Rules to Better Content Design - 19 Rules

In today's fast-paced world, lengthy emails, web content, and instant messages can be overwhelming and difficult to navigate.

When writing any content it is vital you cut unnecessary words to keep the reader interested and focused. This is especially important for dense or technical documentation. Your writing can be less wordy and still get the message across.

People rarely read word by word. Instead they scan the page, picking out individual words and sentences that seem more relevant.

The English language can be complex, and often the context of a message isn't clear until halfway through or even at the very end. Using prefixes helps surface that context right away.

The F-shape is a behavioral pattern describing the way users consume web content. Understanding common reading habits is essential for anyone writing content on the web. We can intentionally organize information to create friendly products aligned with natural user behavior.

Write in a way that is compelling, engaging, and direct to get the most out of your content. The secret to this is using an active voice.

Web content should be written in 3rd person language, as if read by a newsreader. It is objective and describes its content professionally. A good example of this is Wikipedia.

How you or your product speaks to users is integral to their experience and has notable impact. Tone dictates how your content feels in digital spaces that lack face-to-face communication.

The Hemmingway Editor is a tool that analyzes content and highlights problematic areas. This process reveals common writing issues that impact readers. Lean on this tool to internalize good writing practices.

Historically, it’s been the convention to refer to users as ‘he’ in technical documentation. This is obviously outdated and sexist – users may not be a "he". It’s more common now to see "he/she" used, but this is clunky and could also still be considered as misgendering non-binary people.

The best pronoun to use is "they". It’s simple and elegant and doesn't exclude anyone.

Using correct capitalization in titles and headings for web content is crucial.

For main titles, capitalize the first word, all nouns, verbs (even short ones like "is"), adjectives, and proper nouns. Conjunctions and prepositions should not be capitalized. E.g. "at", "on", "but", "and", "with", etc

Subtitles/subheadings should be written in regular sentence form, without additional capitalization.

Attention to detail plays a vital role to effective communication. Grammar, spelling, and/or syntax mistakes, though seemingly minor, can significantly affect the clarity and professionalism of your writing.

Acronyms are a common way to shorten words or phrases, but using niche terms can lead to confusion and misunderstandings. It's important to avoid jargon, especially for those new to a particular field or industry. To ensure clear communication, avoid unfamiliar acronyms where possible and use the full term instead.

Crafting content for the web means a keen focus on readability and accessibility. One common pitfall is the indiscriminate use of the ampersand (&) instead of the word "and."

There are cases where the ampersand hurts, and others where it helps. For certain brand names or UI elements the ampersand can be acceptable or even required. However, avoiding the ampersand leads to user-friendly and readable content in most cases.

The "Oxford comma" (so-called because the Oxford University Press style guidelines require it) has the distinction of being one of the most hotly debated elements of the English language.

Figure: Some people love Oxford commas, some hate them

Knowing when to use the Oxford comma helps to create more consistent and easier to read documentation.

Also referred to as a series comma or serial comma, an Oxford comma is placed in a series of three or more items before the conjunction. It can be used in both "and" and "or" lists as the last comma separating a series of items. It works to help order these items and provide a distinction between the items on the list, particularly the last two items. An Oxford comma is often unnecessary, though.

We've all missed a piece of a message and found out later that we'd got it wrong. This can lead to miscommunication, mistakes, and lost time. Even worse, when finding out later that someone has misread something, there can be a lot of work to fix! But, there are ways to prevent this.

It's important to clearly differentiate keywords and referenced text from your own content to help readers follow the message and avoid confusion.

Clear communication is essential for success, and especially helpful in professional or technical contexts. You should make your content more visually interesting and easier to scan quickly.

Excess punctuation without purpose can make a document or web content look unnecessarily busy. It adds unexpected visual clutter, especially in short or standalone text like list items, captions. For URLs, the reason is not just visual - adding a period at the end can break the link when it's copied or clicked.

Automated and template-based emails are essential tools for businesses, but they often fall short in making data fields easily noticeable. Ensuring that important information stands out not only enhances readability but also improves user experience and efficiency.

Here are some practical tips for making data fields more obvious in your email communications: