Ampersands
Only use ampersands (&) when it is part of a company’s formal name or composition title. In all other cases, write “and,” which is easier to read and translate.
Exceptions
Patients & caregivers primary navigation item
Asterisks
Don’t use asterisks to indicate required fields. Indicate required fields by adding “required” to the field. This is a direct way of letting the user know what fields they will have to complete.
At sign
Only use the at sign (@) in email addresses. Don’t replace the word “at” with the at sign.
Brackets
Don’t use brackets in place of parentheses. Brackets should only be used when revealing code.
Colons
Avoid using colons in sentences and in field labels. Colons can be used to introduces lists, but they are not required.
Commas
Use a comma to separate two related thoughts or pieces of information in one sentence. Consider an em dash or a period if the sentence is run-on.
Oxford (serial) comma
Always use the Oxford comma when writing lists of three items or more.
Do write
- Without consistent punctuation patterns, our product copy would look unprofessional, sloppy, and amateurish.
Don't write
- Without consistent punctuation patterns, our product copy would look unprofessional, sloppy and amateurish.
Ellipses
An ellipsis is used to truncate text and quotes. Avoid using ellipses in text or in buttons, links, or calls-to-action. Make sure to use the ellipsis symbol, not three periods, and to insert a space before and after, as if the ellipsis is its own word.
Example
This is an example of a description that is too long and overflows …
Emojis
Don’t use emojis in page content. Apart from being too casual, emojis are difficult to translate and may convey different emotions in different cultures.
Equals signs
Don’t use the equals sign (=) in place of the words equals, meaning, means, is, or amounts to.
Exclamation marks
Don’t overuse exclamation marks. See our Voice and tone guidelines for more information.
Greater than or less than symbols
Don’t use greater-than or less-than symbols to communicate a flow or a series of steps. Use lists or icons instead.
Only use the symbols (<,>) if the words “greater than” or “less than” cannot fit. Users may have difficulty understand the symbols’ meanings.
Hyphens, em dashes, and en dashes
Hyphens
Use hyphens when connecting words or parts of words.
Example
- Self-restraint
- 80-year-old
En dashes
En dashes are dashes with the width of the letter “n”. Use en dashes when writing ranges of numbers, times, page numbers, or scores.
Example
- Monday–Friday
- 9am–5pm
Em dashes
Em dashes are dashes with the width of the letter “m”. Use em dashes to link two separate thoughts or pieces of information together in one sentence. Em dashes are stronger than commas, but weaker than periods and semicolons. Em dashes are used both in sentences and labels, if a label requires extra related information. Always insert a space before and after the em dash.
Example
Last three months — May 1-Aug 4, 2020
Minus signs
Don’t use minus signs (-) in place of the words minus, without, less, negative, or subtract.
Parentheses
Use parentheses to include ancillary information within a sentence or line of text. If the ancillary information is a connected thought or phrase, consider using an em dash which, in some cases, may be easier to scan.
Pipes (vertical bars)
Don’t use pipes in text. Screen readers may read pipes out incorrectly. If pipes or vertical bars are necessary, use CSS to render them in the interface. Don’t add vertical bars if white space will achieve the same goal.
Periods
Use periods to end sentences. Use a single space between the period and the first letter of the next sentence.
Exclude periods in these situations:
- List items that are one sentence
- Option descriptions that are one sentence
- Helper text that is one sentence
Plus signs
Don’t use “+” to replace “and.” Plus signs can be used after numbers to indicate more — for example, “10+ clinical trials.”
Question marks
The question mark is the only punctuation that should be used when writing titles.
Quotation marks
Use quotation marks when quoting a person’s words. Avoid using quotations marks when talking about interface elements — for example, don’t say “click the ‘Save button.’”
Semicolons
Semicolons connect two related thoughts in the same sentence. Only use semicolons when periods, commas, or em dashes are not applicable.
Slashes
Don’t use forward slashes (/), backwards slashes (), or “and/or” to separate words or ideas. Instead, use “and” or “or” which are easier to read and more professional.