Writing

For content and copy on OVO’s website and app products

Our approach

Even the shortest line of copy will work harder with some thinking through first.

What you say

Think about:

  • what your message is
  • how it meets OVO’s goal
  • how it meets the customer’s goal
  • any legal parameters or compliance requirements

How you say it

Remember:

  • tone of voice can affect how people feel reading the content
  • who you're talking to
  • what their mindset is
  • where they are in their journey

Where you say it

Make sure the copy:

  • follows UX writing best practices
  • works for the type of medium it's going in - component, page or message
  • serves the customer in the best way
  • aligns with the OVO brand

Best practices

Keep your content easy to digest and accessible with these tips.

UX writing

  • frontload headings with meaningful words that will anchor the user
  • left-justify text where possible to mirror natural eye movement
  • use shorter text in UX components, as it helps users process ideas faster
  • use shorter sentences and paragraphs in long-form content to help users easily digest what they’re reading
  • consider the life of your content – is it as evergreen as possible?
  • use questions, which force important messages further down and put pressure on the reader - compare for example “How do I see my energy use?” vs “Energy use for the month”
  • use FAQs as they’re hard for users to find what they need and are hard to keep content up to date
  • use acronyms or other unclear headings such as “FAQs” - instead give more clear and descriptive headings

Accessibility

  • keep up to date with accessibility best practices
  • write with screenreaders in mind – if the link text or call to action (CTA) was read on its own, would it make sense?
  • aim for a reading age of between 9 to 11 years old
  • add alt text to images that contain useful information - if the image does not, developers should provide an empty alt attribute
  • add easy-to-access transcripts for videos
  • include hidden text to CTAs to aid screenreaders
  • use meaningless link text like "Click here", "Learn more" or "Get started"
  • write out URLs in text

Footnotes and substantiated text

Footnotes and substantiated text are not accessible. They shouldn't be used as a way to include more context that is either unnecessary or could be included in the main body copy.

Things to check:

  • does the copy make sense without further context?
  • are you adding substantiated text just because you’ve run out of space in the body copy?
  • can you justify putting the context in a footnote rather than in the body copy?

 

If you're struggling to fit context in the body copy, try to:

  • pick out your key points and focus on including them
  • consider if the context is relevant to the user and if it really needs to be included
  • make sentences shorter and simpler
  • include context in the body copy, if it's needed
  • only use footnotes for legal or source information, for example for statistics used in the body copy
  • wrap footnote text in code that aids accessibility
  • use footnotes for any other purpose
  • include any key information in footnotes or substantiated text