Content style
We treat content as a physical representation of our mission to encourage people to take control of their carbon footprint. This implies that each and every piece of material we create must be of genuine value to the community.
Content princples
By creating high-quality, thoroughly researched, and useful content, we aim to advance the field of user understanding. Everything we produce — blog posts, help documentation, and social media posts — is the result of time, effort, and research with a persistent commitment to excellence. Our material makes an effort to reflect our brand values.
Voice and tone
- Fun, but not silly: Amet minim mollit non deserunt ullamco est sit aliqua dolor do amet sint. Velit officia consequat duis enim velit mollit. Exercitation veniam consequat sunt nostrud amet.
- Fun, but not silly: Amet minim mollit non deserunt ullamco est sit aliqua dolor do amet sint. Velit officia consequat duis enim velit mollit. Exercitation veniam consequat sunt nostrud amet.
Style
Accessibility
Try and follow the Web Accessibility Initiative’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. User descriptive but clear link text, and always add alt text to images. This also really helps SEO.
Images
Any imagery should add to the content it sits beside.
- Stock imagery is unavoidable, but try to be selective and creative with what you find.
- Be mindful to showcase diversity, while being true to what you are trying to illustrate.
Language
We use British English (as opposed to U.S. English/Australian English) by default. Here are some examples:
An extensive list of examples can be found here.
Style guide
SKOOT adheres to Hart’s Rules of writing unless otherwise specified in this document.
Sentence case
- Use sentence case (Capitalise the start of sentences) on all content including headings and titles (“Write them like this,” and “Not Like This”)
- Proper nouns and products should also be capitalised
Lists
Use bulleted or numbered lists, never dashes. When writing a bulleted list, use full stops at the end of each point when the bullet points are complete sentences. If each point is a word or short phrase, do not use full stops.
Numbers
- Use digits wherever possible, even when greater than 10
- Use commas to help users read larger amounts
- Number should only show 2 decimal places when required
Subheads & descriptions
- Do not end in full stops
- Try to stick to 60-70 characters
Channels
The SKOOT blog
Amet minim mollit non deserunt ullamco est sit aliqua dolor do amet sint. Velit officia consequat duis enim velit mollit. Exercitation veniam consequat sunt nostrud amet.
Proofread
Always proofread the article when it is saved as a draft on the website. Read, re-read and ask another colleague to read the article. Run the content through a service like Grammarly as an extra proofreading step.
Only publish the article when it has received approval.
Social media
When it comes to writing for social media, remember each platform has its own audience. Our content on these platforms should be written for the intended audience whilst following the guidelines outlines here.
Help documentation
Before writing help article, consider:
Why are you writing it?
Before you start drafting the article, think “why” are you writing it first. This helps identify the problem.
What is the purpose?
What should a user be able to achieve after reading this article?
Who is reading it?
Think about who this article is for. Is it for employers or their employees? Perhaps it's a potential customer or an existing customer. Each audience might have different requirements.
How does it read?
Preview the article as you add it to the help site. Pay attention to how it looks, how it is formatted, would images make it easier to understand and the overall length.
Structure
Some problems may require lengthy and complex solutions. Break up long articles that cover multiple, related topics into separate ones when appropriate.
- Heading: These should be simple and specific. Give a clear impression of what questions are answered in the article
- Category: Each article should belong to a category. If a solution is required that doesn’t fit into a category think, is this needed? If so, add the category
- Body content: Stay clear, concise and relevant. Keep it short by avoiding long words and sentences. Add imagery when it helps, not just for aesthetics
- Related articles: These are generated automatically based on the category of the current article
Headings and sub-headings
Headings within the article can help a user navigate an article.
- Use H3 for section titles
- H4 can be used below H3 for sub-headings
Callouts
These are small text boxes which are styled to draw attention to a piece of information.
This is an example of how a callbox looks. Emojis are optional, and should only be used them they add to the conent. Links can also be used
- Style a callout by using H6
Images
- Only use images when it contributes to the article
- Crop images so the subject of the image is obvious
- Save images at x2 the size for sharpness
- Save images as .JPEG, .PNG .GIF or .WEBP
- Always compress images, there are several optimisation tools online to compress and convert images
Links
Links and contact links should be added to text, not as a direct link. Make sure the text has a very clear action.
- Like this: ...planted by Eden Reforestation across the world...
- Not like this: Click here to learn more.
Proofread
Always proofread the article when it is saved as a draft on the website. Read, re-read and ask another colleague to read the article. Run the content through a service like Grammarly as an extra proofreading step.
Only publish the article when it has received approval.
