Writing Web Pages in Plain Language: Before-and-After Examples for Businesses and Boroughs

"Residents are hereby advised that, pursuant to Ordinance 2019-04, refuse collection services shall be suspended in observance of the holiday."

Or: "No trash pickup on Monday. We'll collect on Tuesday instead."

Both say the same thing. Only one gets read.

The short answer: plain language means writing so your readers can find what they need, understand it the first time, and act on it. On the web, that means putting the most important information first, using short sentences and everyday words, writing to the reader as "you," and breaking pages up with clear headings and lists. It isn't dumbing things down. It's respecting how people actually read: quickly, on phones, looking for one answer.

Why plain language matters more online

People don't read web pages. They scan them. Nielsen Norman Group, which studies how people use websites, found that on an average page visit, people have time to read at most 28% of the words, and 20% is more likely. The rest gets skipped. If the answer a visitor needs is buried in the fourth sentence of the third paragraph, most visitors will never see it.

Reading is harder for more people than you might think. In the most recent international adult skills survey, released in December 2024, 28% of U.S. adults scored at the lowest literacy levels, up from 19% in 2017, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. That isn't a small, separate audience. It includes your customers, residents, patients and donors, including people who read English as a second language, people who are tired, rushed or stressed, and people reading on a small screen in bright sunlight.

It's the law for some. The federal Plain Writing Act of 2010 requires federal agencies to write public-facing content clearly for its audience. Local governments and businesses aren't covered by that law, but the reasoning applies to anyone with something important to say.

It helps search engines and AI tools, too. Clear headings, direct answers near the top, and specific details are exactly what search engines and AI assistants pull from, as we cover in how to show up in AI answers.

Eight habits of plain web writing

1. Lead with the answer. Put what the reader most needs in the first sentence: what you do, what changed, what they need to do. Background can come after.
2. Write to "you." "You can pay online" is clearer and warmer than "Payments may be submitted electronically by customers."
3. Use active voice. The federal plain language guidelines put it simply: active voice "makes it clear who should do what." "We'll call you within one business day" beats "Calls will be returned."
4. Prefer everyday words. Use "use" instead of "utilize," "help" instead of "facilitate," "pay" instead of "remit." Drop jargon your customers wouldn't use themselves.
5. Keep sentences and paragraphs short. One idea per sentence. Two or three sentences per paragraph. White space is not wasted space.
6. Use headings that say something. "How to pay your water bill" works. "Payment information" makes people read further to find out. Headings that ask the reader's question, like "When is trash pickup?", work especially well.
7. Use lists for steps and options. Anything a reader has to follow in order belongs in a numbered list. Anything they choose from belongs in a bulleted one.
8. Be specific. "Fast service" means nothing. "Same-day service most weekdays" means something. Prices, hours, areas served and turnaround times are the details people are looking for.

The "after" version uses the resident's own question as a heading, gives a yes-or-no answer first, and turns a 50-word sentence into three steps. The 10-day turnaround is an example, so use your own real number, but some kind of timeline is exactly the detail residents want.

Things plain language is not

It's not talking down. Experts prefer plain language too. Busy people of every education level read faster when the writing is clear.

It's not leaving things out. Legal requirements, deadlines and conditions all stay. They just come in an order and a form people can follow. When the precise legal wording matters, keep it, and add a plain summary above it.

It's not one tone for everyone. A law firm and a pizza shop should sound different. Plain language is about clarity, not personality.

Special notes for municipal websites

Borough, township and authority websites are some of the hardest places to write plainly, because so much of the source material is legal. A few habits help:

• Put the common tasks first. Trash and recycling, paying a bill, permits, meeting dates and contact information should be one tap from the homepage.
• Publish in HTML, not just PDFs. A meeting agenda or fee schedule posted as a web page is easier to read on a phone and easier for screen readers. We explain why in the digital divide in 2026.
• Summarize ordinances, then link to them. "Leaves must be bagged or placed at the curb by 7 a.m. on Mondays from October 15 to December 1" helps more than a link to Chapter 12, Section 4.
• Keep it current. An outdated holiday schedule is worse than none.

Clear writing is also an accessibility issue. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines include guidance on readable, understandable content, and plain language helps everyone covered in website accessibility and the ADA in 2026, as well as the older visitors we discuss in designing websites for older adults.

Where to start

You don't have to rewrite your whole site at once. Start with the pages that get the most visits or the most phone calls asking the same question:

1. Your homepage's first screen. Can a stranger tell what you do, where, and how to contact you?
2. Your top service or task pages. The ones people actually use, like booking, paying, applying or ordering.
3. Anything that generates repeat questions. If your staff answers the same question five times a week, the page that should answer it isn't working.

When we build or rebuild a site, writing and editing for plain language is part of the content stage, which we describe in what a website project looks like, from kickoff to launch. For reviewing a draft of that writing, see how to review a website design draft.

Sources

• Nielsen Norman Group, How Little Do Users Read? (Jakob Nielsen, 2008)
• Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. adults score on par with international average in literacy skills, below international average in numeracy and adaptive problem solving (December 10, 2024)
• Digital.gov, Plain language guide series and Writing for understanding

The plumbing company and borough examples in this article are invented for illustration.