Read your “New Patients” page or your returns policy out loud, the way you would explain it to someone across the counter. If you stumble, rephrase as you go, or skip a sentence because it says nothing, that page is harder to use than it needs to be. Plenty of visitors will not get past it.
Plain language writing is the habit of putting the reader’s question first and answering it in words they already know. It helps people with cognitive and learning disabilities, people reading in a second language, people who are tired or stressed, and anyone using a screen reader that reads every word in order. This post covers how US plain-language practice applies to plain language website content: word and sentence choices, page structure, and how far to trust readability scores.
Where plain language comes from in the US
Plain language is not a new idea or a web trend. In the US, the Plain Writing Act of 2010 requires federal agencies to write documents the public uses in clear, well-organized language. The federal plain language guidelines and before-and-after examples that grew out of that work are free to read online, and they hold up well even if you run a dental office rather than an agency.
The Act does not apply to private businesses, so for them the reason to care is practical: the same habits that make a tax form understandable make a booking page, a donation page or a service description understandable, and they remove a real barrier for many disabled visitors.
How does this relate to WCAG? WCAG’s specific reading-level criterion sits at Level AAA, the strictest tier, so it is not part of the usual AA target. But AA does include criteria that depend on clear words, such as 2.4.6 Headings and Labels, which asks that headings and labels describe the topic or purpose, and 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions for forms. You cannot meet those well with vague or jargon-heavy wording.
Start with what the reader came to do
Before changing a single word, write down the top two or three things people come to that page to do. For a clinic: book an appointment, find out if their insurance is accepted, find parking. For a city permit page: find out if they need a permit, what it costs, how to apply. For a restaurant: hours, menu, reservations.
Then check whether those answers appear near the top, in plain sight. Most hard-to-read business pages are not hard because of long words. They are hard because the answer is buried under a paragraph about the company’s history and values. Move the answer up. Keep the history further down for the people who want it.
Plain language writing, word by word
Plain language is mostly about choosing the everyday word. A few patterns turn up on most business sites.
Prefer common words
| Instead of | Try |
|---|---|
| utilize | use |
| commence | start |
| prior to | before |
| in the event that | if |
| facilitate | help, arrange |
| remit payment | pay |
| at this point in time | now |
Explain or drop jargon
Every trade has words that feel normal inside the business and mean nothing outside it. An accountant’s “engagement letter”, a clinic’s “prior authorization”, a contractor’s “change order”. You do not always have to remove them, since customers may see them on paperwork. Define them the first time: “a change order (a written agreement to change the job and its price)”.
Spell out abbreviations
Write the full term the first time on each page, then the short form. Screen readers may read an unfamiliar acronym as a word or as letters, and neither helps if the reader never learned what it stands for.
Talk to the reader
Use “you” for the reader and “we” for your organization. “Patients are required to arrive fifteen minutes prior” becomes “Please arrive 15 minutes early”. It is shorter, it is clear who does what, and it sounds like a person.
Sentences and paragraphs
Short sentences are easier, but the real goal is one idea per sentence. A long sentence that lists three things in order can be fine. A medium sentence that hides a condition inside a condition is not.
- Use active voice. “We will email your receipt” instead of “A receipt will be emailed”.
- Put conditions first. “If you need to cancel, call us a day ahead” reads better than the reverse.
- Keep paragraphs short. Two to four sentences is plenty on the web. Long blocks are hard to scan and easy to lose your place in, especially when zoomed in.
- Use numbers as numerals. “3 steps” is easier to spot than “three steps” when someone is scanning.
- Avoid double negatives. “Not unless you have not paid” makes everyone stop and reread.
Structure: the part that helps screen reader users most
Plain language is not just word choice. Structure matters at least as much, and it is where plain writing and technical accessibility meet.
Use real headings that say what each section answers, such as “What to bring to your first visit” instead of “Preparation”. Screen reader users often jump from heading to heading to find the part they need, so the headings act as a table of contents. Our post on heading levels covers how to set them up correctly in WordPress.
Use numbered lists for steps that happen in order and bullet lists for things that do not. Put instructions before the form, not after it. Write link text that names the destination, which we cover separately in our post on writing clear link text.
Forms are where unclear words do the most damage. A field labeled “DOB” or an error that says “Invalid input” stops people. “Date of birth (MM/DD/YYYY)” and “Enter your date of birth as month, day and year” do not. If your forms need work, see our guide to form error messages.
Readability tools, used with caution
Readability formulas such as Flesch Reading Ease and Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level count words, sentences and syllables and produce a score. Many tools show them, including some WordPress SEO plugins and free online checkers. They are useful as a smoke alarm: if one page scores far harder than the rest, look at it.
But a score is not a measure of clarity. A few things to keep in mind:
- Formulas reward short words and short sentences, even if the meaning is muddled. “Do the form at the desk then go” scores as very easy and is still confusing.
- They cannot tell whether the answer is buried, whether headings make sense, or whether a term is defined.
- Some necessary words are long. “Insurance”, “appointment” and “prescription” push a score up, and you should not replace them with vaguer words to hit a number.
- Chasing a target grade often leads to choppy, childish text that frustrates readers.
The better test is a person. Ask someone outside your business to read the page and tell you, in their own words, what it says and what they would do next. If they get it wrong, the page needs work no matter what the score says.
A rewrite in practice
Here is a typical paragraph from a service page, before and after.
Before: “In order to facilitate the scheduling of your initial consultation, prospective clients are encouraged to complete the online intake questionnaire prior to contacting our office, at which point a member of our team will reach out to arrange a mutually convenient time.”
After: “To book your first meeting, fill in the short online form. We will then call you to pick a time that works for you.”
The second version keeps every fact and says who does what. Plain language writing on a whole site is that same edit, repeated page by page, starting with the pages people use most. It also works alongside the rest of what editors control on a site, from headings to documents, which our guide to accessible web content brings together. For audits, fixes and monitoring across a whole site, our pillar page on accessibility services for US businesses explains how the pieces fit.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Plain Writing Act apply to my business website?
No. The Plain Writing Act of 2010 applies to US federal agencies and the documents they give the public. Private businesses and nonprofits are not covered by it. Its guidance is still a useful free reference, because the same habits make any website easier to understand, including for visitors with cognitive or learning disabilities.
Is plain language required by WCAG 2.2 AA?
Not directly. WCAG has a reading-level criterion, but it is at Level AAA, which most sites do not target. Several AA criteria still depend on clear wording, such as descriptive headings and labels and clear form instructions. Plain language makes those much easier to meet and helps many readers who are not covered by any single rule.
What reading level should my website aim for?
There is no single right grade. Write for the people who use the page, and aim for wording a busy adult can understand on the first read. Use readability scores only to spot pages that are far harder than the rest, then test with a real person rather than rewriting to hit a number.
Will plain language make my business sound less professional?
It usually does the opposite. Clear writing shows you understand the subject well enough to explain it. Plain language still allows technical terms where they are needed; you just define them and put the answer first. Customers tend to trust a page they can follow more than one full of formal phrases.
Sometimes a content review shows the problem is bigger than wording: the pages are organized around the business rather than the visitor, and the navigation follows the same pattern. When that happens, rewriting page by page only goes so far, and it may make sense to rethink the structure in an accessible website redesign where plain wording is part of the plan from the start.
Next in this series: Accessible Tables: Headers, Captions and Phones
