Guide to Using Inclusive Language on Your WordPress Website
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Have you ever come across a piece of writing that made you feel uncomfortable because it’s not inclusive? “DEI” is an abbreviation that has gotten a lot of attention in the last few years. It stands for diversity, equity and inclusion.
Of course, our WordPress Agency for Development is aware that these subject areas are nothing new. However, in the modern digital landscape, they are more important than ever. Why is that?
Diversity, equity and inclusion are becoming the focal point for many companies and organizations because businesses of all shapes and sizes around the world are realizing that they need to be as inclusive as possible to gain the trust of their customers.
And you know what? Your website is no exception when it comes to the DEI efforts you should be putting in. Since your site is the face of your company, it is of utmost importance to ensure you’re using inclusive language throughout your content.
Our WordPress development agency believes that inclusive language can make a real difference in how your readers engage with your content. One of the most harmful things you can do to your website is using non-exclusive language as it reinforces stereotyping and it hurts the intended recipient.
Remember that language is one common thing that connects all human beings. You want to make all of your potential customers feel like they belong, right? Using inclusive language is an easy but impactful way to help you do that.
This is why, in today’s article, our WordPress development company is going to tell you everything you need to know about inclusive language and how you can incorporate it once you’ve completed your WordPress website development. Let’s begin!
What Is Inclusive Language and Why Is It Important?
And so, according to the Linguistic Society of America, “inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities”.
Put simply, it’s a language that doesn’t use any words that may express discriminatory and stereotypical views or ideas of others.
While non-exclusive language is not necessarily intentional (it might be a byproduct of common use in society), the impact it can have is immense as it can really distance people from the message you’re trying to convey with your brand.
This is where inclusive language can help you, especially if you’ve finalized your WordPress website development and are now beginning to establish a relationship with your target audience.
Since inclusive language aims to avoid stereotypes, it can make the receiver feel like they’re part of the audience you’re trying to target. It’s pretty clear why this is important, right?
Our WordPress Agency for Development believes that every company should put effort into writing inclusively for its website and other digital channels. This is something that has to be central to your brand’s voice. After all, the goal of valuable content should be to educate, empower, support and inspire trust.
Inclusive language is one of your most powerful tools for making people feel seen, safe and included. It will show you treat everyone with respect and dignity. Incorporating inclusive language after you’ve finished your WordPress website development will demonstrate to your audience that you seek to welcome everyone and you strive not to make anyone feel devalued.
Tips to Make Your WordPress Content More Inclusive
With all that being said, it is now time for our WordPress development agency to tell you how to shift your mindset in order to write inclusive content for your website.
Follow the tips below to write better and more thoughtful content once you’ve completed the process of WordPress website development.
Create Inclusive Buyer Personas
When developing their buyer personas, companies most often take into consideration traditional criteria like demographics.
However, there’s so much more that goes into a buyer persona beyond demographics. Your ideal customers have distinct emotional responses as well as different experiences and interests.
So, next time when you are developing a buyer persona for your online business, have all of these other factors in mind to ensure you’re being inclusive, especially when you start creating content for the people you’re targeting.
Write Intently
Our WordPress development company advises you to be mindful of the words you choose when you write content for your site.
Always consider alternatives to words that may sound non-inclusive. There’s probably a more precise word that better describes what you’re talking about – find it and use it instead of something that might be seen as offensive.
Avoid Problematic Language
Problematic language is something that can differ from business to business. This is why we suggest you create your own list of problematic words that should be avoided in your content.
If you have already published a lot of articles on your website that generate a substantial amount of traffic, our WordPress Agency for Development advises you to revisit them and remove (or rewrite) any parts that feature some kind of problematic language.
Use Gender-Neutral Pronouns
Once you’ve finalized your WordPress website development and started filling your blog with content, it is best to use gender-neutral pronouns when relevant.
A person’s gender identity should never be assumed based on their name or their appearance. So, if you’re speaking about an individual you don’t know, we advise you to use gender-inclusive pronouns.
The same thing applies to speaking about groups of people. For instance, you can use “everyone” instead of “ladies and gentlemen”. You can also replace he/him/his and she/her/hers with the more inclusive they/them/theirs.
Use Simple Language
Our WordPress development agency advises you to use language that is direct, plain, and straightforward. This means leaving out any unnecessary or pretentious words that might be confusing for some people.
By doing so, you’ll guarantee that the content of your site can be understood by everyone. We suggest you avoid long sentences, jargon, and buzzwords.
Use People-First Language
Another important thing you should do after you complete your WordPress website development is making sure you’re not focusing on descriptors or adjectives when describing others.
To achieve that, you should always strive to incorporate language that puts the person first and doesn’t define them by their characteristics. For instance, a term like “a disabled man” puts the emphasis on the disability of the person and not on the person themselves. Instead, use an alternative like “a person with a disability”.
People-first language highlights that what is important to us is the individual, not what describes them. It is best to check in with people about what terms are most respectful for them and use them in your content.
Avoid Idioms
Our WordPress development company knows that idioms can be a lot of fun to use, but there is a slight problem with them – they are generally particular to a given culture and can have controversial origins.
We suggest you always research the idioms you want to use in Google. This way, you can discover whether they have discriminatory meanings that you were not originally aware of. If this turns out to be true, don’t use the idiom in your text.
Let Benefits Shine
If you’ve chosen a professional WordPress website development, you probably want to sell your products or services online. In this case, you’ll want to show your audience the benefits of what you’re offering.
Tell them how their lives will be improved if they choose your business. Share exactly how your products or services can help a lot of different people. It is very important to write content that makes your message resonate with a large public.
Use Alt Text
Our WordPress Agency for Development advises you to also add alt text to the images you upload on your website. This is very important as it allows screen readers to read text that gives the user context around what the image is about.
By including alt text, you’ll make your content way more inclusive and accessible. This practice is one of the factors that define whether your site is ADA compliant or not.
Use Descriptive Links
Building a link strategy is one of the essentials when it comes to WordPress website development. Putting internal links in your content can have a great benefit on your site’s performance and SEO.
However, it is not advisable to use phrases, such as “click here” or “click this link”. Remember that there are people who use screen readers and they need more context about the link they’re clicking on.
So, it is best to be specific. Make sure that the link describes the action the user is about to take. For instance: Learn more about our WordPress development agency.
Make Your Content Easy to Navigate
It is very important to ensure that the content on your site is easy to navigate. To do that, you can use descriptive headings.
We advise you to create smaller blocks of text by spacing out your paragraphs. Different headings will help users to understand the hierarchy of your content and will also make it easier for people who use screen readers to navigate through your website.
Use Inclusive Language in Your WordPress Website and Expand Your Audience!
Our WordPress development company hopes that the tips we shared with you in today’s article will help you feel more confident about using inclusive language on your website. Remember that language is constantly evolving, which means that there is always something that can be improved regarding the content you put out on your site.
It is true that using inclusive language on your website requires you to shift your mindset, but ultimately it will make your content more accessible to a wider audience. Inclusive language can have undeniable benefits for your personal or business brand, so it’s definitely worth the conscious effort.
To quickly recap things, once you’ve completed your WordPress website development you should avoid using problematic words or phrases, you should make your content easy to read and understand, and you should make sure that your texts are free from any harmful generalizations.
You’re ready to use inclusive language in your content but still don’t have your own site? We can help! Vipe Studio has many years of experience, and we’ve built some truly extraordinary websites. Yours could be the next one, so don’t hesitate and send us your inquiry today. We promise to exceed your expectations.
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