Shape your text for online reading

Text that works best on the Web is text that gets to the point fast and that makes it easy for readers to pick out key information.

Tips that work

Write strong headlines

Headlines drive clicks, get the attention of search engines, and show up everywhere from RSS feeds to mobile browsers.

Craft them carefully

ask an editor

Ask an Editor

Q: What is the proper way to show that a link is a PDF file? We want to standardize for our style guide. Typically, we show the PDF symbol, then the name of the file as a link, then in parentheses, the size of the file. Like this: [symbol] Yahoo! Style Guide (PDF - 60K)

Read the answer

Editing 101

Company and product names

Within reason, follow an organization's conventions for how it capitalizes and punctuates its names.

Dealing with internal caps and more

Apostrophes (')

The apostrophe has two main functions: to show the omission of letters or numerals, and to form a possessive. It is occasionally used to make a plural.

Apostrophe guidelines

Resources

Optimize your site for SEO

Search engines help connect Internet users with information they're seeking by analyzing the words on webpages, especially repeated or called-out words.

Techniques that optimize your site

Basic webpage coding

Content creators are primarily concerned with communicating but also need to consider how words will appear onscreen.

Easy basic coding

Word List

The Yahoo! word list

Is it "24/7" or "24-7," "homepage" or "home page"? Dictionaries don't have all the answers, especially when it comes to a website's particular need.

Words on Yahoo!'s list

Build your own word list

A word list tracks your decisions, helps you maintain your site's editorial standards, saves time, and spares headaches.

Build your list