Government products and services must be available to everyone which means we need to create inclusive content for equal access. Content design matters because it directly influences how effectively information is communicated to and understood by our users.
Here are two aspects to consider:
1. The content itself
- Use short sentences and a simple structure. People tend to scan content rather than reading everything in order.
- Use plain English and avoid jargon and complex technical language where you can.
2. How you present the content
- Minimise capitalisation and punctuation. These slow us down when we’re scanning content.
- Use white space around text to make it more inviting to read.
- Give your readers some anchor points like headings and subheadings to help them scan effectively.
Want to learn more?
There are a few resources that provide guidance for creating clear content, including:
- The Department of Education style guide (staff access only).
- The Queensland Government web writing and style guide.
- The Australian Government Style Manual (Style Manual).
The Department of Education style guide and the Queensland Government web writing and style guide are documents that give advice tailored to their specific audiences. Both are available online to review online or download.
The Style Manual is an fully searchable online tool that provides the backbone for other state and local government standards.
It says:
Only design and write content that meets a real person’s need.
People using government services usually don’t have a choice to go somewhere else to meet their need. They don’t read government content for fun. They are using it to get something done.
Pssst! Want to know what the most common mistakes are and how to avoid them? Check out our cheat sheet!
Further reading:
- Department of Education (n.d.) Department of Education style guide for writers, editors and proofreaders, department intranet, accessed 2 October 2024.
- Queensland Government (n.d.) Web writing and style guide, forgov.qld.gov.au, accessed 2 October 2024.
- APSC (Australian Public Service Commission) (2023) Australian Government Style Manual, stylemanual.gov.au, accessed 2 October 2024.
- Lindberg, O (14 September 2020) Why Content Design Matters: An Interview with Sarah Richards, Medium, accessed 2 October 2024.