Overview
These editorial guidelines are designed to help you write in the Kentico voice when talking about Kentico. The information here will help you understand how to apply the correct language and tone we use when talking about what we do.
Always use American English.
Sentence case vs. Title case
Sentence case
- Headlines on main pages: Sentence case is used in the headlines on the main pages because it is more informal and friendlier
Deliver stunning digital experiences, faster.
- Headlines on landing pages
How insurance companies can benefit from Kentico
- Banners: The text on banners, such as
Discover why 30,000+ websites are powered by Kentico
- Subject lines in emails: Subject lines in sentence case seem more authentic, informal, and friendlier.
Not sure if Kentico is right for you?
- Descriptions of ads
There are many things that slow down the content creation process. How can you solve the CMS problems your finance company is facing?
- Blog post titles
Kentico awarded Leader in the G2 Grid
- Secondary headlines in blog posts
What is the G2 Grid?
- Whitepaper titles, for example
How digital agencies stay successful.
- Secondary headlines in whitepapers
- Secondary headlines in case studies.
- Webinar titles
Getting started with Kentico
- Titles of ads (Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, Quora, etc.)
Create valuable content for your audience
- Navigation/menu items across websites and landing pages
- Staff titles and department names unless otherwise advised: John, our VP of Gobal Sales, oversees our Sales team. Do not capitalize prepositions in titles.
- All product features when referring to them, not their functionality.
Title case
- Proper names; a name of a particular person, place, feature or a thing, e.g., Page Builder, Workflows. Plus, long standing events such as Kentico Connection, Kentico User Group etc.
Note: always double check the company's name, e.g., thunder::gov and thunder::tech don't include any capital letters
Capitalization
Capitalize staff job titles unless otherwise advised: John, our VP of Sales, oversees our sales team. Capitalize all product features when referring to them, not their functionality. Do not capitalize prepositions in titles unless they are part of a phrasal verb.
Always capitalize CTAs if they are standalone. E.g LEARN MORE. Do not capitalize CTAs mid-sentence.
Punctuation
There is a tendency to use a lot of punctuation in American English.
- titles
Mr., Mrs., and Ms. all take periods in American English.
- time
Use a colon between the hours and the minutes (e.g., 10:30).
- date
Put the month first, followed by the day, and then by the year (e.g. 12/3/2019 means December 3, 2021).
- numbers
With figures of four or more digits, use commas, e.g., 1,000 digital partners.
- comma in a list of items — Oxford comma
When you have a list that contains more than two elements, use commas to separate them (e.g. outdated content, content duplication, and inconsistencies).
- comma after an introductory phrase
There are several types of introductory phrases; make sure you use a comma when there is one (place, time, extra information…).
Since 2004, we've been helping people tell stories that change the world.
- comma between two independent clauses
Content writers can focus on producing great content, and developers can launch websites and apps faster.
Quotation
1. Use double quotes: “Collaborate on content in a single unified environment.”
2. Periods and commas go inside quotation marks in direct speech: “Today, we cover each step of the content lifecycle,” said Dominik Pinter. “If you want to succeed,” he told us, “you need to rethink how you work with content.”
3. Periods, dashes, semicolons, question marks, and exclamation points go inside quotation marks when they're a part of the quoted material, outside when they apply to the whole sentence: My colleague asked me, “Have you written a blog post?” vs. He asked me, what is “Software as a Service”?
4. Use single quote marks within quotes: “Our partners said, ‘We love working with you,” he told us at the meeting.
Dashes, apostrophes, and spaces
1. apostrophe (')
Used in contractions or to show possession.
- For plural nouns ending in s, add only an apostrophe at end (not an extra s): the partners successes.
- For singular common nouns ending in s, add s: that glasss water is dirty.
- For singular proper names ending in s, add only apostrophe at end: Chris website.
- For singular proper names ending in s sounds (x, ce, z), use s: Maxs app.
- For plurals of a single letter, add s: Solution As value.
- Dont use s for plurals of numbers or multiple letter combos: 1980s, CMSs.
2. em dash (—)
Used to break in with an abrupt thought, show an example, or set off a series of comma-separated items within a comma. No space before or after an em dash. Create using control+shift+minus
3. en dash (–)
Used to separate numbers: From 7–9 pm. No space before or after an en dash. Create using control+minus.
4. hyphen (-)
Used to combine compound adjectives before a noun: well-known community, 10-year partnership
Don't use a hyphen when the compound adjectives come after the noun: The community was well known. It was a partnership of 10 years.
5. spaces
Always use only one space after each word and after each sentence.
Words that have more than one accepted form
We write these words in the following form:
- back end (front end and back are both hyphenated when qualifying a noun, e.g., back-end development)
- blog post
- ebook
- call(s) to action (no hyphen)
- Software as a Service (when it precedes a noun and functions as an adjective, it is hyphenated, e.g., a Content-as-a-Service solution)
- end user
- e-shop (we do not write e-commerce or e-book, instead write commerce or ebook)
- front end
- HTML
- Internet vs. intranet
- log in (intransitive verb), log into (transitive verb), log on means visit a URL, login (noun)
- microsite
- multichannel, multilingual
- nonprofit
- omnichannel, on-site
- plugin
- Q&As (no gaps)
- rebranding
- spell check (noun and verb)
- startup (noun)
- third party (noun), third-party (adjective)
- toolbar
- touchpoint
- URL
Pronouns
It’s important to use language which implicitly or explicitly includes both men and women, making no distinction between the genders. Use the plural pronouns ‘they, ‘them, and ‘their to refer back to a singular noun:
The client wanted to manage all their content in a single environment.
Guidelines for writing emails
1. Keep the copy short and to the point, approx. 80-150 words. Nobody wants to read long email messages.
2. If you want to stress or highlight a piece of information, make it bold. Do not underline any words and, most importantly, do not use Caps Lock (it feels like you're shouting at the reader).
3. Have only one primary call to action (CTA). Firstly, determine what the CTA of the email is and only after that write the copy. Each email should have a clear purpose.
4. Include a salutation followed by a comma (e.g., Hi Anthony,).
5. Include a closing followed by a comma (e.g., Best regards,).
6. Do not send emails that have not been proofread to large groups of people.
Style guide
1. addresses
Always write out Road, Drive, Court, Square, Lane, Alley, and Terrace. Abbreviate Boulevard (Blvd.), Avenue (Ave.), and Street (St.) only with exact numbered address: She lives at 101 Maple St. She lives on Maple Street. Abbreviate directions on exact numbered addresses:
She lives at 101 N. Maple St.
Always use numbers in address, even if it’s less than 10
She lives at 1 Maple St.
2. amounts/comparisons
Use “more than” when referring to amounts; never use “over” unless something is physically located above something else or to avoid redundancy.
3. ampersands (&)
Don't used them mid-sentence. Always write "and".
Ampersands can be used sparingly in headings e.g. website menu to conserve space (especially online), but they should not be used in body copy.
4. apostrophe (’)
Used in contractions or to show possession.
For plural nouns ending in s, add only an apostrophe at end (not an extra s): the residents’ well.
For singular common nouns ending in s, add ’s: that glass’s water is dirty.
For singular proper names ending in s, add only apostrophe at end: Chris’ website.
For singular proper names ending in s sounds (x, ce, z), use ’s: Max’s well.
For plurals of a single letter, add ’s: Solution A’s value.
Don’t use ’s for plurals of numbers or multiple letter combos: 1980s, CMSs.
5. colon (:)
Used after a phrase that can stand by itself for a list or explanation. Capitalize the first word after a colon only if it’s a proper noun or the start of a complete sentence:
We promise this: We will send you details of your course after we have received payment.
Colons go outside quotation marks unless they are part of the quoted material:
It’s the “issue of our generation”: digital transformation.
6. comma (,)
Use varies. At Kentico, we use the Oxford Comma (also called a serial comma). Format lists as follows: red, white, and blue.
Use a comma after “for example” and “e.g.”. Also, use a comma if a sentence starts with a time clause (Last week, I worked for six days), an adverb (Finally, I can finish work), a location clause (In Brno, you can find a lot of commuters), or a subordinate clause (Despite being clever, it took him two sprints to complete the task).
“Not only but also” is only separated by a comma if they are parallel clauses (Not only is he an excellent coder, but he also makes good coffee.)
7. complete, completed
Use either “has been completed” or “is complete”, never “is completed.”
We report back to you when the project is complete.
8. contractions
Use them often unless we need to emphasize a point and a full form will help achieve this.
I’m aware of your problem vs. I am aware of your problem.
9. dashes
When describing length of time, use an en dash instead of “to”: You’ll receive information about your well in the next 12–18 months.
The event is from 7–9 PM.
10. dates
Always use numerals without st, nd, rd, or th:
January 4, 2022
When a month is used only with a year, don’t use a comma: January 2022