Content writing

Writing styles

Speak directly to the user

We strive to use simple, direct language that is easy for users to understand. This means avoiding jargon and technical terminology whenever possible.

Use simple words and sentences

• Avoid complex vocabulary and sentence structures that can be difficult for users to understand
• Instead, use simple and direct language that gets the point across quickly and easily

Give sentences a single focus

• Avoid including multiple ideas in a single sentence
• Instead, focus on one clear idea per sentence to make the message easier to understand

Consider who you’re writing for

• Keep in mind the technical level and familiarity of your audience when writing
• Avoid using technical jargon or acronyms that they’re not familiar with

Be friendly and approachable

• Use language that creates a sense of conversation with the user, which can make the overall experience more approachable and less intimidating

Use active voice instead of passive voice

Use active voice wherever possible in written content, including in headings, paragraphs, and UI elements. In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action. Active voice makes the meaning of the sentence clear, concise, and direct. It also makes the sentence more engaging and easy to understand.

Examples of active voice:

• The user clicks the submit button.
• We are launching a new feature next month.
• This button will take you to the next page.

Passive voice, on the other hand, can make sentences more complex, less direct, and harder to understand. It often leads to sentences with more words and longer construction, which can make the user less engaged and the message more difficult to understand.

Examples of passive voice:

• The submit button is clicked by the user
• A new feature is going to be launched next month
• You will be taken to the next page by this button.

Use simple verb tenses

When possible, we use simple verb tenses to make written content easy to understand. Simple tenses refer to past, present, and future tense. Using these tenses allows for clear and concise communication and helps to avoid confusion for the user. It also helps reduce the complexity of a sentence, making it easier for the user to understand. Additionally, it’s best to use only one tense when possible in a UI or page. This means sticking to either past or present tense, not switching between the two.

Not every sentence needs to be written in simple tense. Sometimes, it’s appropriate to use other tenses to convey a specific meaning. However, as a general rule, use simple tenses.

Examples of simple tenses:

• Data refreshes every 5 minutes.
• File uploaded successfully.
• The new feature will be released next month.

Grammar and formatting

Capitalization

Sentence case
We use sentence case in our applications, including in headings and any UI elements like buttons and dropdowns. Sentence case capitalizes only the first word of a sentence and any proper nouns. The rest of the words are lowercase.
Sentence case gives applications a more conversational tone and makes it easier for users to identify what is a proper noun and interpret the words being used. Sentence case is also more localization-friendly.

• Capitalize proper nouns (the specific names of people, places, and things)
• Capitalize application names
• Respect existing capitalization when referencing other parts of the UI (for example, if you’re referencing a button, use the same capitalization as is written in the button element)
• If a feature isn’t unique to Cimpress, don’t capitalize it (for example, blog or navigation)
• Don’t capitalize the name of UI elements (for example, “Click the dropdown”)
• Respect the capitalization style of existing, outside trademarks (for example, iPhone or JavaScript)
• Don’t capitalize words mid-sentence to add emphasis or because they seem important

Title case
To maintain consistency across our applications, title case should be avoided.

All caps
In general, we do not use all caps capitalization in our system but there are specific exceptions. Do not use all caps to emphasize words or phrases.

This style should be used in the following cases:

• Common acronyms (COAM, JPEG, TFF)
• Table headings

Punctuation

Ampersands (&)
Don’t use ampersands in UI content. Instead, spell out the word “and”. Spelling out the word “and” is more accessible for users, friendlier, and better for localization. Additionally, ampersands draw attention to the least important part of the sentence.

Apostrophes (‘)
Apostrophes are used to indicate possession and indicate omitted letters and numbers. Apostrophes should never be used to make a word plural.
Indicate possession:

• For singular nouns and plural nouns that don’t end with “s”, add an apostrophe and then an “s”
  • Buyer’s, user’s
  • Women’s, men’s
• For all plural nouns and singular nouns that end with “s”, add the apostrophe after the existing “s”
  • Boxes’, customers’

Indicate omitted letters and numbers:

• Replace all missing letters or numbers in a row with a single apostrophe
  • ’40s
  • Don’t, can’t, won’t
• Use apostrophes as necessary in verb contractions
  • You’re, we’re, they’re

Exclamation marks (!)
Use exclamation marks sparingly in UIs. They should only be used positively and never to communicate negative information. If you must use an exclamation mark, stick to only one per page.

Colons (:)
Colons should be used before lists, but not before other UI elements like checkboxes, radio groups, dropdowns, or text fields. Use colons sparingly in sentences.

Commas (,)
Be judicious with your use of commas. If you find yourself using more than one or two in a sentence, consider breaking the sentence up with periods.

When listing multiple things in a sentence, use the oxford comma (also known as the serial comma). This means putting a comma directly before the “and” at the end of the list.

Never put a comma at the end of a bulleted or numbered list item. Treat each list item as a self-contained piece of information.

Periods (.)
Error messages and description text should always end with a period to help users understand where the message ends and improve readability. List items that contain a single sentence should not end with a period. Form labels and button text should never use periods.

Abbreviations
Using abbreviations consistently helps improve predicability and readability for users. Internal abbreviations should not be used in UIs since these abbreviations are not understood by users.

• Avoid using “i.e.” and “e.g.” in UI content as these abbreviations are not localization friendly.
• Don’t use apostrophes when making abbreviations plural.
• When writing out string descriptions or alt text, spell out all abbreviations.

Common mistakes

It’s and its

• It’s: a contraction of “it is” or “it has”
  • “It’s time to update your password.”
• Its: a possessive pronoun.
  • “Your account has its own settings.”

Log in and login

• Log in: a verb.
  • “Enter your username and password to log in”
• Login: a noun or adjective.
  • “Enter your login details to continue.”

Set up and setup

• Set up: a verb.
  • “Set up your profile.”
• Setup: a noun or adjective.
  • “Complete the setup process to place an order.”

Who and that

• Who: refers to a person.
  • “Who is the primary user of this account?”
• That: refers to an object or place.
  • “The location that is set as default will be used for all transactions.”