Punctuation

Ampersands

Don’t use ampersands in body text or most headers, unless they’re part of a company name, title, or other proper noun.

Exception: To save space, you can use ampersands in navigation, tweets, and chart and table headers.

The subjects joined by the ampersand must be related.

Note that ampersands might create issues for translation and localization.

Don’t use the plus symbol (+) to mean and unless you’re referring to a partnership, like QuickBooks + Square. See Mathematical symbols and equations

Apostrophes

Use apostrophes to form contractions, possessives, and, in rare cases, plurals.

For joint possession, you only need a single apostrophe. Including apostrophes for each possessor means they each have their own individual thing.

Asterisks

An asterisk flags a corresponding comment on the bottom of the page. As a general rule, asterisks slow web readers down. You’re interrupting their train of thought and asking them to hunt for secondary information. When possible, avoid them.

For PDFs only: if there’s more than citation, use superscript and footnote numbers.

Brackets

We rarely use angle brackets < >. Don’t use the angle brackets > to separate UI elements. Nobody talks that way. Instead, write out the path with the word select.

Use square brackets [ ] to insert text inside quotes. They can be used for clarifying unstable pronouns, translation, indicating a change in capitalization, censoring objectionable content, or a parenthetical within a parenthetical.

Colons

Use a colon to introduce a list when the introductory text is a complete sentence.

When using an abbreviation with a colon, include the period. For more info, see acronyms and abbreviations.

Commas

Use the serial (or Oxford) comma: Include a comma before the conjunction in a series of three or more.

Other countries and languages have different guidelines for the Oxford comma. Work with regional content designers to make sure we get it right.

Commas in dates

Use a comma after the year when starting a phrase or clause with a date.

Use commas when writing the month, day, and year. Don’t use commas for only the month and year or the month and day.

Commas with conjunctions

Use a comma between two clauses that can stand alone and are linked by a conjunction. You can use “then” as a coordinating conjunction (even though technically it’s not) when it makes the sentence a quicker read.

Note: Compound sentences tend to be longer and add a layer of complexity. Don’t overdo them.

Don’t use a comma with a single subject and two verbs. It creates an awkward pause and just looks weird.

Commas with salutations or greetings

Use a comma after a salutation or direct address ("Hello, Tom"). But if the salutation is a simple “Hi,” you can omit the comma ("Hi Tom").

Note: This guideline is helpful to remember in emails and conversational interfaces.

Dashes and hyphens

Dashes and hyphens aren’t the same thing.

• A hyphen makes compound words.
• An en dash (the shorter dash) expresses a range of values (times, years, dollar amounts).
• An em dash creates an interruption in a sentence like a semicolon, but with flair (we’re partial).

Compound adjectives can negatively impact readability, so we should use them sparingly and stick to ones that are commonly used or familiar.

Hyphens

Hyphenated words

For common prefixes, such as non-, anti-, multi-, bi-, and so forth, don’t use the hyphen.

Exceptions: e-commerce, e-file, e-pay, multi-user, non-posting, non-sufficient, sub-category

For more guidance on hyphenated words, check AP Stylebook.

See also: re- words, pre- words, auto- words, mid- words, non- words

Words that don't need hyphens

En-dashes

To make an en dash on a Mac: option + hyphen (-)
To make an en dash on a numeric keypad: ctrl + minus sign (-)

Em-dashes

To make an em dash on a Mac: shift + option + hyphen (-)
To make an em dash on a numeric keypad: ctrl + alt + minus sign (-)

Ellipses

Try to avoid. Ellipses can make you seem less than confident.

Use an ellipsis (…) to indicate an omission in quoted text, to convey action in the background (like loading), to represent overflow text, or to indicate hesitation, faltering speech, or thoughts.

Make sure there’s no space between the last letter and the first period. Don’t use ellipses for dramatic effect or in place of commas or dashes.

For sensitive information, use midline dots. Read more in our section on ID numbers and sensitive data.

Exclamation points

You can express enthusiasm with exclamations. Just make sure they sound like a natural reaction to the situation. They communicate positive emotion and work best with single words and short phrases.

Use exclamation points sparingly. They’re not required with all interjections.

Don’t follow an exclamation point with a question mark or other punctuation (unless it’s part of a title or trademarked proper noun. That’s definitely an edge case.).

And don’t use a double (!!) or triple (!!!) exclamation. If you’re that excited, use visual supplements like color, illustrations, and motion to amplify the excitement. And don’t use two or three exclamatory words in a row.

Hashtags

Everyone uses hash marks for hashtags in tweets—hashtag away. Use camel case for multiword hashtags (#LikeThis) to aid readability. It's more accessible for people with dyslexia or cognitive disabilities, as well as folks who use screen readers. The screen reader can discern camel case hashtags as separate words. But when the words all lowercase, it might be read as gobbledegook.

Where we don’t use a hashtag is in place of the word number. Go with No. instead.

Parentheses

Use parentheses in pairs to provide examples, add an aside, or introduce an abbreviation.

Parenthetical text can be a word, a fragment, or multiple sentences. Your sentence should make sense when you read it out loud without the parenthetical text.

If a sentence ends with a parenthetical that’s only part of a larger sentence, the period goes outside the closing parenthesis. If the parenthetical itself is a whole sentence, the period goes inside the parenthesis.

Percent symbol

Use the percent symbol (%) with numerals. Use the word percent in other instances.

Periods

Use periods to end a sentence, unless it ends with a question mark or exclamation point. Use a period at the end of an abbreviation. If a sentence ends with an abbreviation, you don’t need an additional period.

Don’t use periods in headlines or email subjects. Preheaders are OK.

Headlines should be crisp and digestible. Adding periods to headlines may slow readers as they move down the page. You can use periods at the end of a sentence or fragment if you’re going for impact.

Use exclamations and question marks sparingly in headlines. In cases where part of the headline/subject uses an exclamation, use a period for the remaining parts to stay consistent. Place one space after periods, not two.

Pipes

Use a pipe | (vertical bar) in title tags to separate elements of the title. Search engines will highlight keywords that you include in those tags in the results if someone uses those keywords to search. Social media and other external sites often use the title tag of a page as its link anchor text.

Question marks

Use a question mark at the end of a direct question.

Don’t use more than one together (???) or pair it with an exclamation point (?!).

Quotation marks

Use quotation marks for spoken words or short quoted phrases.

Put commas and periods inside closing quotation marks.

Other punctuation marks (colons, semicolons, question marks, exclamation points) go outside closing quotation marks, unless they’re part of the quote.

Avoid using quotation marks for emphasis. Instead, bold words or phrases you want to emphasize.

Semicolons

Don’t use semicolons. They’re a bit too formal for digital content. Instead, separate independent clauses with a period or with conjunctions like and, or, but, and so.

Slashes

Use slashes when necessary to mean per, and, or or. Slashes can also form certain abbreviations or indicate two-year spans. Don’t use spaces on either side of the slash.