A guest article has one job: to be understood by the host site’s audience. Yet many contributed pieces are drafted for an imagined typical reader, then pasted into a page and forgotten. That reader does not exist. Real audiences include people on slow phones, people who rely on screen readers, older readers who enlarge text, and people reading in a second language. Here are eight habits that make inclusive guest posts work for more of them, each with the reasoning behind it.
1. Lead with a one-sentence summary
Readers decide within seconds whether a piece is for them. A single plain sentence at the top that states what the article covers helps the skimmer, the translator-tool user and the person with limited time. The reasoning is simple: whatever reduces the effort of deciding also reduces the effort of staying.
2. Keep sentences short and ordinary
Long, clause-heavy sentences are hard for anyone who processes text slowly or runs it through an automatic translator. As a rough working habit, aim for one idea per sentence and prefer everyday words over formal ones. Readability tools give a rough signal, though they are no substitute for a human read-through, and no number should be treated as proof of quality.
3. Write headings that say something
A heading such as “Next steps” is vague. “How to check your draft on a phone” tells the reader and the assistive technology exactly what follows. People who navigate by jumping from heading to heading rely on this. If you can read only the headings and still grasp the argument, the structure is doing its job.
4. Describe every image in words
Each image should carry a short text description for readers who cannot see it or whose connection did not load it. Be specific about what matters in the picture. If an image is purely decorative, say so to the editor so it does not clutter the experience for screen-reader users. Charts deserve a sentence that states the point, not just a caption that names the topic.
5. Do not rely on colour alone
If your piece says “the green items are recommended”, someone with colour-vision difficulty may miss the distinction. Add a label, a symbol or a word. The same applies to emphasis: bold text should be backed by clear wording rather than being the only signal that something matters.
6. Make link text meaningful
Anchor text such as “click here” is useless when read out of context in a list of links. Write anchors that describe the destination. When a piece cites other work, as in our own advice on pitching and drafting specialised contributions, the anchor should tell you where you are going. The same rule makes the page easier for everyone who skims.
7. Offer a structure the host can reuse
Editors appreciate drafts that arrive with a clean heading order, short paragraphs and labelled lists, because they need less repair. A repeatable skeleton also saves effort for contributors, which is the spirit of the piece on speeding up article structure with a standard template. Build accessibility into the template once, and every later draft inherits it.
8. Test before you submit
Open your draft on a phone, enlarge the text, then read it with images switched off. Ask a colleague who is not an expert in the topic to tell you what the main point was. Five minutes of testing catches most of the problems above. Treat the results as evidence about your draft, and revise based on what you observe rather than on what you assumed.
How the eight habits compare in effort and benefit
Not every habit costs the same. Summaries, short sentences and meaningful headings are nearly free and benefit every reader. Image descriptions and colour-independent cues take a little more care, but they matter greatly to the people who need them. Template changes and testing require setup, yet they pay back on every subsequent piece. If you can only adopt three, choose the summary, the descriptive headings and the image descriptions.
A word on who builds the page
Authors control the words, but developers control the page the words appear on. A site with tiny buttons or low-contrast text can undo a well-written article. That is why practices that publish their own standards deserve attention. The website development and SEO team at cmsGalaxy lists an accessibility statement on its own site, and while a statement alone does not guarantee anything, it shows the intention to be held to account.
What the evidence can and cannot tell you
Be cautious about claims in this area. Anecdotes from editors suggest that tidy, readable drafts are published faster and need fewer rounds of correction, but they are anecdotes. Neither a summary nor a heading structure will promise any particular outcome for traffic or visibility, and you should be wary of anyone who says otherwise. What you can say with confidence is narrower and still valuable: these habits remove avoidable barriers, and removing barriers cannot hurt the reader.
Putting it into practice this week
- Pick one draft you are about to send out.
- Add a one-sentence summary at the top.
- Rewrite two vague headings into descriptive ones.
- Add text descriptions to every image and chart.
- Replace any “click here” links with descriptive anchors.
- View the result on a phone with enlarged text.
Write for the reader who is actually there, not the one in your head, and your contributions will be easier for hosts to accept and for audiences to enjoy.