A Guide to Creating Digestible Content

A Guide to Creating Digestible Content

So, you’ve decided to start baking biscuits. When searching for a recipe online, do you pick A: the long and complicated recipe, with 30 different ingredients and a four hour making time, or B: the easy beginners guide to baking biscuits, ready in 30 minutes?

If your answer is option A, crack on with thinking you’re the next Paul Hollywood trying to understand your complicated recipe. But, if your answer is sensible option B, then stick with us, this article is definitely for you.

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Writing Content That Is Easy To Understand

Our point is, when users are searching online or if we are being honest, Googling, for information on something new, whether it’s biscuit recipes, how to do the perfect winged eyeliner, or create the ultimate fantasy football team, you can guarantee that they are looking for easy to understand information that answers their query.

Whether you are a business owner, a blogger or a content creator, the requirement to write digestible content for your website couldn’t be emphasised more than by results of the 2022 study by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, that found that 1.7 millions adults in the UK have the reading level of an average 9 year old.

This nugget of information, coupled with Google’s Helpful Content Update, that decided it was time to reward websites that didn’t read like a Shakespearean play, really shows the requirement to write in a simple and easy to understand way for your users. In other words, the almighty search engine has spoken and we all need to follow suit.

How do you write digestible content?

Well before Google, there was the good old stand by book series called ‘For Dummies’. For those not familiar with their chunky, bright yellow books for beginners, their publication series broke down hard to understand information on a range of topics and made each subject easy for readers to learn about at any knowledge level.

That’s generally the approach that your site should take, writing and sharing content that is easy to understand for any user at any level.

So here it is, our ‘How To Write Digestible Content For Dummies Guide’.

Know your audience

Understanding your target audience is the foundation of creating accessible and easy to understand content. You’ll need to know your audience demographics, interests and language proficiency, in order to be able to tailor your content to match their needs. This will also include ensuring that the tone of voice and vocabulary you use are at the right level. If you don’t think about the needs of your audience before getting started with trying to write content for them, you might as well be talking to a brick wall.

Simplicity is not for the weak

Fancy jargon might make you sound smart, but here’s a secret: it just confuses people. So, ditch your thesaurus and just write simply. If you are using a word your average nine year old child would struggle to understand, then get rid and replace it with something easier to read.

Organise your content

Ever read a paragraph that felt like a never-ending maze? If that’s a yes, don’t inflict that torture on your audience. Break your content up into bite-sized pieces using headings and subheadings like signposts. We can say for sure and for the sanity of web users everywhere, that nobody wants to try to get through your version of War and Peace.

Stories aren’t just for fairytales

Ever wondered why we love stories? From the fairytales we got told as a child, or the grown up versions you listen to now about your friends drunken night out, humans love stories. So, add in a story or narrative to your writing. Stories glue information together and make your readers actually give a hoot about what you’re saying.

We all need a visual

Pictures, gifs and videos: the trifecta of keeping people awake and entertained. A well-placed meme can do wonders, but don’t go overboard and turn your site into a meme museum. Balance images, memes and videos with your writing, but always use them wisely.

Feedback: Your ego will survive

You think you’re the Shakespeare of the internet? Think again. Get some feedback from real people. It’s like a reality check for your writing. Sure, your mum might say what you’ve written is brilliant, but it’s time to face the music from someone not genetically obligated to love everything that comes out of you.

Edit, edit and edit again (Because nobody is perfect)

No one writes perfect content on the first go. Unless you’re some kind of Harry Potter writing wizard (in which case, teach us your ways), you need to edit and then edit again. Polish your content and make sure that it is clearly written, in simple language and in the right tone of voice for your site. Even muggles don’t want to see typos and read confusing sentences.

So there you have it, the not-so-secret dummies guide to creating website content that doesn’t make people want to bang their heads against their keyboard. You’re welcome.

Now, to paraphrase the words of The Great British Bake Off, on your marks, get set, create!