Write for a person with a task
Use familiar words, short sections and numbered steps. Explain necessary terms the first time they appear. Put the first useful action near the beginning, and keep important limits beside the action they qualify.
Help readers prepare documents, find the official route, follow up and choose an alternative when something blocks them. Explain when a requirement depends on the program or state. Do not invent a single deadline for every reader.
Design for people who may be stressed, have ADHD, read with difficulty or use another language. Treat them as adults. A simpler explanation must not remove a relevant exception.
Give each page a clear purpose
State pages must add real information about the agency, procedure or local differences. We do not create pages just by changing a place name or repeating a keyword. A clearer section, table or tool can be more useful than another page.
This edition contains 241 page families, each available in English, Spanish, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese. The language selector opens the corresponding page. Availability in four languages does not mean that professional language or reader review has been completed.
Translations must preserve amounts, dates, conditions, exclusions and the practical next step. Simplified and Traditional Chinese are written forms; offering both does not mean the website provides spoken Cantonese assistance.
Be clear about evidence and responsibility
Xavier Carraté Hernández remains responsible for the editorial project. Use primary sources for rules and link the relevant source. Distinguish factual verification, readability review, translation review and software tests.
AI can assist these tasks, but it is not an official source or credentialed reviewer. Do not describe content as professionally reviewed unless the actual reviewer, relevant credential, date and scope are stated. Check connected pages and translations when correcting a confirmed error.
Keep access free and commercial interests visible
Guides and tools are free. Advertising spaces are being prepared, but advertising is not active in this version. Advertisers must not choose our explanations or replace direct official application links.
Any future advertisement, sponsorship or compensated recommendation must be clearly identified. Commercial arrangements must not decide how eligibility requirements are explained. We do not sell tool answers.