HEARTLAND WEBSITE STYLE GUIDE
This style guide is a combination of best practices for writing for the web and other popular style
guides. This document is intended to be a guide for website writing and not a policy. Readability is the
top priority in website writing. When in doubt, rewrite and rephrase your content.
PUNCTUATION
apostrophes
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For plurals, use an apostrophe only to prevent confusion: CPAs, 1980s, Ph.D.s, A's and B's, the
Joneses.
For possessives, use ('s) after nouns unless the word ends with s: the hostess' invitation; the
hostess' seat; Dickens' novels; Heartland's campus
For conjunctions: When in doubt, spell it out.
o can’t
o it’s (means it is)
o its (means belonging to it)
bullets
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A bulleted list must contain at least two bulleted items.
Treat all bulleted lists consistently within a document.
All items within a bulleted list should have the same:
o capitalization
o punctuation
o sentence structure
Don’t use periods after each item in a list if the items are not complete sentences. For instance:
The pantry contains:
o apples
o bananas
o oranges
When a bullet point contains a complete sentence, use a period after each bullet in the list and
capitalize each item.
Numbered lists should follow the same rules as bulleted lists, but should only be used when the
list is sequential or chronological.
capitalization of titles and names
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Upper case is used only when the title is directly before the name: President Bill Clinton, but
John Jones, associate vice president of planning.
Upper-case all titles when used in an address or headline
Generally, lower-case references to proper names when not used in full: the program, the
college, EXCEPT when referring to your particular institution: the College, the Foundation, etc.
See media outlets, below, for more information.
colons
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Capitalize the first word after a colon only if it is the start of a complete sentence.
Use a colon to separate an incomplete sentence from a list or bulleted list.
commas
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Do not use a comma before the last item in a series except to avoid confusion:
o a, b and c
o a and b, a and c, and b and c
More complicated lists should be converted into bulleted lists whenever possible.
Use it to set off nonessential clauses and phrases.
After a city name, use it to set off names of states, counties, and countries.
Use it in numbers higher than 999: 1,000,000.
em dashes (—) and en dashes (–)
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Do not use the em dash or en dash for website content. Try to rephrase the sentence for better
readability.
hyphens
Phrases are hyphenated when used before a noun, but not after. The hyphen can also be used to
prevent confusion:
 A well-known man
 He was well known.
 A fuel-efficient furnace
 The furnace is fuel efficient.
 Her reply was thought-provoking.
A word ending in -ly followed by a participle or adjective is always open:
 Poorly attired man
 Overbearingly arrogant person
 10- to 12-page report
Ranges of dates and times should be separated by space hyphen space.
 10 a.m. - noon
 8:30 p.m. - midnight
 May - June 1967
 1968 - 72
dates and times
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Capitalize names of days, months, and holidays when used as proper nouns.
o This Christmas will fall on a Thursday.
o I will attend the May graduation
Do not capitalize the name of a season.
o I look forward to the spring semester.
o My birthday is in the summer.
Use noon and midnight instead of 12 a.m. and 12 p.m.
On the hour, you do not need to specify the minutes of a time.
o We are meeting at 10 a.m. tomorrow
o We will take breaks at 10:45 a.m., 12:30 p.m. and 2 p.m.
Times should always include a.m. or p.m. except with noon and midnight
Do not spell out the time except for noon and midnight. Do not say “in the morning” or “in the
afternoon.”
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o 8 a.m.
o 7:30 p.m.
o noon
o midnight
Be consistent with the names of months. Shorten all months to three letters or fully spell out all
months.
Do not use leading zeros.
Do not use superscript 1st, 2nd, 3rd or 4th with dates.
Use these formats and omit excess wording (‘on’, ‘of’ and ‘at’) whenever possible:
o May 1
o September 12, 2015
o 8 a.m. Tuesday, December 2
When in doubt, be consistent and go with the option that causes the least confusion.
italics
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Use italics for titles of complete, independent works: newspapers, books, magazines, movies,
plays, etc. Put quotes around titles of works that are contained within other works, such as
articles.
Use italics for footnotes on web pages to cite sources or provide technical support (such as
enabling cookies or instructions for downloading a PDF reader).
parentheses
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Try to avoid using parentheses. If you do, follow these rules:
Put the period outside the parentheses if they don’t contain a full sentence (like this).
(Put the period inside the parentheses if they contain a full sentence, like this one.)
semicolons
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Do not use the semicolon for website content. Rephrase the sentence for readability.
quotation marks
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Commas and periods always go inside quotation marks.
The question mark and exclamation point go inside quotation marks when they only apply to the
quoted matter. They go outside when they apply to the whole sentence: Did you know that she
said, “Let them eat cake”?
spacing
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Use one space, not two, between sentences and after a colon.
Insert one line space before and after a bulleted list.
Don’t insert the line spaces before or after a bulleted list within a bulleted list.
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TECHNOLOGY & MARKETING-RELATED TERMS
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ecommerce
email (do not use e-mail)
iPhone (do not capitalize the lower case i in terms like this)
FAQ / FAQs
hotlink
hyperlink is used as both a noun and a verb
HTML
interactivity
Internet (always a proper noun)
intranet
Java
listserv
login (noun - a username)
log in (verb - use this on a clickable buttons.)
online
on-screen
Perl
readability
scalability
sign up (verb)
signup (noun or adjective “signup sheet”)
tagline
timeframe
timeline
UNIX
URL / URLs: In text, use regular font. To cite web sources, use an asterisk * and an italicized
footnote.
usability
web
website
COLLEGE-SPECIFIC TERMS
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classwork
coursework
day care
fundraising
health care
long-term
nonprofit
not-for-profit
viewbook
associate’s degree
Associate in Applied Science
OTHER
media outlets
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Take care to confirm each outlet’s exact name and formatting in the AP style guide
numbers
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Use figures for 10 and above. Spell out numbers one through nine, except when used with
“percent” or “million”: 4 percent; 5 million. Spell out “percent” except in tables, where % is
acceptable.
state names
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Use abbreviations for state names when following a city name: Welcome to Normal, IL.
Fully spell out a state name when referring to the state and not to a city: Welcome to Illinois.
telephone numbers
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We recommend the fully hyphenated style: 800-444-2121
that/which
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“That” is often a non-essential word:
o Ok sentence: I think that diamonds are beautiful.
o Better sentence: I think diamonds are beautiful.
Use “that” only when it is essential to the meaning of the sentence:
o Incomplete sentence: Diamonds sparkle are beautiful.
o Complete sentence: Diamonds that sparkle are beautiful.
“Which” is followed by a comma:
o The diamonds, which sparkled in the sunlight, were beautiful.
book, file, TC, and publication titles
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Titles of books, films, TV shows, and other stand-alone media or publications are italicized.
(See media outlets above for exceptions.)
Titles of songs, poems, TV episodes, etc. that are don’t occur independently are placed in
quotes.
Software titles are treated as products: capped appropriately but not set off by italics or quotes.
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