Content and copywriting

Writing for your audience

Refer back to your product roadmap - who is the content for? Who will use this? There’s a great chance that you have to write for both the general public and a specialized audience.

Start with simple words (words the general public understands) and put the complex detailed info (for specialized audience) further down the page, or in a technical section of the product.

Use words people use, including the common names of diseases. You can put the scientific name in brackets if needed.

Be careful when using acronyms. Always spell out the acronym the first time, and try to limit the use of acronyms in general.

You can use Google Trends to compare words.

Writing for the web

Writing tips from the content style guide still apply.

These tips are especially useful:

• avoid long paragraphs and walls of text
• break down paragraphs and sentences in shorter chunks
• use descriptive headings and sub-headings
• use bullet lists
• write for scannability: provide the right information scent to help people get to the section they’re looking for

Writing for low numeracy

• Use visuals such as graphs, charts, and diagrams to clarify complex information and make it more accessible
• Provide concrete examples to help people understand and remember the information better
• Highlight the most important points to ensure that people retain the most crucial information
• Provide context for the numbers you're presenting to help people better understand and remember the information

More information

• What to consider when using text in data visualizations (DataWrapper)
• Designing for people with dyscalculia and low numeracy