How to write a style manual for your blog or website

I’ve already discussed why having a style manual for any blog or website, no matter how small, is so important. This week, let’s look at how to actually create that style manual and add some continuity to your web-copy.

The first option is to buy or download a ready-made style manual. The Chicago or Oxford ones are very good. If you are looking for something a little more individual or your site needs a young, funky style, you’re better off writing your own.

The first thing to think about is the overall tone you want to convey in the text on your site. Think of three key words to describe what you want your ‘voice’ to sound like. For example, the key words for this site would be simple, honest, and trustworthy. Once you have your key words, put them at the top of the page. It’s time to move onto the next step.

The next step is to think about your target audience. Who are they? How do they speak? How are they used to being spoken to? Write a short paragraph explaining who your target audience is and how you intend to speak to them.

Now it’s time for the nuts and bolts stuff. You need to decide how you will write your headings (title case or sentence case), how you are going to use punctuation and how you are going to spell certain words. You may have been taught in school that there is only one correct way to use grammar and punctuation. This isn’t the case. Certain things, such as commas, colons, hyphens and dashes can be used in a variety of different ways and the way in which they are used can have a big visual or stylistic impact on your site.

Spelling can say a lot about you, too. For a more traditional company, you might want to use ‘E-mail’ but if your company is younger and especially if you are in the technology field, you are more likely to use ‘email’. Other decisions like ‘website/web site’ and the capitalisation of the ‘I’ in ‘Internet’ can also have an effect on how your company is perceived.

Write down all your decisions on grammar, spelling, and punctuation in a series of bullet points underneath clear headings. Remember, clarity is key here. There’s no point in having a style manual if nobody other than you can understand it.

If there are any points you are unsure of, use your favourite websites for reference. Choose a site with a style you like and look closely at their use of spelling and grammar. You don’t need to copy it exactly but taking the elements you like and using them for your own site is fine.

Once you have your style manual, print it out or post it somewhere where people writing for your site can access it easily. Some sites make their style manuals public and some large companies, like Microsoft, even sell them.

It takes quite a long time to write a style manual but it’s a really worthwhile investment and will save you a lot of time in the long-run. Especially if you want your site to grow in the future.

Today’s image is by Dimitri Popov.