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OASIS | Content Style Guide
This is the OASIS+ content style guide; it is intended as an agency-specific supplement to the following style guides:
It helps us create clear and consistent content on the OASIS+ website. It may also apply to social media, as well as non-digital properties such as print, video, or future content formats.
This style guide should be reviewed biannually by a centralized content team, bringing in other stakeholders as needed to provide direction and feedback as needed. It should also be reviewed any time OASIS+ undergoes a change in the agency that merits a review of messaging guidelines.
This is a living document. Its purpose and content should evolve with the needs of the agency, its audiences, and the world at large.
Audience | Goals | Impact
When writing for the web, it’s important to understand who will read it, what their goals are, and what impact you want your content to have on them. The best practices outlined next show how to apply these principles when you are creating content.
Best Practices
Create clear and consolidated information pathways
- Ensure that your overall site structure as well as in-page workflows reflect your goals and the user’s journey.
- Within each page, content and calls to action should make it clear why you’re there and where you’re going.
Weave related content throughout the experience
- Make it clear to users everywhere you support and lead them as a provider of flexible and innovative solutions for complex professional services.
- Avoid siloing content by its type; rather, think in terms of audience needs and journeys and pair content together appropriately.
Speak directly to your users Drawing on the Voice & Tone portion of the style guide, shape information to target types of buyers and sellers: the OASIS cheerleader, Non-expert support staff, Behind-the-scenes expert, Seasoned supplier, First-time prospective supplier, Solo supplier, Resourceful buyer, and Curious buyer.
Write using plain writing principles
- Use the words your users use.
- By using keywords that your users use, you will help them understand the copy and will help optimize it for search engines.
Chunk your content. Chunking makes your content more scannable by breaking it into manageable sections.
**Front-load the important information. ** Use the journalism model of the “inverted pyramid.” Start with the content that is most important to your audience, and then provide additional details.
Use pronouns appropriately. The organization is “we”. The user is “you”.
Use active voice. “The board proposed the legislation” not “The regulation was proposed by the board.”
Use short sentences and paragraphs. The ideal standard is no more than 20 words per sentence, five sentences per paragraph. Use dashes instead of semi-colons or, better yet, break the sentence into two. It is okay to start a sentence with “and,” “but,” or “or” if it makes things clear and brief.
Use bullets and numbered lists. Don’t limit yourself to using this for long lists — one sentence and two bullets is easier to read than three sentences.
Use clear headlines and subheads. Questions or statements, especially those with pronouns, are particularly effective.
Use images, diagrams, and or multimedia to visually represent ideas in the content. Videos and images should reinforce the text on your page.
Use white space. Using white space allows you to reduce noise by visually separating information.
Regularly evaluate and consolidate content
Perform content audits as outlined in the Content Governance Guidelines and ask:
- Does this content align with the guidelines outlined in the OASIS+ Content Style Guide?
- Is this content still relevant and accurate?
- Does this content need its own page?
More targeted content audits can and should be combined with Continuous Research Recommendations (LINK WHEN AVAILABLE).
Voice is the core way you speak to your customers. It is unique and distinctive, and reflects who OASIS+ is as an organization: our values, personality, and sometimes rhythm and pace. It’s how OASIS+ more or less sounds all the time, though it can and should be adjusted for different audiences and scenarios.
Tone is how to use your voice in different contexts. To use a real-life example, you don’t use the same tone with your boss as you do with your friend as you do with your barista.
By building empathy for audiences, voice and tone help create messaging that goes beyond providing information – it serves as a powerful expression of who you are, what you believe, and what it means for your users.
In addition to the voice and tone outlined in the 18F Content Style guide, we are:
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Forward-leaning - “We want to partner with you and your capabilities.”
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Kind - “What will be the most helpful?”
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Easy - “We built this with you in mind.”
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Knowledgeable - “We have a tool or resource for that.”
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Responsible - “You will be supported throughout the process – your success is ours.”
We are never:
- Rude
- Difficult
- Discouraging
- Bureaucratic
Users have specific needs; we want to lean into a specific part of our voice depending on who we are addressing. Below are guidelines for what parts of the OASIS+ voice to emphasize when talking to key user groups.
Buyers (Resourceful buyer, Curious buyer)
- Flexible
- Knowledgeable
- Kind
Sellers (Seasoned supplier, First-time prospective supplier, Solo supplier)
- Forward-leaning
- Responsible
- Knowledgeable
Reference the GSA Web Style Guide for guidance regarding spelling, grammar, punctuation, and other types of formatting.
- User Research
- Discovery (Aug - Oct 2023)
- Information Architecture (IA) / Tree testing (Oct 2023)
- MVP usability testing (Feb 2024)
- Service Delivery - Continuous Research (OASIS+)
- Service Delivery - Continuous Research Training Part II: Recommendations (OASIS+)
- OASIS+ Continuous Research Training Part II: Recommendations (video)