Develop a Style Guide for Your Site

The Internal StyleGuide

The Internal StyleGuide contains more detailed and technical information:

Network Standards

This section contains detailed information covering every convention that's standard across the Network, including when to open links in the same browser window, and when to spawn a new window. It includes:

• Spelling and Grammatical conventions
• Punctuation conventions
• Linking Protocol
• internal
• external

Article Standards

This section explains in detail the process for publishing and managing article-related content on the Network, from accepted file types for different forms of content, and the formatting of article text, to managing author details and storing images that appear within articles. It contains details on:

• Length
• Requirements for Submissions
• Author Details requirements
• Presentation and Editing
• Copyright
• Article Consolidation
• Image Naming Protocol
• Retiring Content

Content Standards

This final section of the document gets into the nitty gritty of rules that are applied to different types of content, including such specifications as the maximum word length for an article's blurb as it appears on the Network homepage at www.sitepoint.com, and standards for how often content should be added and rotated at various locations on the Network.

• Content Specifications
• General rules for text formatting
• Home page
• Articles
• Author details
• Content Turnover

Other Elements

The number of elements that may be included in a style guide are endless. Consider:

Tone and Style

You might want to define the tone and style of the copy to be included on, for example, a corporate Website, so that anyone who is employed to produce content in future knows instantly what 'personality' the copy needs to project.

Graphical Elements

You might want to incorporate screen captures or copies of graphical elements that must be included with content (for example, company trademarks or branding).

Pro-forma Content

Imagine you're a designer creating a site for a bank. In the process of creating copy, the bank is likely to consult legal specialists to come up with the correct wording for disclaimers and similar content. These disclaimers may become standard content -- and if they do, they can be included in the style guide.

Copy such as company taglines or slogans might also become standardized, in which case their content and usage can also be prescribed in your style guide.

These are just a few ideas -- there are plenty more and the list really will vary in accordance with the requirements of each individual situation.

What Will You Need?

As we discussed before, what you include in your style guide will depend on your content, and who you've written the style guide for. The outlines above might, however, give you an idea of a few of the areas you could cover in your own style guide.

The other thing to remember when you create a style guide for your own site is that the document will grow over time. As you incorporate more content into your site, tweak the design, and develop your brand, the way you present information is likely to change. Those changes will undoubtedly necessitate alterations to your style guide. If you're serious about your content or work with a few content producers or managers, you might want to schedule a revision every three to six months to make sure the document's up to date.

Include the information that's relevant to whoever will use the style guide, remember to update it, and your style guide really will make life easier.