Style guide

Abbreviations and acronyms

Unless it’s well known, always write the full version first, then include the abbreviation or acronym in brackets after.

Don’t use full stops in abbreviations. It’s ‘BBC’, not ‘B.B.C’.

activate

Use ‘turn on’ instead.

Addresses

Write the full address including the postcode. Separate each part of the address with a comma.

affect and effect

‘Affect’ means to influence or to produce a change in something. ‘Effect’ means the result of a change.

Ampersands (&)

Don’t use an ampersand to replace ‘and’ in sentences.

Use an ampersand in navigation menus to combine similar items into one group.

Use an ampersand if it’s part of a company or brand’s name.

Apostrophes (')

Use an apostrophe to show possession.

Only use an apostrophe with ‘its’ when you’re abbreviating ‘it is’.

Brackets

Don’t use brackets for any important information as users might assume they don’t need to read it.

British English

Always use British English spelling over American English.

Bullet points

Use bullet points to make text more concise and easier to read. Bullet points must:

• have an introductory sentence that ends in a colon
• have a lowercase letter at the start of each bullet
• not have any punctuation at the end of each bullet
• not have more than one sentence per bullet

Capitalisation

Use sentence case capitalisation. That means you only capitalise the first letter of the first word in a sentence.

Capitalise the first letter of people, places, and organisations.

All of these things should also have a capital letter.

Unless it’s an abbreviation or acronym, don’t capitalise an entire word.

check out and checkout

‘Check out’ is the action of a user paying for their shopping. ‘Checkout’ is the place where a user pays for their shopping.

Christmas

Not ‘Xmas’.

colleagues

Not 'staff'.

Colons (:)

Use a colon to introduce a bulleted list.

Use a colon to introduce financial values when a user is checking out.

Don’t use a colon within a sentence.

Don’t use colons to introduce radio buttons, checkboxes, or form fields.

Commas (,)

Use a comma before the word ‘and’ if you’re listing three or more things.

coronavirus (COVID-19)

‘Coronavirus’ is the name of the virus and it’s always lowercase. ‘COVID-19’ is the name of the illness and it’s always upper case.

Dates

There's not one ideal date format for every situation. You should find the one that works best for the circumstance. Below is some guidance around the most common formats and when and how to use them.

By default, write dates as 2 March or 27 October 2020. Don’t include ‘th’ or any commas.

Only include the year if it’s relevant for the user. Include the day if that information is likely to be useful. If you do, the year can be left out of the date, especially if it's the current year.

Numerical dates are not preferred as they can be confusing. If space is an issue, you can use a 3-letter abbreviation for the months. Don’t use a full stop after the month.

If you are using a numerical date, use the format DD/MM/YYYY.

For date ranges, use ‘to’ instead of a hyphen as it’s easier for screen reader users to understand. If your date range is in the same month, still include the month both times.

deactivate

Use 'turn off' instead.

Direct Debit

Not 'direct debit'.

eg

Use ‘for example’, ‘such as’, ‘like’, or ‘including’ instead.

Ellipsis (...)

Don’t use ellipsis. Depending on the context, use a full stop, a question mark, or leave the end of your sentence with no punctuation, like in a header for example.

email

Not ‘e-mail’.

Email addresses

Write the email address in full, in lowercase, and with an active link.

e-receipt

Not 'ereceipt'.

etc

Avoid using ‘etc’ at the end of lists. It’s better to write out a complete list to be clear with the user.

every day and everyday

‘Every day’ simply means ‘each day’. ‘Everyday’ means something that is ordinary or typical.

Exclamation marks (!)

Don’t overuse exclamation marks. If you do use an exclamation mark, only use it in positive messages and once per page.

FAQs

Not ‘FAQ’s’ or ‘faqs’.

Files

Use upper case without a full stop when referring to a file extension type. Add a lowercase ‘s’ without an apostrophe if there are multiple files of that type.

Use lowercase if you’re referring to a specific file.

Full stops (.)

Use a full stop in body text, descriptions, or subtitles. If the sentence includes a comma, always use a full stop at the end.

Don’t use a full stop in buttons, headings, titles, or navigation menus.

government

Always lowercase.

Hyphens (-)

Use a hyphen when two or more words are describing something.

For date and time ranges, use ‘to’ instead of a hyphen as it’s easier for screen reader users to understand.

ie

Use ‘meaning’, ‘that is’, or rewrite the sentence to avoid using ‘ie’.

last name

Not 'surname'.

less and fewer

‘Less’ means ‘not as much’ and is used when something can’t be counted, like ‘milk’. ‘Fewer’ means ‘not as many’ and is used when something can be counted, like ‘biscuits’.

license and licence

‘License’ means to give permission. ‘Licence’ is a document that says a person is qualified or allowed to do something.

Links

Use descriptive phrases for your link text instead of generic phrases like ‘click here’ or ‘find out more’.

log in and login

‘Log in’ is the action of a user accessing their account. ‘Login’ is the place where a user accesses their account, or the information they use to access their account.

modify

Use ‘edit’ or ‘change’ instead.

Money

Don’t use a space between the currency symbol and the number.

When a user is checking out, include a decimal point and the pence even if the amount is a round number.

In normal sentences, don’t include a decimal point or the pence if the amount is a round number.

Write out the entire number for all amounts under £1 million.

never mind

Not 'nevermind'.

Numbers

Use numerals for all numbers, especially if the number is above 9.

In certain circumstances, spelling the number out will make more sense than using numerals.

Use a comma for numbers above 999. Avoid shortening numbers.

OK

Not ‘Ok’ or ‘okay’.

online

Not ‘on-line’.

Percentages

Always use the percentage symbol with a number.

Phone numbers

For geographic landline numbers, separate the area code from the local numbers with a space, and then separate the local numbers into two segments.

Depending on the location, the area code could be 3, 4, or 5 digits. For example, 020 for London, 0161 for Manchester, or 01792 for Swansea.

For mobile numbers, separate the numbers into two segments with 5 numbers at the start and 5 numbers at the end.

pick up and pickup

‘Pick up’ is the action of going and getting something. ‘Pickup’ can be the name of a service, or a flatbed truck.

PIN

Not ‘PIN number’ or ‘pin’.

postcode

Not ‘post-code’.

purchase

Use ‘buy’ or ‘pay’ instead.

Sainsbury's

Always use an apostrophe.

seasons

Spring, summer, autumn, and winter are all lowercase unless they start a sentence.

Semicolons (;)

Don’t use semicolons. Use a comma or break up your message into separate sentences instead.

set up and setup

‘Set up’ is the action of setting something up. ‘Setup’ is a word that describes something physical.

Slashes (/)

Don’t use slashes. Use ‘or’ instead.

sorry

Say ‘sorry’ if something inconveniences the user, then explain how to fix the problem.

stores

Not ‘shops’.

subsequent

Use ‘future’, ‘later’, or ‘upcoming’ instead.

T&Cs

Not ‘Ts and Cs’.

Time

Use the 12-hour clock, followed by ‘am’ or ‘pm’ without any spaces.

For time ranges, use ‘to’ instead of a hyphen as it’s easier for screen readers to understand. If your time ranges are both in the morning or afternoon, still include am/pm after both times.

Use ‘midday’ instead of ‘12pm’ or ‘noon’.

Use ‘11.59pm’ instead of ‘midnight’. Midnight is the first minute of the day, not the last.

touchscreen

Not ‘touch-screen’.

transaction

Use ‘order’ instead.

user

Use ‘people’, ‘customers’, or ‘you’ instead.

web page

Not ‘webpage’ or ‘web-page’.

website

Not ‘web site’.

Websites

Don’t write ‘http://’ or ‘www’ in the web address.

If the web address has an extension, capitalise the first letter of each word in the extension.

wi-fi

Not ‘Wi-Fi’ or ‘Wi-fi’.

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