This resource is an archived version of the Readability Guidelines.
New wiki is at: readabilityguidelines.myxwiki.org
Go to the We, you, our, your, my page.
Recommendations
We
In the ‘about us’ section of the organisation page, lead with ‘we’ – it will be very obvious who the ‘we’ is on this page.
If it is clear who 'we' are, use that.
It’s not obvious who ‘we’ is in all content. Users could arrive at an H2 heading from the navigation bar, or skim read from the top until they find the section they want.
Using ‘we’ is fine, as long as you’re making it clear as much as possible who the ‘we’ is.
Do not assume the audience will know.
Each time you use ‘we’, make sure you’ve already used the full name of the organisation in that specific section.
When a third party is heavily referred to in the content, in addition to the organisation whose website it is, using 'we' can become confusing.
You
'You' can be confusing for readers if the content is aimed at multiple audiences.
Usability evidence
'Comprehension of pronouns', SAGE Journals, 1980
GOV.UK Content design: planning, writing and managing content, UK Government website, 2016
'Is this my interface or yours?', John Saito, 2016
Writing for the web, Tone and Voice, Office for National Statistics web style guide, 2018
This is something that I've come up against various times in my career, both in tech writing and marketing content. The use of 'the user' to mean the reader causes so much confusion (not to mention the fact that it creates instant disengagement). For clarity, address the reader as 'you' and only use 'the user' if you are talking about other users that are not 'we' (i.e. the writer/company) or 'you' (i.e. the reader).
Anecdotal - The most common places I've seen it cause problems is in software content. For example, if the software has server admin settings that affect how it works for all the 'normal' operators. Instructions for the server admin user should address the server admin as 'you' and not 'the user', because 'the user' could mean a normal operator. 'You' is the server admin who is reading the content and 'the user' is a third person who will use the software that is affected by the server admin's actions. Similar sort of problem occurs in API docs, where there's a need to differentiate between a programmer and an end user.
Personally, I try to avoid 'the user' and be more specific, but it's not always possible.
Tere is an assumption that it’s usually (or should be) we and you. There ought to be consideration about who the document is for, and often it isn’t for you.
For example, in a guide for the people who are caring for people with dementia. Or in a description of benefits for, say, Citizens Advice Bureau.
In some docs are quite hard to work to work out who they are ‘for’ - eg a form/process to claim benefits for disability or long-term illness are often/usually filled by carers or advisers. Who should they address?