PROJECT
Creating content pattern guidelines
Date
November 2022 – Present
Before I became the Head of UX Writing, we had no content pattern guidelines. We had a voice and tone, and a loose style guide. But we didn't have any guidelines for the most commonly used content patterns. This was causing our writers to spend lots of time figuring out how to write the same kinds of messages over and over again. It also hurt quality and our overall professionalism.
My first big project as Head of UX Writing was to come up with a method for creating these guidelines, and then execute it.
Today, we have guidelines for 35 different content patterns.
Writers tell us that they use these guidelines on a daily basis, and that they are helpful when having disagreements with other stakeholders.
Project at a glance
6
milestones
10
weeks per milestone
35
content pattern guidelines created
Groups
1-2 content patterns per group
There was a topic for each milestone, and each group had 1-2 content patterns to research.
Each group had a facilitator
The facilitator was responsible for leading the group through the milestone, meeting deadlines and presenting the guidelines at the end.
Being a facilitator was also a growth opportunity for people.
Groups were a mix of junior and senior writers
We manually created all of the groups to make sure that it was diverse, including writers of different seniority and products.
Every group had a localization writer
We wanted to make sure the guidelines were appropriate for localization, so localization writers joined us from the beginning.
Process
Internal and external research
Writers collected examples from across Wix, as well as examples from direct and indirect competitors. They also looked at community resources like blogs, books, etc. to see current best practices.
Decide as a group on suggested guidelines
The groups met and debated about what the guidelines should be. Then, they worked on writing them up in the clearest way possible.
Finalize guidelines with committee
The facilitators presented on behalf of their group to a Standardization Committee, a group of UX writers from across Wix representing all platforms (editors, business manager, mobile, Premium, etc.). Then, they met with me individually to make sure the guidelines were clear and concise.
Present final guidelines to all UX writers
To ensure buy-in, each group presented the finalized guidelines to the rest of the UX writers. The guidelines also went live in our Writers Guild Hub, for people to start using immediately.
Visuals of the process
Example guideline presentation
