Writing inclusively

During an internal hackathon, a diverse group of Shopify employees codified new inclusive language guidelines for anyone creating Shopify experiences. Shopify was in need of inclusive language guidance, but we also needed buy-in from our consumers. These guidelines would not be just for Shopify employees, but anyone creating Shopify experiences. That included our third-party app builders, who weren’t necessarily operating according to the same values and incentives.

The first thing I noticed was that much of the guidance—even though it was helpful and informative—wasn’t related to product experiences. By reframing as inclusive language written for Shopify admin experiences, we eliminated many parts that were irrelevant to our audience. They needed the most impactful stuff, quickly.

Second, we needed to be clear about the benefit of incorporating these guidelines. Inclusive experiences bring more people from more backgrounds, which is ultimately good for business. So, if you want your app or product experience to reach the maximum number of relevant people, make it inclusive for everyone. By establishing a business case, we now had buy-in from everyone who is creating a Shopify experience. 

Third, we wanted to speak in a way that brought people together, not alienated them. The original guidelines felt “preachy” and potentially ostracizing. We changed our tone to focus on the potential impact of certain words and phrases, and removed language that implied something was “bad” or “good.” Readers could now take the recommendations at face value, without feeling like their own morality or ethics were being attacked.

Whether users agreed with Shopify’s values or not, the end result was product experiences that were accessible and inclusive to all users of Shopify. This directly aligned with Shopify’s mission to “make commerce better for everyone.”