Content design guidance
Use this guidance to help you design useful, readable, and inclusive content for your users.
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About this content design guidance
This guidance includes best-practice advice on how to write for government digital channels.
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A-Z of content design guidance
An alphabetised list of all topics in the content design guidance.
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Content design process
Planning, researching, writing, testing and managing content that meets your users’ needs.
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Content structure
Using content design techniques and principles to structure a page makes it easier for users to find and understand information.
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Writing style
Write using language that makes information easy for users to find and understand.
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Grammar and punctuation
An alphabetised list of best practice and rules for punctuation and grammar on public sector websites.
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Words to avoid and specialist words
Check which words you should avoid to make content easy to understand.
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Numbers
How to write numbers, currency, dates, times, and phone numbers.
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Links
Links are navigation tools, and help people move around your site.
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Inclusive language
Use the right words and markup so content is accessible and inclusive of everyone.
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Formatting
Use bold sparingly, and never use italics or underline to emphasise web content.
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Google Analytics for content design
Some features in Google Analytics are useful for making content design decisions. But others should be treated with caution.
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Writing for search engines
If you write for your readers, you’re writing for search engines.
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Content design tools and resources
Using templates and tools to plan and check your work will help you design better content for your users.
