How do you check your online content for quality and readability?

One really helpful strategy (I learned this from a colleague back when I was an English teacher) is to read your work out loud. It sounds so simple, but it is an absolute game changer. When you read your writing out loud, you’ll find you’ll catch voice and fluency issues that you otherwise may not have noticed just from reading it. You can also use your voice recorder function on your phone to record yourself reading it, and play it back. Listen to it while you put your mind in the place of your target audience: how would this sound to me if I was [target demographic]? I’d love to hear how this works for you!

The best way to make sure your online content has high quality and readability is to make sure that content is owned by a real, expert human or humans, rather than artificially generated using snippets of what is often very bad advice from randomly chosen LinkedIn users.

The best thing you can do: use simple language that everyone uses every day in their conversations with family members and friends. Jargon confuses people and that's the last thing we want to do.

Always keep the reader's intent in your mind. Get in the reader's shoe and think from his perspective. Make sure to write all relevant information in a clear and concise way. Avoid lengthy and complex sentences with technical jargon. Try to insert metaphors and humour to keep your readers hooked.

Most importantly, include the most important information in first paragraph so that the readers may know what they are reading about and their interest grow. Decode the given concept and use the language that is clearly understandable. Make sure you sound true and confident that connects the readers. Use punctuation if sentences go longer, otherwise keep sentences shorter. Check the facts and verify before bringing it in the articles.

When I am writing articles for general audiences, I have difficulty remembering that the average reading level is approximately 9th grade. I often use the Hemingway Editor App (it's free and you can paste your text directly in) to remind me where I can simplify my writing.

Developing an eye for good layout is one of the best things you can do to make your content readable. Study newspapers and magazines that you like to read and take note of how the designers use white space and photos to draw your eye around the page and keep you engaged.

While there are many online tools available, I think one is the best assessor for oneself. You know best what you are writing, so after you are done with a piece, take a minute or two to generously read through your content. While brainstorming words and ideas, our mind races in multiple directions. Giving it a second read might allow you to come up with something like "Oh, I think this should have fit better here." You can maybe then ask a reliable and unbiased third person who has no idea about the topic to review it and help you understand if the sentences are long or the words are too complicated.

One of the best way to test your content flow is to read it aloud to yourself. This would not only give you a listening mind but would duplicate your being to a reader and an accessor. Further, you should make sure there is continuities in the lines and paragraphs; they must flow to each other.

It is also essential to check for inclusive writing. That means we should confirm that the text covers: - accessibility - plain language - gender-neutral language When we let the reader feel comfortable with our text, they engage more and are more likely to share the content.