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journalofdemocracy.org, read 2 days ago. Back to the report

85 to 100 in 14 steps

Do them in this order. Each step says what to change, on which pages, and what it adds. Hand the whole plan to your agent, or work through it yourself.

8585 nownow921top 10%942973974975986987988989981099119912991310014full marks

Now #62,984 of 263,862Step 1 top 10%Step 14 full marks

Worked out from this read, with every step before it done. A score says pages are well formed. It does not say an assistant cites the site.

The steps

Each is one change across the pages named. When one is live, read the site again and mttr marks it done.

  1. 1

    Add a tap-to-call link

    +7 points, to 92, and #15,133, 47,851 places up, and into the top 10%

    Add a tap-to-call phone link.

    100 pages

    See the pages
    • /
    • /7-lessons-from-turkeys-effort-to-beat-a-populist-autocrat
    • /a-dangerous-facade
    • /a-dictators-day-in-court
    • /about
    • /about/accolades
    • /about/masthead
    • /about/our-supporters
    • /about/reprints
    • /about/statement-of-editorial-independence
    • and 90 more in the copied plan
  2. 2

    Describe images

    +2 points, to 94

    Describe every content image in its alt text.

    81 pages

    See the pages
    • /
    • /7-lessons-from-turkeys-effort-to-beat-a-populist-autocrat
    • /a-dangerous-facade
    • /a-dictators-day-in-court
    • /about
    • /after-a-wave-of-protests-chinas-silent-crackdown
    • /after-europe-interview-ivan-krastev
    • /ai-and-catastrophic-risk
    • /articles/how-courts-survive-democratic-backsliding
    • /articles/how-protest-can-halt-backsliding
    • and 71 more in the copied plan
  3. 3

    Link straight to the final address

    +3 points, to 97

    Point links and the sitemap at the final address, not at one that redirects.

    99 pages

    See the pages
    • /7-lessons-from-turkeys-effort-to-beat-a-populist-autocrat
    • /a-dangerous-facade
    • /a-dictators-day-in-court
    • /about
    • /about/accolades
    • /about/masthead
    • /about/our-supporters
    • /about/reprints
    • /about/statement-of-editorial-independence
    • /about/submissions
    • and 89 more in the copied plan
  4. 4

    Answer the first question right under it

    Under a point

    Answer the first question in the paragraph right under it, in 25 to 90 words. Whether the paragraph truly answers is for the judge or a person to say.

    5 pages under /articles/

    See the pages
    • /articles/documents-on-democracy-134
    • /articles/how-courts-survive-democratic-backsliding
    • /articles/how-protest-can-halt-backsliding
    • /articles/how-to-break-an-autocrats-coalition
    • /articles/symposium-democratic-resistance-in-eroding-democracies
  5. 5

    Phrase headings as questions

    Under a point

    Phrase at least one heading as the question a person would ask.

    5 pages under /articles/

    See the pages
    • /articles/documents-on-democracy-134
    • /articles/how-courts-survive-democratic-backsliding
    • /articles/how-protest-can-halt-backsliding
    • /articles/how-to-break-an-autocrats-coalition
    • /articles/symposium-democratic-resistance-in-eroding-democracies
  6. 6

    Show when guides were updated

    +1 point, to 98

    Show when the guide was last updated, and set dateModified in its schema.

    5 pages under /articles/

    See the pages
    • /articles/documents-on-democracy-134
    • /articles/how-courts-survive-democratic-backsliding
    • /articles/how-protest-can-halt-backsliding
    • /articles/how-to-break-an-autocrats-coalition
    • /articles/symposium-democratic-resistance-in-eroding-democracies
  7. 7

    Match structured data to the page

    Under a point

    Use the schema type that matches the page: Article for guides, Service or Product for offers, Organization or WebSite for the home page.

    5 pages under /articles/

    See the pages
    • /articles/documents-on-democracy-134
    • /articles/how-courts-survive-democratic-backsliding
    • /articles/how-protest-can-halt-backsliding
    • /articles/how-to-break-an-autocrats-coalition
    • /articles/symposium-democratic-resistance-in-eroding-democracies
  8. 8

    Add depth to thin pages

    Under a point

    Add true, specific detail until the page covers its subject.

    5 pages under /articles/

    See the pages
    • /articles/documents-on-democracy-134
    • /articles/how-courts-survive-democratic-backsliding
    • /articles/how-protest-can-halt-backsliding
    • /articles/how-to-break-an-autocrats-coalition
    • /articles/symposium-democratic-resistance-in-eroding-democracies
  9. 9

    Put figures in tables

    Under a point

    Where the guide compares options or gives figures, put them in a table.

    5 pages under /articles/

    See the pages
    • /articles/documents-on-democracy-134
    • /articles/how-courts-survive-democratic-backsliding
    • /articles/how-protest-can-halt-backsliding
    • /articles/how-to-break-an-autocrats-coalition
    • /articles/symposium-democratic-resistance-in-eroding-democracies
  10. 10

    Add breadcrumb data

    Under a point

    Add BreadcrumbList schema so the page has a place in the site.

    5 pages under /articles/

    See the pages
    • /articles/documents-on-democracy-134
    • /articles/how-courts-survive-democratic-backsliding
    • /articles/how-protest-can-halt-backsliding
    • /articles/how-to-break-an-autocrats-coalition
    • /articles/symposium-democratic-resistance-in-eroding-democracies
  11. 11

    Fix title lengths

    +1 point, to 99

    Write a title of 15 to 65 characters that leads with what the page covers.

    14 pages

    See the pages
    • /about/accolades
    • /about/masthead
    • /about/our-supporters
    • /about/reprints
    • /about/submissions
    • /authors
    • /contact
    • /dangerous-diplomacy-why-placating-putin-now-could-doom-ukrainian-democracy-later
    • /error
    • /frontline
    • and 4 more in the copied plan
  12. 12

    Set a share image

    Under a point

    Set og:image so links to the page carry a picture.

    22 pages

    See the pages
    • /
    • /about
    • /about/accolades
    • /about/masthead
    • /about/reprints
    • /about/statement-of-editorial-independence
    • /about/submissions
    • /articles/documents-on-democracy-134
    • /articles/symposium-democratic-resistance-in-eroding-democracies
    • /artificial-intelligence-and-democracy
    • and 12 more in the copied plan
  13. 13

    Fix description lengths

    Under a point

    Write a meta description of 70 to 165 characters that summarizes the page.

    8 pages

    See the pages
    • /articles/documents-on-democracy-134
    • /articles/symposium-democratic-resistance-in-eroding-democracies
    • /authors
    • /issues
    • /jod-content-now-available-in-apple-books-format
    • /putins-big-gamble
    • /the-rebirth-of-the-liberal-world-order
    • /why-tiktok-is-a-threat-to-democracy
  14. 14

    Use one main heading

    +1 point, to 100, and full marks

    Give the page exactly one h1 that says what it is about.

    4 pages

    See the pages
    • /
    • /about/our-supporters
    • /frontline
    • /the-frontline/cubans-are-leading-from-the-inside
3 more, to tidy up after 100
  1. 15

    Name the publisher

    Under a point

    Name the author or publisher in the Article schema.

    5 pages under /articles/

    See the pages
    • /articles/documents-on-democracy-134
    • /articles/how-courts-survive-democratic-backsliding
    • /articles/how-protest-can-halt-backsliding
    • /articles/how-to-break-an-autocrats-coalition
    • /articles/symposium-democratic-resistance-in-eroding-democracies
  2. 16

    Add an llms.txt

    Under a point

    Add /llms.txt: a short plain text map of the site for assistants. Its effect is unproven, so treat it as cheap insurance.

    Once, for the whole site

  3. 17

    Replace unsupported sales claims

    Under a point

    Replace the sales claim with a fact that can be checked.

    2 pages

    See the pages
    • /for-xi-jinping-the-economy-is-no-longer-the-priority
    • /how-qatar-became-a-world-leader-in-sportswashing

What else the read found

Half its pages start answering within 13 ms, inside the 800 ms a crawler is patient with. One fetch a page, the way a crawler sees it.

  • /7-lessons-from-turkeys-effort-to-beat-a-populist-autocrat465 ms
  • /about/statement-of-editorial-independence153 ms
  • /about/our-supporters92 ms
  • /subscribe-to-the-journal-of-democracy90 ms
  • /frontline85 ms

Fastest: /articles/how-protest-can-halt-backsliding, 9 ms. Heaviest: /authors, 88 KB.

Read from its home page’s code and the headers its server sent. A tool that loads later, or only on other pages, is not seen here.

  • WordPressPlatform
  • FastlyHosting
  • nginxServer
  • Google AnalyticsAnalytics
  • MailchimpMarketing
  • jQueryLibrary
pages with strong signs
10
hidden characters
10
chat, markdown or placeholders left in
0
dashes per 1,000 words
5
  • /democracys-most-dangerous-assumptions hidden characters a reader cannot see
  • /drowning-democracy hidden characters a reader cannot see
  • /how-putins-war-in-ukraine-has-ruined-russia hidden characters a reader cannot see
  • /podcasts hidden characters a reader cannot see
  • /putins-big-gamble hidden characters a reader cannot see

A sign is not proof. Hidden characters can carry a watermark or instructions meant for an AI, and they come off with a clean copy of the text.

  • / fails 4: Use one main heading, Add a tap-to-call link and Describe images1 page
  • /authors fails 5: Add a tap-to-call link, Fix description lengths and Fix title lengths1 page
  • /frontline fails 5: Use one main heading, Add a tap-to-call link and Fix title lengths1 page
  • /issues fails 5: Add a tap-to-call link, Fix description lengths and Fix title lengths1 page
  • /jod-online fails 5: Add a tap-to-call link, Describe images and Fix title lengths1 page
  • /about fails 4: Add a tap-to-call link, Describe images and Link straight to the final address1 page
  • /contact fails 4: Add a tap-to-call link, Fix title lengths and Link straight to the final address1 page
  • /dangerous-diplomacy-why-placating-putin-now-could-doom-ukrainian-democracy-later fails 4: Add a tap-to-call link, Describe images and Fix title lengths1 page
  • /error fails 4: Add a tap-to-call link, Fix title lengths and Link straight to the final address1 page
  • /for-xi-jinping-the-economy-is-no-longer-the-priority fails 4: Add a tap-to-call link, Describe images and Replace unsupported sales claims1 page
  • /how-qatar-became-a-world-leader-in-sportswashing fails 4: Add a tap-to-call link, Describe images and Replace unsupported sales claims1 page
  • /iran-erupts fails 4: Add a tap-to-call link, Describe images and Fix title lengths1 page

And 77 more parts of the site.

The read stopped at its page limit, so pages no link leads to cannot be told from pages it did not reach, and neither is reported.

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