Writing standards

What is "good" or "bad" content? People will tell you. Just ask them! They care how companies and products talk to them. Beyond spelling and grammar, people care how your message comes across. They want to be understood. The way we write is where it all starts. The goal of everything we write is to be:

• Relatable
• Respectful
• Understandable
• Useful

Users want to be informed, respected and not overwhelmed. They value ease, clarity and timely information. Users need content that relates to how they speak and the journey they're on, whether that's buying a product, managing an online account, filing a claim or reading an email.

Before we jump into UX-specific voice standards, let's first understand what the Nationwide brand sounds like – across all channels and for different audiences. This is important for creating voice consistency.

As an organization we want to be:

• Warm (reassuring, personal)
• Confident (helpful, authoritative)
• Straightforward (direct, simple, free of filler & fluff)

Do

• Reassure - with concise, actionable, relevant content

Don't

• Discourage - with jargon, wordiness & irrelevant content

---