Content Style and Standards for the Web

Abbreviations

Dates

Spell out months; do not use dashes (use “to”)

Accessibility

Headers

One H1 per page

Do not select heading levels based on their appearance. Select the appropriate heading rank in your hierarchy. The size of the header is not the same as the rank/hierarchy. 

Headings H2-H6 can be used multiple times, but must be in order, ie must be in sequential order. Don’t skip ranks and go from H2 to H4; must be an H3 in between. 

Capitalization

Headers

H1: Title case; H2-H6: Sentence case

Hyperlinks

All hyperlinks should be sentence case

Button Text

Buttons should also be sentence case

Categories in EDN

All categories should be Title Case

Content Types

Introductory Text

Page introductions are important for both search and usability. Content should be clear, actionable, and answer users' immediate needs at the moment they encounter it.

Headings

Headings have an important role for both accessibility and usability. Screen reader users can navigate a page according to its headings, listen to a list of all headings, and skip to a desired heading to begin reading at that point. Headings also divide content into sections, allowing users to scan long pages and find what they need. 

• Include an H1 for the page name (should be clear, plain language and typically matches the page URL)

• Don't overuse. Most pages will only need an H1, H2s, and an occasional H3.

• Do not select heading levels based on their appearance. Select the appropriate heading rank in your hierarchy. The size of the header is not the same as the rank/hierarchy. 

• Don't use headings for subtitles, taglines or slogans. 

• Do not use bold text for headings 

• Do not skip levels (ie, H1, H2, then an H4)

Page Titles

Titles and their associated URLs are integral to a website's architecture and impact how users find, interact, and digest information. 

• Titles should be user-centered, which means free from jargon, internal terms, adjectives, made up terms, or other words that are not used by readers. 

• Titles should be search-friendly. Use the same words your readers would use when doing a web search for the info. 

• Keep titles short and precise. 

Hyperlinks

• Avoid link text like “Click Here,” “More,” and “Read More.” These kinds of links can be confusing when a screen reader reads them out of context.

• Hyperlink meaningful text; include words that describe the link's destination 

• Pages should not present more than one link to the same destination next to each other.

• On cda.org all hyperlinks should still open in the same window, whether internal or external.

• Do not host PDFs on our website that are not ours. Link to the PDF from the original website.

• Per accessibility best practices it is recommended to warn the reader when they will be leaving our site to go to a different site (through how the content is written).