Free resource · CopyWise
A practical, opinionated style guide for product copy. Covers casing, voice, error messages, buttons, numbers, loading states, and more — ready to paste into your own style guide or use inside CopyWise.
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When to use sentence case vs. title case, and rules for specific UI elements.
Use sentence casing 99% of the time. Use title casing only when a specific guideline calls for it.
Default to sentence casing everywhere — capitalize only the first word and proper nouns.
Reserve title casing for specific situations only — every word capitalized except short conjunctions, prepositions, articles, and helping verbs.
Always capitalize "Figma", "Figma Apps", "Figma Analytics", proper nouns, countries, days, and months.
Never capitalize industries, financial terms, departments, or job titles unless they are proper nouns.
Use sentence casing for email subjects — no exceptions.
Title-case named admin roles — "Account Admin", "Super Admin", "Flow Admin", "Billing Admin".
Use sentence casing for plural admin roles — "super admins" not "Super Admins".
Use sentence casing for page headings — never punctuate them.
Use sentence casing for all button text — never punctuate buttons.
Apply sentence casing to clickable links — never punctuate them.
Limit dropdown options to one word when possible — use sentence casing, no punctuation.
Use sentence casing for dropdown headers — never punctuate them.
Apply sentence casing to radio options — punctuate only when conditional logic demands.
Use sentence casing for checkbox options — punctuate only when conditional logic demands.
Write placeholder copy in sentence casing — punctuate conditionally based on content type.
Use sentence casing for table headers — never punctuate them.
Use sentence casing for breadcrumbs — never punctuate navigation elements.
Apply sentence casing to filter tiles — never punctuate them.
Use sentence casing for field name labels — never punctuate labels.
Apply sentence casing to component names — never punctuate them.
Guidelines for active voice, second person, positive framing, and plain language.
Use active voice aggressively — "You will lose access" beats "Access will be lost" every time.
Exception: use passive voice for technical system states and error messages to avoid blaming users.
Write conversationally and simply — "There's already a channel with that name" not "Channel name already exists".
Use simple words ruthlessly — "buy" not "purchase", "let" not "permit", "start" not "commence".
Frame restrictions positively — "Reassignment is unavailable" beats "You cannot reassign".
Ruthlessly eliminate repetitive words — avoid word redundancy and pronoun overload.
Write in second person "you" — direct and personal.
Avoid progressive and perfect tenses — use simple past or present instead.
How to write error copy that informs without blaming and helps users recover.
Never blame users in error messages — avoid "You can't" constructions.
Always punctuate error messages — complete sentences require periods.
Use Effect–Cause–Solution order for error messages when possible.
Use colon syntax for three-part errors — "Upload failed: This file format is invalid. Try a JPEG."
Use comma for two-part errors — "Upload failed, try again".
How to write numbers, percentages, currency symbols, and large values.
Write numbers zero through nine as words — "eight" not "8".
Write numbers 10 and above as numerals — "25" not "twenty-five".
Use International System of Numeration with commas — "240,000" not "240000".
Write millions with a maximum of two decimal places — "2.63 million" not "2.631 million".
Use K/M without spaces in space-constrained microcopy — "80K" not "80 K".
Suffix currency codes with a space — "50 USD" not "USD $50".
Prefix currency symbols without a space in constrained contexts — "$50" not "$ 50".
Write "percent" as a word when used with digits in full copy — "16 percent" not "16%".
Use the % symbol without a space in microcopy constraints — "50%" not "50 %".
When to spell out, when to abbreviate, and how to introduce abbreviations.
Use equivalent phrases instead of Latin abbreviations — ban "etc.", "i.e.", "e.g." and replace with "and so on", "that is", "for example".
Use abbreviations only when space is critically constrained — otherwise spell it out.
Never add apostrophes before "s" in plural abbreviations — write "CDs" not "CD's".
Title-case technical abbreviations — "SSO (Single Sign-On)" — no exceptions.
Define uncommon abbreviations on first mention, then use the abbreviation only — no repeated expansions.
Write "versus" as "vs." — short and clean.
Place abbreviation expansions in tooltips only once per page — not repeatedly.
Skip tooltips for common abbreviations like URL/URI — everyone knows these.
Title-case abbreviations when referencing them in copy — "SSO (Single Sign-On)".
Rules for commas, question marks, slashes, quotation marks, and more.
End list introductions with colons — "Your password should meet the following conditions:".
Skip the introductory line for single-point lists — just state it as one sentence.
Use question marks only for direct questions — not for statements or indirect questions.
Avoid "How to" constructions — use "How do" or "How is" for direct questions instead.
Always use the Oxford comma in series — "apples, oranges, and bananas".
Never use quotation marks — bold for emphasis, italicize for sample data.
Never add spaces around forward slashes — "companies/organizations" not "companies / organizations".
Never use backward slashes — forward slash only.
No punctuation for titles, labels, buttons, single words, breadcrumbs, or timestamps.
Always punctuate sentences, phrases, help text, error messages, and descriptive tooltips.
When to hyphenate compound modifiers, and common exceptions.
Hyphenate compound modifiers before nouns — "real-time data", "built-in feature", "drag-and-drop interface".
Follow Merriam-Webster's Dictionary for hyphens except "timeout" (no hyphen, despite the dictionary).
Never hyphenate when the first word is an adverb ending in -ly — "highly effective" not "highly-effective".
Drop hyphens when compound modifiers become verbs — "drag and drop files" not "drag-and-drop files".
Never hyphenate these words: "coworkers", "sign in", "sign out", "autopopulate", "autosave", "ad hoc".
How to write file format names, extensions, and storage sizes.
Use block letters for file type abbreviations — "JPEG file", "MP3 file", "AIFF file".
Say "file format" not "file type" — be precise with terminology.
Always include the word "file" when possible — "exported as a JPEG file".
Write filename extensions in lowercase — ".jpg", ".aif", ".mp3".
Add a space between file size numbers and units — "100 MB" not "100MB".
Placeholder text, help text, and field label conventions.
Never repeat field names as placeholder text — add context instead.
Keep example text lowercase in placeholders without quotes — natural flow.
Punctuate placeholder phrases and sentences — complete thoughts get periods.
Leave short placeholder words unpunctuated — "First name" not "First name."
Write help text concisely under input fields — use sentence casing with punctuation.
Copy for screens with no content — make them helpful, not dead ends.
Punctuate empty state copy, except unpunctuated titles in single-line designs.
Write positive empty state copy with solutions — help users find what they need.
Use sentence casing for empty state copy — always punctuate descriptive text.
Copy for loading screens, progress indicators, and wait states.
Use three dots for loading states — "Loading..." with no extra spaces.
Set minimum 300–500ms visibility for loading text — ensure readability before it disappears.
Keep loading screens dynamic for long waits — avoid static text that feels frozen.
Use "Please wait..." not "Loading ..." — correct format and punctuation.
When to drop helping verbs and unnecessary articles.
Allow contractions but never contract "to have" as a main verb — "I have" not "I've".
Ruthlessly eliminate unnecessary articles — "Configure user settings" not "Configure the user settings".
Use articles only when specificity demands it — "The process was deleted" for deliberate emphasis.
Eliminate helping verbs when they add no value — "Portal archived" beats "Portal is archived".
Keep helping verbs only for timing emphasis or clarity — "The file was exported" for past action.
Formatting rules for success messages, error toasts, and alerts.
Bold dynamic workflow names and assignees in notifications — protects from casing issues.
Keep table entity dynamic values unbolded — different formatting context.
Bold example texts without quotes — design-approved weight for visibility.
Bold dynamic values in notifications — protect formatting consistency.
Write success toast messages as single sentences — sentence casing with punctuation.
Format error toast messages in sentence casing — always punctuate API messages.
Hyperlink text, tooltip placement, and cross-reference formatting.
Use "Learn more" as the default hyperlink text — standalone phrase, no trailing period.
Direct links to specific article sections using anchor tags when relevant.
Bold re-referenced button or icon copy with exact product casing — "Click View invoice".
Match original product casing exactly when referencing UI elements.
Use sentence casing for explanatory tooltips with succinct copy — always punctuate.
Apply sentence casing to label tooltips — never punctuate single-word labels.
Title and body copy conventions for modals that ask for user confirmation.
Write system validation messages as single sentences — use sentence casing with punctuation.
Use sentence casing for confirmation popup titles — never punctuate titles.
Apply sentence casing to confirmation popup body text — always punctuate full sentences.
Preferred spellings, banned phrases, and consistent terminology.
Ban the ampersand (&) symbol unless on a space-constrained button or in an official company name.
Drop the final "s" in possessives when the word ends in "s" — write "Jonas'" not "Jonas's".
Always write "email" — never "e-mail" or "email ID". Use "email address" in full sentences.
Use American spelling exclusively — follow Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary.
"autopopulate" is allowed as an exception, despite not appearing in Merriam-Webster.
Never split infinitives with adverbs — "to add easily" not "to easily add".
Never use "Unsaved changes" — use approved alternatives consistently.
How to express time, relative durations, and timestamps.
Never write copy for date/time display — defer to "My settings" format automatically.
Use standard time abbreviations — "4d", "2w", "3h", "2m", "1mo", "1y".
Use "Now" for actions just performed — immediate timing indicator.
Avoiding the (s) trap and letting code handle singular/plural correctly.
Never use "(s)" to accommodate singular/plural — it looks lazy and reads badly.
Favor plural forms in most cases where singularity is implied — "Add files from" not "Add file(s) from".
Let developers code dynamic singular/plural handling — "You have deleted 1 user" vs "You have deleted 10 users".
Non-negotiable requirements for inclusive copy.
All content must comply with WCAG 2.2 guidelines — accessibility is non-negotiable.
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