Help:Style guide

A style guide helps wiki writers and editors apply a consistent style throughout the wiki (with some exceptions, such as with country-specific styles).

The style conventions detailed on this page are to improve readability and the professional quality of WHTwiki. If you want to write for WHTwiki but aren't sure how to apply all these conventions, just write what you know. Other members can edit the content if necessary.

Contents 1 Abbreviations 2 Capitalization 3 Commas 4 Common words 5 Country-specific styles 6 Formatting 7 Numbers 8 Time references 9 See also

Abbreviations

The first time you use an abbreviation on a page, such as VPS or WHT, write it out, e.g., Virtual Private Server or WebHostingTalk. After that, you can use just the abbreviation on the page. Do this even if the abbreviation is common in the industry — every WHTwiki page is a potential landing page. However, if the abbreviation is commonly used in English writing, such as .e.g. for for example, it doesn't need to be written out.

Capitalization

• Category names, page titles, and headings: capitalize only the first word and words that should always be capitalized.
• Content: capitalize only the first words of sentences and words that should always be capitalized.
• All of the above: never use all caps except for abbreviations.

In addition, these words should be capitalized:

• Internet-based
  
• Internet, the
  
• Web, the (but don't capitalize web-based, web hosting, or web host)

Commas

Use a serial comma, which is the comma before and or or in a sentence that lists three or more items. Example: "Many hosts offer shared hosting, reseller hosting, and dedicated server hosting." The serial comma is the one between reseller hosting and and.

Remember that commas and periods are not interchangeable. Full sentences need periods at the ends of them.

Common words

Some words can be written more than one way, for example:

• datacenter / datacentre / data center / data centre
• email / e-mail
• website / web site / Web site

When more than one way to write a word is considered correct, aim for consistency on each page. If the first person to use the word writes email on a page, for example, write it that way throughout the page.

Use the following spellings and capitalizations for these words and phrases:

Country-specific styles

Countries where English is the main language have their own grammar, punctuation, spelling, and vocabulary conventions. WHTwiki follows these principles:

• Aim for consistency on each page. If an article already uses British English, for example, continue using British English.
• If a topic is country-specific, the English should normally be the conventions used for that country. For example, in an article about web hosting in Canada, Canadian English conventions should normally be used.

Avoid editing wars over which style to use. If an agreement can’t be reached on the article's talk page, use the style that the original writer used.

Formatting

• Use wiki formatting when possible.
• Don’t add additional colors.
• Use italics to emphasize occasional words or phrases or to show that you’re writing about them as words. Example: "In this industry, the word host refers to a web hosting company."
• Use bold for key words at the start of sentences and bulleted items. See Capitalization (above) for an example.

Numbers

In general, write out numbers one to nine, and write the numeral for 10 and above. Some exceptions:

• At the start of sentences, e.g., "Five people started the...." But years at the start of sentences shouldn’t be written out.
• Dates, e.g., July 1, 2007
• Decimals, e.g., 0.9
• Units of measure and proportion, e.g., 5 MB, 6 percent

Time references

Name specific points in time. "Two years ago" is meaningless when readers don’t know when those words were written. "In August 2005," on the other hand, provides information that will be accurate as time passes.

See also

• Topics for WHTwiki
• Starting a new page
• Writing
• Editing
• Formatting
• Sandbox

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