Letting Go of the Words, 2nd Edition

Interlude 5

Creating an Organic Style Guide

As you create your web content, you and your colleagues may have questions about grammar, spelling, punctuation, and writing style.

Organic = Don’t spend a year writing a book. Start with whatever decisions you already have. Set it up as a mini web site with an index card for each topic. Add to it over time. Let it grow from authors’ and editors’ questions.

Use a style guide for consistency

All groups – businesses, government agencies, nonprofits, online communities, social media groups, universities – have personalities and cultures. Language choices are an important part of culture: How formal or colloquial ...