Principles

1. Understand context of use

2. Choose what to say

3. Slash everything else

4. Edit sentences

5. Put into logical order

6. Demolish walls of words

7. Choose links

8. Check it's consistent

9. Rest it then test it

1. Understand "context of use"

"Context of use" is shorthand for who, where, when, why and how.

It also helps if you know what you are trying to achieve.

Who are you writing for?

Define your users. You need to know who you are writing for. If you write for "just anyone", you'll end up writing for no-one.

Where, when and why will the users use what you create?

Are your users at home, at work, or travelling?

Will they be visiting while doing something else, like talking on the phone?

WIll anyone be helping them?

Why do they visit your site? Is it for entertainment, to find something, to buy something? If it's an official or government site, are they required to use it or do they have any option?

How will they use it?

Are your users going to sit down and read in a concentrated way? Or skim, skip and scan?

What are you trying to achieve?

Decide what you want to achieve with this piece of writing. If that aligns with what your audience wants to do, excellent. If not, maybe think again?

Tip: do this well first time to save time

You don't need to repeat this step with every page. If you make sure that you have a really good grasp of your context of use, then you'll be able to apply that your whole project.

Tip: try writing a story

Think about a person who will use your writing. Give the person a name - I'll use X for the moment. Write a story starting:

"X started the day by..."

then fill in how X used your writing and whether that was important to X or not.

Where from?

"Context of use" is crucial when thinking about usability or plain language. It is a central part of ISO 9241-210, the international standard for user-centred design. You can buy ISO 9241-210 from ISO.

ISO 9241-210 replaced ISO 13407. David Travis explains: ISO 13407 is dead: long live ISO 9241-210.