Contented #38: News for content authors

1. Learn how to write clear, concise business reports and documents for your non-technical audiences.
    
2. Complete 5 short online courses and earn 5 hours accredited CPD in 21st century communication skills.
    
3. Log in from anywhere and learn at your own pace: start your study any time within 12 months of purchase.
    
4. Enrol for just half price in the next 7 days (until Wed 12 Nov).
    
5. Keep Rachel’s wonderful new e-book by your side, Business Writing Plus. 
   
   This brilliant handbook was used by over 2000 chartered accountants for CPD in Australasia in the last year. It covers both traditional writing skills and the extra writing skills required by all professionals in this digital age.

Accessibility audits: book our experts now

Writing tip: check web content for readability

Readability is one easy-to-test aspect of accessibility.

• Find an app you like and keep using the same one. 
• We recommend readability-score.com: easy to use, and can test cut-and-pasted text, URLs and PDF files. 
• Don’t use MS Office’s readability checker: it’s deeply flawed.
• Test plain text only. For best results exclude lists, headings, headers, tables.
• Get familiar with one simple test — and use it. Never mind the others.

Let's assume your web site is intended for the general public, not a specialist audience. With the Flesch-Kincaid Reading Ease test, a score of 70 means 70% of adults are likely to understand the text. Under 60 is too difficult, but 100 is not the ideal score: that would suit a kindergarten reader.

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