Our style guide
The purpose of a style guide is to ensure effective communication by writing in a clear and consistent way.
This guide combines guidance on how to write and design for Crown Commercial Service (CCS). It includes information about our:
- tone of voice
- spelling and grammar for written content
- brand identity
- elements of our website design patterns
From emails to webpages, every time you write anything for CCS you should refer to this style guide.
If there’s a point of style that is not provided here, check Style guide – A to Z – Guidance – GOV.UK
View our style guide as a Google document (for CCS colleagues only)
How to use our style guide in 3 steps
1 Read and bookmark the guide
Everybody who writes for internal or external CCS audiences should use this style guide. We encourage you to familiarise yourself with each section to see where it may be different from how you would normally write. You can then bookmark the guide and return to it as often as you need to.
2 Apply the guidance to all content
Apply the style guide to any and all content you write for CCS channels. This can include both internal and external channels. For example: customer and colleague emails, customer and supplier documents, case studies, webpages, blogs or social media posts.
3 Check your work
Use our checklist to go through your work and make sure it follows the style guide before finalising.
Style guide
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Accessibility
Accessibility is the practice of making information meaningful and usable for as many people as possible.
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Formatting
Everything you need to know about how to format your content. Includes links, bullet pointed lists, heading styles and punctuation.
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Language
Everything you need to know about language and spelling. Includes how to use plain language, abbreviations, capitalisation and words to avoid.
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Numbers
Everything you need to know about formatting and writing numbers in your content. Includes dates and time, percentages and how to write about ages.
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Words to watch
At Crown Commercial Service we often use terms that have different meanings depending on the context. This can make it difficult to know if we should be using certain terms and when.
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Words not to use
Many words in the English language have more than one meaning which can make them difficult to understand for some users, particularly those with English as a second language.
Use clear and plain language alternatives to avoid confusion.
Design guide
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Brand guidelines
We created these brand guidelines to explain how we use our brand to consistently communicate with our customers visually and verbally. Includes our tone of voice, our brand colours and how to use our brand mark (logo).
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Designing for Crown Commercial Service webpages
Learn about the design components we use on our website and how you can use them to create webpages. Includes page components such as buttons and hero banner design.
Resources and tools
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Checklist
When you have finished writing your piece of content, use our checklist to check you have followed the style guide and are ready to publish.
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Hemingway editor
Hemingway editor is a great free tool to check your content. It includes features that let you know:
- if your sentences are hard to read
- where you’ve used passive voice or complex wording
- how readable your overall text is (aim for grade 9 readability or less)
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Plain English campaign
The plain English campaign is an independent group that advocates for using plain language in all content. It has a range of free plain English tools that you can use to ensure your content is easy to read and understand.
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Glossary
Find explanations for common terms and abbreviations used in public procurement.