Content Guidelines - Abbreviations and acronyms

This is a list of the most commonly used abbreviations and acronyms we use. Each of our directorates will have a long list of ‘short forms’ they use in every day. We’ve focused on the ones that are used most often across our entire organisation.

Abbreviations and acronyms

An abbreviation does not need spaces or full points between the letters, e.g. HS2, PAYE, mph.

An acronym is an abbreviation made from the first letters of each of the words in the name of something. It’s said as a word in its own right, like NATO, HOP scheme (Homeowner Payment scheme) and SIM card (subscriber identity module).

Always write out an abbreviation or acronym in full the first time you use it unless it’s well known, like the BBC or the NHS. Then put the shortened version in brackets, e.g.

The Department for Transport (DfT) is looking at the report. The DfT will need several weeks to consider it.

Aligning text

Left-align text in English.

Some people with cognitive differences have difficulty with blocks of text that are justified (aligned to left and right margins).

Also people who use screen magnifiers may miss text that is not left-aligned.

For translations into languages that run right to left (like Arabic), right-align instead.

Read about text alignment in the design system.

Apostrophes

We use straight, not curly apostrophes. Take care when pasting in text.

Do not use	Use
you’ll	you'll

Read more about contractions like "you'll" and "can't" in the contractions section.

Bold

Use bold in technical instructions to tell users which element (for example, a text input or button) to select. For example: Select More, then select Messages.

Use bold sparingly – too much bold makes it difficult for users to know which parts of your content they need to pay most attention to.

Do not use bold to emphasise text. To emphasise words or phrases, you can:

• front-load sentences
• use headings
• use bullets

Capitalisation

We do not use block capitals as they're difficult for people to read.

We always use sentence case, including page titles. The exception is proper nouns and examples in the GOV.UK style guide capitalisation list.

Brand names get an initial capital letter, except where the brand uses lower case itself.

Contractions

We use contractions like you'll, we'll, you're and what's. Often contractions make content friendlier and easier to read.

Do not use negative contractions like can't and don't. When you’re telling users not to do something, use "Do not" rather than "Don't".

Avoid should've, could've, would've and they've. They can be hard to read.

Contractions in URLs and page titles

Do not use contractions in URLs (web addresses). They can be unclear, hard to read, type and share. Some are ambiguous, like "shell" and "were" (for "she'll" and "we're").

If you can, avoid using contractions in page titles and H1s too. Ideally the page title and URL should be the same.

Full stops

Do not use full stops in headings, buttons or action links.

We do not use full stops in cards, where the card contains a single sentence and acts as a brief link to another page.

Hyphens and dashes

Hyphens

Hyphens can clutter content and make it more difficult to read.

Only use a hyphen if a word or sentence is confusing without it.

Ask yourself if there's a chance someone could misread what you've written and then add a hyphen if needed. Compare "recover" and "re-cover" (meaning "put on a new cover").

You can often write something simply and clearly without a hyphen.

Whether or not we use a hyphen depends on the context.

Use "long term" in phrases like "in the long term". But use a hyphen for "long-term" as an adjective, for example in "long-term project". Do the same with "short term" and "short-term".

Use "follow up" as a verb, but "follow-up" with a hyphen in "follow-up appointment".

Dashes

Avoid using dashes to indicate a pause. Instead use a comma, or write shorter sentences.

We use "to" instead of a dash for ranges of numbers, dates or time.

Lists

Use lists to make text easier to read.​

Bulleted lists should be short and snappy. If possible, limit your list to no more than 6 items.​ Each item in the list should be roughly the same length.

We use bullet points in:

• Do and Don’t lists

Lists with a lead-in line

This is our preferred list style.

Use a lead-in line with a colon. The bullets should make sense running on from the lead-in line. In effect, the list is 1 continuous sentence.

Each bullet point starts lower case and has no punctuation at the end, including after the last point.

Do not include more than 1 sentence at each bullet point.

Avoid ending a bullet point with "and" and "or". Use the lead-in to let people know the options.

Full sentence lists

If your user research shows that it helps your users, you can use full sentence bullet points.

Each bullet point should be distinct information, start with a capital letter and end with a full stop. There should be no lead in line.

Numbered lists

We use numbered lists instead of bulleted ones to guide people through a process. Each point starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, without a lead-in line.

Quotation marks

Do not:

• overdo quotation marks – they can be distracting and are often unnecessary
• use them to tell users which element (for example, a text input or button) to select – instead use bold in technical instructions

We generally use straight double quotes:

• when quoting another source
• for unusual or colloquial terms.

Use single quotes for:

• quotes within quotes.
• headlines
• captions
• large-type quotes