{
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    "type" : "single",
    "title" : "Writing for the Web Is Easy. Writing for Users Is Not. |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Writing for the Web Is Easy. Writing for Users Is Not.",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/2016/11/07/writing-for-the-web-is-easy-writing-for-users-is-not/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Writing for the Web Is Easy. Writing for Users Is Not.","summary" : "We all do it. Whether on Twitter, Facebook, or the comment section on a news article, it’s easy to get our writing on the internet. Many of us have personal websites or contribute to blogs. We work at organizations with content management systems that allow us to publish pages with a single button click. The","date" : "2016-11-07T11:00:25-04:00","date_modified" : "2024-04-02T09:45:13-04:00","authors" : {"chris-goranson" : "Chris Goranson","emileigh-barnes" : "Emileigh Barnes","phoebe-espiritu" : "Phoebe Espiritu"},"topics" : {
        
            "accessibility" : "Accessibility",
            "communication" : "Communication",
            "content-strategy" : "Content Strategy",
            "human-centered-design" : "Human centered design",
            "plain-language" : "Plain Language",
            "research" : "Research",
            "user-centered-design" : "User Centered Design"
            },"branch" : "cm-topics-button-component",
      "filename" :"2016-11-07-writing-for-the-web-is-easy-writing-for-users-is-not.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2016/11/2016-11-07-writing-for-the-web-is-easy-writing-for-users-is-not.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/cm-topics-button-component/content/news/2016/11/2016-11-07-writing-for-the-web-is-easy-writing-for-users-is-not.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/cm-topics-button-component/content/news/2016/11/2016-11-07-writing-for-the-web-is-easy-writing-for-users-is-not.md","slug" : "writing-for-the-web-is-easy-writing-for-users-is-not","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/cm-topics-button-component/2016/11/07/writing-for-the-web-is-easy-writing-for-users-is-not/","content" :"\u003cp\u003eWe all do it. Whether on Twitter, Facebook, or the comment section on a news article, it’s easy to get our writing on the internet. Many of us have personal websites or contribute to blogs. We work at organizations with content management systems that allow us to publish pages with a single button click.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe fact that it’s so easy to \u003cem\u003epublish content\u003c/em\u003e can trick us into thinking it’s equally easy to write \u003cem\u003euseful content.\u003c/em\u003e \u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/06/600-x-400-Typing-lucky336-iStock-Thinkstock-459117607.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Hands typing on a laptop keyboard.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eGovernment websites are written for an extraordinarily diverse group of users. They come to our websites with different knowledge, backgrounds, and abilities. Our content has to take into account many overlapping and diverging characteristics. And it still needs to present a polished, understandable message.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe crux is this: \u003ca href=\"http://52weeksofux.com/post/385981879/you-are-not-your-user\"\u003eWe are not our users\u003c/a\u003e. We \u003cem\u003eare\u003c/em\u003e subject-matter experts. Many of us have spent our careers talking to users. But when we understand a subject intimately, the hardest part of writing is keeping our own perspective out of it. We can be blinded by how much we know and by how much we care.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFortunately, there are steps we can take to make sure the content we care about reaches the audience we want (and is useful to them).\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"get-a-dedicated-content-strategist-trust-them\"\u003eGet a dedicated content strategist. Trust them.\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2016/11/250-x-353-UK-Government-Digital-Service%5c_poster%5c_Content-is-User-Experience.jpg\"\n    alt=\"The UK Government Digital Service\u0026#39;s Content is user experience poster.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\nContent on government websites doesn’t usually fail because it’s wrong, it fails because it’s not written for users. A content strategist will help projects develop a singular voice and maintain consistent style and tone.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA content strategist will juggle the competing needs and desires of users. They’ll bring a fresh eye to frustrating jargon, technical terms, and acronyms while focusing on using familiar words — an important marker of plain language (and \u003ca href=\"http://www.plainlanguage.gov/plLaw/\"\u003eplain language is required by law\u003c/a\u003e). Reporters, teachers, and public speakers are all good examples of writers who use plain language to make their topics more appealing and approachable.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eOur colleagues at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau have been leaders in plain language with their \u003ca href=\"http://www.consumerfinance.gov/\"\u003epublic-facing content\u003c/a\u003e. Their website covers incredibly complex topics — banks, credit unions, securities firms, payday lenders, mortgage-servicing operations, and foreclosure relief services. They use content strategy and user-centered design to make these intimidating subjects accessible to the general public.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2016/11/600-x-333-The-page-for-Owning-a-Home-under-Consumer-Tools-section-of-the-CFPB-website.jpg\"\n    alt=\"The page for Owning a Home under the Consumer Tools section of the CFPB website.\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003ch2 id=\"test-content-with-real-people\"\u003eTest content with real people\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIdentify people who represent a project’s primary user group and work with a user experience designer to test content with those people. (\u003ca href=\"https://18f.gsa.gov/2016/04/19/looking-at-the-different-ways-to-test-content/\"\u003eHere are some methods to get you started testing content\u003c/a\u003e.) Revise content and test again.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhen our team developed the \u003ca href=\"https://everykidinapark.gov/\"\u003eEvery Kid in a Park website\u003c/a\u003e, early testing helped us identify which phrases kids didn’t understand or care about. The content — minimal for adults — was daunting for kids. Too many words were distracting. \u003ca href=\"https://18f.gsa.gov/2015/09/03/every-kid-in-a-park/\"\u003eWe learned things we never could have guessed\u003c/a\u003e. For example, during testing, we learned that very few fourth graders know what an envelope is.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"its-never-too-late-to-fight-for-users\"\u003eIt’s never too late to fight for users\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eInevitably — just when we think our content is in good shape — someone at some level of final review will ask for rewrites. These may be real requirements (your legal department flags something as being unlawful), or they may represent additional opinions on the content itself. This feedback can lead to valuable insight, but there’s no reason it has to come hours before an anticipated launch. If final stakeholder review might override the needs of users, consider enacting a content freeze. A content freeze is an agreement to enforce a deadline before launch after which no content can change. Maintaining a few days in between the last rewrites and an official launch gives technical teams the opportunity to fully test and prepare for launch, without any additional distractions. It gives the content strategist time to do a final review for consistency of style, voice, and tone. This doesn’t mean that the content won’t change in the future, but it will allow for a better launch.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFinally, it’s ok to develop a site incrementally. Websites should continue to evolve long after a launch, reflecting the change and evolution of an agency. For example, we’re extremely proud of the work our team has done on \u003ca href=\"https://beta.fec.gov/\"\u003ebetaFEC\u003c/a\u003e, which launched last fall and has consistently released new and revised content ever since.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eContinue to test what exists and make it better. Stay humble, listen to users with empathy, and learn from mistakes. Users will be thankful.\u003cem\u003eThis post was originally published on the \u003ca href=\"https://18f.gsa.gov/blog/\"\u003e18F blog\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}