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Website Management

Create a Style Guide

By TC Timebomb, Moonvine

Keep your brand consistent across all content.

What this covers: Building a content style guide covering voice and tone, grammar decisions, spelling conventions, formatting standards, and how to enforce consistency across multiple writers.

Who it’s for: Marketing managers and content leads working with multiple writers or contributors who need consistent brand voice.

Key outcome: You’ll have a concise, shareable style guide document with voice examples, a word list, formatting rules, and a plan for enforcement and maintenance.

Time to read: 5 minutes

Part of: Website Management series

Jump to Quick Questions ↓

Multiple writers means inconsistent voice, spelling, and formatting. A style guide makes decisions once so you don’t debate them every time. Here’s what to include.

What a Style Guide Actually Covers

A content style guide isn’t about making everyone sound the same. It’s about making decisions once so you don’t have to make them every time.

Voice and Tone

Describe how your brand sounds:

Friendly but not casual: “We’d love to help” not “We totally got you”
Expert but not condescending: Explain concepts, don’t assume knowledge
Direct but not cold: Get to the point, but be human about it

Give examples of what TO say and what NOT to say. Abstract principles don’t help – concrete examples do.

Grammar and Punctuation

Pick a side on the debates:

Oxford comma: Yes or no? (We say yes.)
Dashes: Em dash (—) or en dash (–)?
Exclamation points: Allowed? How many per post?
Contractions: “We’re” or “We are”?

Spelling and Terminology

Create a word list:

email (not e-mail)
website (not web site)
ecommerce (not e-commerce or eCommerce)
Sign-up (noun), sign up (verb)
Your product name – exact capitalization

Formatting Standards

Headline case: Title Case or Sentence case?
Subheadings: H2 for main sections, H3 for subsections
Lists: Periods at the end of list items, or not?
Numbers: Spell out one through nine, use numerals for 10+?

How to Create the Guide

Step 1: Audit Existing Content

Read 10 recent posts from different authors. Note:

Inconsistencies that annoy you
Patterns that work well
Questions that come up repeatedly

Step 2: Pick an External Reference

Don’t reinvent everything. Adopt a base style guide:

AP Stylebook – Standard for journalism
Chicago Manual of Style – Standard for publishing
Microsoft Writing Style Guide – Good for tech content, free online

Your guide becomes: “We follow except where noted below.”

Step 3: Document Your Exceptions

Create a short document (2-3 pages max) covering:

Voice/tone description with examples
Your word list
Formatting rules
Brand-specific terms

Step 4: Make It Accessible

Put it where writers will actually see it:

Google Doc (everyone can access)
Notion page (if your team uses Notion)
Pinned in your team Slack channel
Linked from your WordPress dashboard (use a dashboard widget plugin)

Enforcing the Guide (Without Being a Jerk)

Editorial review: Catch style issues before publishing, not after
Gentle corrections: “Our style uses ’email’ without the hyphen” not “You did it wrong”
Update the guide: When new questions arise, add the answer
Celebrate consistency: When posts follow the guide well, say so

Brand Consistency Tools

Pick the tool that fits your workflow and budget.

Hemingway App – Catches complexity, passive voice
Grammarly – Can be configured with custom style preferences
Writer.com – Enterprise tool that enforces brand style

Related: Once you have a style guide, you’ll need a content approval workflow to enforce it.

The Style Guide Completion Check

Brand colors, fonts, and logo usage are documented
Tone of voice guidelines exist with examples
Common UI components are shown with approved styling
Team can create on-brand content without asking for approval
Guide is accessible to everyone who creates content

Living document: Style guides evolve. Update when you make branding decisions, and date each version so people know what’s current.

Sources

Style Guide Questions Answered

What should a content style guide include at minimum?

Voice and tone description (3-5 adjectives with examples), grammar decisions (Oxford comma, capitalization rules), spelling preferences (e-commerce vs ecommerce), formatting standards (heading hierarchy, list usage), and 2-3 before/after writing samples. Start small and expand as questions arise.

How is a style guide different from brand guidelines?

Brand guidelines cover visual identity (logos, colors, typography, photography). A content style guide covers written communication (voice, grammar, word choices, formatting). You need both. Some organizations combine them into one document; most keep them separate because different teams use each.

How do I get writers to actually follow the style guide?

Keep it under 10 pages—nobody reads a 50-page style guide. Make it searchable (Google Doc or wiki, not PDF). Include a quick-reference cheat sheet with the 10 most common decisions. Reference it in every content brief and editorial review, and update it when new questions come up.

Should I base my style guide on AP, Chicago, or something else?

For web content and marketing, start with AP style—it’s designed for concise, reader-friendly writing. Supplement with your brand-specific preferences. Chicago Manual of Style is better for long-form publishing and academic content. Document where you intentionally deviate from your base style.

✓ Your Style Guide Is Ready for Use When

Brand voice and tone are described with specific do/don’t examples
Grammar preferences (Oxford comma, capitalization, number formatting) are documented
Visual standards (logo usage, color codes, typography) are included with specifications
The guide is published in a location every team member can access and bookmark
At least one piece of content has been written and edited using the style guide as reference

Test it: Give the style guide to someone unfamiliar with your brand and ask them to write a short paragraph—the result should match your brand voice without additional coaching.