In my 13 years as a web content editor, I’ve learned a lot about creating user-friendly, helpful web content.
Follow these golden rules to create web content that is helpful and easy to understand.
- Be concise.
- Write in plain English.
- Use objective language.
- Make it easy to scan.
- Use a consistent editorial style.
- Use correct spelling and grammar.
- Write a good page title.
Resources for creating user-friendly web content
The Nielsen Norman Group have a treasure-trove of articles and videos about web usability. I used their guidance extensively when producing my seven golden rules.
I also recommend the GOV.UK service toolkit, which includes their style guide and other useful (researched) guidance. I discovered this whilst working in local government, but I think their findings would be useful to anyone interested in producing user-centric web content.