Headings and subheadings help customers understand the content of a section on a page. Keep them informative and descriptive, to help surface the most important aspects of the task or content within the section.
Use imperative forms of verbs to begin sentences that provide directions or specify what action needs to be taken.
Example:
Use self-explanatory and predictable text when labeling buttons. Avoid ambiguous words like “submit,” “enter,” “yes,” “no”, etc. Instead, use language that clearly conveys the action that will occur upon selection. Use imperative verbs which describe the action to be taken.
Use descriptive language in links to indicate where the user will be taken. Avoid phrases like “click here”, and instead, define the location within the linked text itself.
Avoid linking an entire sentence. It’s better to keep the link text focused on the specific subject with as few words as possible. This is especially important for internationalization, as the linked words may need to be split up or structured differently when translated to another language.
If a link exists outside of a sentence, do not punctuate it, unless using a question mark.
Use one or two words for options in a dropdown list whenever possible. Items in a dropdown menu typically start with a capital letter, unless they represent case-sensitive content such as identifiers or other technical terms.
Choose a consistent way to format each point in a list. Start each point with a capital letter, and use a consistent punctuation style. For example if using a sentence structure, end the list item with a period. If one list item ends in a period, so should all other items.
Use bulleted lists when presenting a related set of items that do not necessarily need to be relayed in a specific order.
Use numbered lists when outlining step-by-step instructions, or when presenting a set of items in order of priority.
For nested lists, where possible, alternate ordering styles with letters and roman numerals.
For example: