Lost for Words - adult literacy in Australia

We look at a series that shows what it's like to struggle with the written word.

Update on new content standards

Two new standards are set to improve the quality of digital content. Are you ready to meet these standards?

Plain language is not just plain words

Many equate plain language with plain words. While plain words are important, plain language is much more than this.

Writing content for responsive design

If you're writing for the web, you're writing for responsive design. In this article, we offer some tips to get your content working well on a range of screen sizes and orientations.

2 useful tools for web writers

Here are 2 free tools that are simple to use. They'll help you write better content for your organisation's website, intranet or blog.

3 diseases that infect web content

Want clean, healthy web content? Protect it from 3 common diseases.

Better science writing for the web

Scientists who write content for their organisation's websites might resist advice to write in plain language. Some find it hard to avoid 'scientese'. This article shows advice from science journal style guides to encourage scientists to write more readable science for the web.

A-Z of better web writing

If you want to write better web content, here's an A-Z that should help. It covers attributes of quality content and other issues web writers should be aware of.

7 Cs of quality web content

If you want to write better content for your website, intranet or blog, aim for these 7 qualities. They're based on the classic '7 Cs of communication', reworked for communicating online.

Reading level - accessibility for web writers

The accessibility guidelines require grade 9 readability for content. Otherwise we should provide supplementary content (visuals, for example), or an easy-to-read summary.

Abbreviations - accessibility for web writers

The accessibility guidelines require we expand or define any abbreviations in our content. Often it's even better to avoid using abbreviations, especially acronyms and initialisms.

Unusual words - accessibility for web writers

The accessibility guidelines require that we explain or define any jargon, idioms or unusual words in our content. Often it's even better to avoid using those words.

Language and the role of the web writer

Some web writers object to using plain language, saying their role is to educate and expand users' vocabulary. That's a poor argument unless you're developing learning materials, or working an encyclopedia website.

The 5 Es of content usability

I've long been a fan of Whitney Quesenbery's 5 Es of usability. They're a great way to explain usability to clients, designers and developers. I think the 5 Es can also help us explain content usability.

Don't make me read (useless words)

If you've ever watched people read online, you’ll know they often don't read closely. Most people scan-read and just want the information they need.