Style guide

Well known abbreviations (UK, EU, VAT, MP) are acceptable. We do not use full stops – UK not U.K.  Abbreviations are always spelt in full the first time we use them. 

We will not use an unfamiliar abbreviation to only refer to something once. 

File sizes: we use 5MB not 5,000kB 

Address the user as ‘you’ where possible. Content on the site often makes a direct appeal to customers to get involved or take action: ‘You can contact us by email’ or ‘Pay your council tax’, for example. 

When adding bank details in content about paying us: 

• use spaces rather than hyphens in sort codes - 60 70 80 (not 60-70-80) 

• do not use spaces in account numbers - 10025634 

We avoid using italics or underlining. We use headings or bullets instead to emphasise particular words or sections. We do not use bold text for links or to highlight specific sections of content. 

Information such as key dates is often placed towards the top of a page but we may use page styling such as a panel to highlight important information. 

We use (round brackets), not [square brackets]. The only acceptable use of square brackets is for explanatory notes in reported speech: 

“Thank you [Chief Executive] Dawn Hudd.” 

We do not use round brackets to refer to something that could either be singular or plural, like ‘Check which document(s) you need to send.’ 

Instead, we’d use the plural, as this will cover each possibility: ‘Check which documents you need to send.’ 

Bullet points make text easier to read.  

When using bullet points: 

• always use a ‘lead-in’ sentence before starting the list off – as above 

• ensure they make sense running on from the lead-in sentence 

• use lower case at the start of each bullet point 

• do not use more than one sentence per bullet point – where possible start another bullet point or use commas or dashes to expand on something 

• do not put ‘or’, ‘and’ or use semicolons at the end of a bullet point 

• do not end bullet points with a full-stop 

• do not make the whole bullet a link if it’s a long phrase 

Bullets should form a complete sentence following on from the lead text.  It is sometimes necessary to add a short phrase to clarify whether all or some of the points apply. For example, ‘You can only register a pension scheme that is (one of the following):’ 

The number and type of examples in a list may lead the user to believe the list is exhaustive. This can be dealt with by: 

• checking if there are other conditions (or if the list is actually complete) 

• listing the conditions which apply to the most users and removing the rest 

• consider broader terms in the list which capture more scenarios (and could make the list exhaustive) 

• creating a journey to specialist content to cover the remaining conditions 

Numbered steps are used instead of bullet points where we need to guide a user through a process. Steps do not need a lead-in line and links and document downloads can be used within steps. Steps end in a full stop because each should be a complete sentence. 

We use green buttons where a customer needs to perform an action, for example to complete an online form or go to another website. It will refer to action that the customer can complete within their visit. 

Text is kept as short as possible as this is better for mobile users. Where there are multiple buttons on a page, there will be a clear heading to distinguish between them. 

Apply for planning permission

Block capitals are avoided – they’re hard to read and people interpret this as shouting. 

Sentence case is always used, even in page titles. 

We will capitalise: 

• proper nouns (names used for specific things, like an individual person, place, government department or organisation) 

• titles (for example Mr, Mrs, Miss, Ms, Dr) 

• job titles when used in the same sentence as a name

• brand names 

• header cells in tables, for example 'Annual profits' 

• names of specific named government schemes for example Council Tax, Housing Benefit, Right to Buy, Universal Credit 

• titles of publications, for example 'The Study Skills Handbook' 

When referring to ’the council’ in a general way, we do not capitalise the ‘C’, as it’s not a proper noun. We capitalise Arun District Council, but not district council or council.

Only use capitals for job titles when the title is used in conjunction with a name: "There were many chief executives at the meeting and Dawn Hudd, Chief Executive of Arun District Council led the session."

We do not capitalise 'members' or 'councillors', unless referring to a councillor by name. 

When talking about ourselves we try to use ‘we’ and ‘us’. 

We will not capitalise: 

• government  

• white paper, green paper, command paper, House of Commons paper 

• budget, autumn statement, spring statement, unless referring to and using the full name of a specific statement - for example, “2020 Budget” 

• sections or schedules within specific named acts, regulations or orders 

• the military 

Do not use “click” when talking about user interfaces because not all users click. Use “select”. 

You can use “right-click” if the user needs to right-click to open up a list of options to progress through the customer journey. 

Online options to resolve queries will be given first to encourage customers to do as much as possible online.  Telephone numbers should only be given after the above.  Contact details will be provided where needed.  This will be determined by user needs. 

Phone numbers 

Use ‘Phone’ instead of ‘Mobile’, ‘Mob’, ‘Tel’ or ‘Telephone’.   

Use a space in the number between the dialling code and the next digits, for example: 01903 737500.  For mobile numbers use this format: 07771 900 900. 

No brackets to be used around the dialling code. 

Contact information panels 

If contact information is required on a page a blue panel will be used at the end of the page for this.   

We only include social media options in the contact panel when we know that the managers of the account actively respond to people or if the account provides regular news and updates. 

We will:

• avoid negative contractions like shouldn't, can’t, don’t, haven’t, mustn’t as research shows that many users find them difficult to read or misread them as the opposite of what they say
• avoid conditional contractions like: should've, would've, could've and they’ve as people with cognitive challenges or a low literacy level find less often used, complex tense contractions like these hard to recognise and understand
• use simple positive contractions like: you'll, we'll, we're, they're, it's, I'll, there'll, there's.  There are currently no existing usability studies that show positive contractions cause or do not cause difficulties for users.

Use the following formatting: 

• write dates in full: 11 August 2020 not 11/8/20, 11.08.2020

• upper case for months: January, February 

• do not use a comma between the month and year: 4 June 2017 

• Financial year 2017/18 (not tax year 2017 to 2018) 

• 5:30pm (not 17:30) 

• Monday to Friday (not Monday – Friday) 

• 10 November to 21 December (not 10th November – 21st December) 

• 10am to 11am (not 10–11am) 

• midnight (not 00:00) 

• midday (not 12 noon, noon, or 12pm) 

We use ‘to’ instead of a dash or slash because it assists people who use screen readers. 

Midnight is the first minute of the day, not the last. You should consider using “11:59pm” to avoid confusion about a single, specific time. 

For example, “You must register by 11:59pm on Tuesday 14 June.” can only be read one way, but “You must register by midnight on Tuesday 14 June” can be read in two ways (the end of Monday 13, or end of Tuesday 14). 

We follow the advice found on GOV.UK when writing about disability. 

We avoid using eg, etc and ie. 

eg can sometimes be read aloud as ‘egg’ by screen reading software. Instead use ‘for example’ or ‘such as’ or ‘like’ or ‘including’ - whichever works best in the specific context. 

etc can always be avoided. We use ‘for example’ or ‘such as’ or ‘like’ or ‘including’. Never use etc at the end of a list starting with these words. 

ie - used to clarify a sentence - is not always well understood. Alternatively we use ‘meaning’ or ‘that is’. 

Compass directions are all in lowercase: the north, the south of England, the south-west, north-east Scotland, south Wales. The only exception is where these are part of a particular name, such as West Yorkshire. 

Where the prefix ‘e’ refers to electronic, it should always be lower case with a hyphen. For example: 

• e-business 

• e-government 

• e-learning 

• e-procurement 

The only exceptions to this are email and eForm. 

At the beginning of a sentence, capitalise the first letter of the word that follows the e, rather than the e itself. For example: 

• e-Business 

• e-Government 

• e-Learning 

• e-Procurement 

Hyphenate: 

• ‘re-‘ words starting with ‘e’, for example ‘re-evaluate’ 

• co-ordinate 

Do not hyphenate: 

• reuse 

• reinvent 

• reorder 

• reopen 

• email 

• eForm (although we prefer to use ‘online form’) 

• online 

Please note this section only applies to complaint handling. See We (when to use) for other situations.

The Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman has advised us that they would generally expect Investigating Officers to use “I apologise” instead of “We apologise” when responding to complaints, as this demonstrates clearer empathy and ownership of a complaint. Some good examples are: “I apologise”, “I can understand the distress this has caused”, “I do / do not uphold this element of your complaint”.

In all other situations we use ‘we’ instead of “the council” or “Arun District Council” unless it is not obvious who the ‘we’ is.

Legal content can still be written in plain English. It’s important that users understand content and that we present complicated information simply. 

If an important action might result in a serious or negative consequence, such as a fine, we often use a specific design as a warning. 

Using links in content 

Instead of duplicating information, if it exists elsewhere on arun.gov.uk, or can be better supplied by an organisation outside the council, we will always link to it instead. 

Links can be used anywhere in body text, but not in headings, subheadings or lead sentences. 

External links 

We consider linking to other websites if we believe they help someone to complete their task. 

For example, this may be a charity or another local authority website offering more in-depth information and advice or a way to book a sports pitch. 

When considering whether to link to another website, we check that: 

• the linked website helps to meet a specific need 

• content is up to date 

• the website has clear privacy and cookie policies 

• we are being impartial when linking to one organisation over another which offers similar services 

• the content is free to access 

• the website works well on all devices 

• the website is accessible 

Writing link text 

Links are most effective when descriptive and include relevant terms. We avoid using things like “click here” or “more” as link text needs to make sense out of context. A screen reader will sometimes read only the link text, even if it is part of a larger sentence. 

Links should appear at the point in the content at which they’re useful. 

We will not put a number of links together at the bottom of the page. 

We avoid one word links as these can be very difficult to select for users with reduced motor skills. 

It’s also important that people know if they are leaving arun.gov.uk. We always refer to the organisation's name when we link out of the website. 

Lists should be bulleted to make them easier to read. See bullets.

Use numerals and spell out measurements at first mention. 

Do not use a space between the numeral and abbreviated measurement: 3,500kg not 3,500 kg. 

Abbreviating kilograms to kg is fine - you do not need to spell it out. 

If the measurement is more than one word, like kilometres per hour, then spell it out the first time it’s used with the abbreviation. From then on, abbreviate. If it’s only mentioned once, do not abbreviate. 

Use Celsius for temperature: 37°C 

Using individual names or other personal contact details are avoided where possible. We refer instead to the contact details of their team or service. This is to make sure that any correspondence is answered as quickly as possible. 

An exception to this is in promotional material such as news items, when a quote from a named officer may be used. When referring to an individual, we use their title. For example: 

Chief Executive Dawn Hudd

After that, we refer to them by name only. For example: 

Dawn Hudd

Separate with a slash. Only use in tables. 

• use ‘one’ unless you’re talking about a step, a point in a list or another situation where using the numeral makes more sense: ‘in point 1 of the design instructions’, for example. Or this:

  You’ll be shown 14 clips that feature everyday road scenes.

  There will be:

  • 1 developing hazard in 13 clips
  • 2 developing hazards in the other clip

• if a number starts a sentence, write it out in full (Thirty-four, for example) except where it starts a title or subheading.

• write all other numbers in numerals (including 2 to 9) except where it’s part of a common expression like ‘one or two of them’ where numerals would look strange.

• numbers over 1,000 have comma separators, for example: 2,962 not 2962 

• use a % sign for percentages: 50%  

• use ‘200 to 400’ and not ‘200–400’ 

Millions and billions 

We always use the relevant word when referring to money, for example £138 million. 

Money 

The pound symbol is used, for instance, £75. 

We don’t use decimals unless pence are included, for example: 

£75.50 but not £75.00 

Numbers less than £1million are written in full rather than as a fraction, for example: 

£700,000 rather than £0.7million 

‘Pence’ is written in full: ‘calls will cost four pence per minute from a landline'. 

Ordinal numbers 

Spell out first to ninth. After that use 10th, 11th and so on. 

In tables, use numerals throughout. 

FAQs 

Do not use FAQs – they are strongly discouraged. 

This is because FAQs: 

• duplicate other content on the site 

• cannot be front-loaded (putting the most important words people will search for at the beginning of the text), which makes usability difficult 

• are usually not frequently asked questions by the public, but important information that needs to be included in the main content 

• mean that content is not where people expect to find it - it needs to be in context 

• can add to search results with duplicate, competing text 

FAQs will only be used where there is a temporary requirement for them, for example a pandemic or during the build up to an election. 

Accordions 

When there are multiple audiences we may use expanding text in accordions.  We will only use an accordion if it’s helpful for users to: 

• see an overview of multiple, related sections of content 

• show and hide those sections as needed 

Accordions hide content from users and not everyone will notice them or understand how they work. For this reason we will not use an accordion for content which is essential to all users. 

We do not use semicolons as they are often mis-read. Long sentences using semicolons are broken up into separate sentences instead. 

Use sign in rather than log in (verb) for calls-to-action where users enter their details to access a service. 

Do not use login as a noun - say what the user actually needs to enter (like username, password, National Insurance number). 

Only one space after a full stop, not two. 

Ampersands (&) and special characters will not be used. 

They make it harder to read and to skim. Some people with lower reading levels also find them harder to understand. 

The only exception is that an ampersand can be used within a company’s name if that is how it appears on the Companies House register.

Use Celsius: 37°C 

We use ‘we’ instead of “the council” or “Arun District Council” unless it is not obvious who the ‘we’ is.  

Plain English is mandatory for arun.gov.uk so we avoid using these words: 

• agenda (unless it’s for a meeting) 

• advancing 

• collaborate (use working with) 

• combating 

• commit/pledge (we need to be more specific - we’re either doing something or we’re not) 

• countering 

• deliver (pizzas, post and services are delivered - not abstract concepts like improvements or priorities) 

• deploy (unless it’s military or software) 

• dialogue (we speak to people) 

• disincentivise (and incentivise) 

• empower 

• facilitate (instead, say something specific about how you’re helping) 

• focusing 

• foster (unless it’s children) 

• impact (do not use this as a synonym for have an effect on, or influence) 

• initiate 

• key (unless it unlocks something. A subject/thing is not key - it’s probably important) 

• land (as a verb only use if you’re talking about aircraft) 

• leverage (unless in the financial sense) 

• liaise 

• overarching 

• progress (as a verb - what are you actually doing?) 

• promote (unless you’re talking about an ad campaign or some other marketing promotion) 

• robust 

• slimming down (processes do not diet) 

• streamline 

• strengthening (unless it’s strengthening bridges or other structures) 

• tackling (unless it’s rugby, football or some other sport) 

• transforming (what are you actually doing to change it?) 

• utilise 

We avoid using metaphors – they do not say what you actually mean and lead to slower comprehension of your content. For example: 

• drive (you can only drive vehicles, not schemes or people) 

• drive out (unless it’s cattle) 

• going forward (it’s unlikely we are giving travel directions) 

• in order to (superfluous - do not use it) 

• one-stop shop (we are a council, not a retail outlet) 

• ring fencing 

With all of these words you can generally replace them by breaking the term into what you’re actually doing. Be open and specific. 

Read more about plain English and words to avoid.