Bhooshan Pandya > Interface & Usability Analyst

Design Guidelines: Content

1. Make information easy to find with clear headings and meaningful sub-headings (not ‘clever’ ones).
2. Break up the information into manageable pieces.
3. Put the pieces in a logical order for your readers.
4. Keep your sentences short and employ one idea per paragraph.
5. Use the ‘inverted pyramid’ style: conclusion (context) first, results later.
6. Talk to your readers. Use “you”.
7. Write in the active voice (most of the time).
8. Put the action in the verb, not in the nouns.
9. Use your readers’ words.
10. Use half the word count (or less) than conventional writing.
11. Use bulleted lists where appropriate – for a list of items and for parallel “if, then” sentences.
12. Employ scannable text like highlighted keywords.

Excerpted from IT Solutions Blog