04 / Small screen
Recompose the same argument in less space.
Review the page at a narrow width. Check that the visual order still follows the reading order. Bring explanations close to their examples. Shorten oversized gaps that were useful on a wide screen but become interruptions when everything stacks.
Enlarge the text, move through links with a keyboard, and inspect focus states. Check that labels remain visible, content does not escape its container, and the next action still makes sense without a wide-screen overview.
05 / Revision
Change one relationship at a time.
Pick the biggest obstacle to understanding and change it first. That may mean moving an example earlier, reducing the emphasis of a label, or separating a dense section into two distinct thoughts. Compare the resulting reading experience with the original.
Finish by asking what can be removed without losing meaning. A page is ready for its next review when each section has a purpose, the sequence is understandable, and the reader can tell where to go next.