Ever since I started studying plain language more than a decade ago, I’ve been on a mission to educate people about everything that plain language entails — and that it doesn’t just mean choosing simpler words. I thought if I could just reach enough people, eventually we’d reach a tipping point where most people would just know that plain language means both the words and information structure and the design of the page.
It strikes me, now, that perhaps all along I’ve been fighting the wrong battle. Perhaps the term plain language as a description of the movement is just not clear. It’s jargon, really.
User-centred content
Recently, I’ve seen more and more references to user-centred content, and I think that’s really a much better name for the practice of:
- identifying and understanding your audience
- structuring and designing your content specifically to help them do what they need to do.
So while I still identify as a plain language champion and consultant, going forward, I will use the term user-centred content or content design to describe the practice.
Kate Wilhelm 
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