Building a new tool
The Readability Guidelines App
A new way to help you write better for the web
Content Designers
This is really where the app started. Working with subject experts on a Local Authority website, I wanted a way to quickly check that the words were going to be readable, appropriate, and useful. Constantly referencing the Readability Guidelines from Content Design London was fine, but I knew there had to be a better way.
There are apps that can help with grammar and spelling. Some will count sentence length and give a reading age score. But I wanted something that would nudge my writing towards evidence based, content designed, readability standards.
So I'm building it. For you.
Subject experts
You know what you're talking about. You know what message you need to get across. But do you know how people read on the web?
people scan web pages
they are looking for something
they want to find it quickly
To be effective, you need to make sure your content is specific, informative and concise.
Charities and not-for-profits
These days a lot of small organisations are looking again at the web sites. They are looking to meet their users' needs. Maybe they call in a content designer to help them learn how to do this well. But they often don't have the budget for the content designer to write everything. The Readability Guidelines App can help people who are not professional writers to write better for the web.
Freelancers
Sometimes you'll have to justify your decisions to stakeholders. The Readability Guidelines give you an evidence base, and the Readability Guidelines App gives you the tools you need to work efficiently. Get your first draft out and then check against the guidelines.
Google Docs
A lot of writing happens in Google Docs. It's simple to use, and it's great for shared writing.
But it's limited to a spelling and grammar checks for all types of writing, not specifically writing for the web.
That's why we're building the Readability Guidelines App.