Dates and abbreviations
| Format | Rule |
|---|---|
| Dates | - Abbreviate the name of the month without a period and without a ƒst/nd/rd/th on the day - Dec 10 (not: Dec. 10th), May 9, 2010. Exception: In longform writing (like a blogpost), spell the month (December 10, 2010) - In UI writing, use numerals, separated with a slash: 10/10/10 - For single digit days/months, don’t use a zero: 2/5/15 - If you’re not sure if you should capitalize a holiday (or, ahem, if it gets an apostrophe), please look it up: Fourth of July, Mother’s Day |
| Countries | - Don’t abbreviate unless space is an issue. Then: Use standard postal codes: US (United States), FR (France), IN (India), JP (Japan), EG (Egypt), BR (Brazil), etc. |
| Days | - Don’t abbreviate unless space is an issue. Then: - Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun - M, Tu, W, Th, F, Sa, Su (if space is super, duper tight) |
| Decades | - 1930s, ’30s, mid-’30s - 20th century |
| Measurements | - in, ft, yd, qt, oz, lb (no periods) |
| Time | - If space isn’t an issue (see: Timestamps section): Just now!, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years - If space is an issue:sec, min, hr, d, w, mo, y |
| Months | - Don’t abbreviate unless space is an issue. Then use (without a period): Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec |
| Numbers | - See Numbers section |
| Financial quarters | - Abbreviate the quarter, spell out the year (ex: Q3 2017) |
| Time | - Lowercase am/pm, no space:9:15am, 1:23pm, 9am, 1pm (not 9:00am, 1:00pm) |
| Years | - 20 BC, 25 AD (rather than 1500 BCE and 1986 CE) |
| Other | - Don’t use Latin abbreviations like “i.e.” or “e.g.” and use “ex:” (abbreviation for “example”) instead - Always spell out “okay” |
Links
When adding links on Pinterest
Links should be a part of a sentence, and it should be clear where you go or what happens once you click.
In UI writing, if you have a one-sentence string with a link to follow, put it on a separate line:
We all love Story Pins
See why; Opens a new tab
If this isn't possible, punctuate the one-sentence string to visually separate it from the link:
We all love Story Pins. See why
; Opens a new tab
In longform writing, make sure to punctuate when the link falls at the end of a sentence. Make sure the punctuation is not part of the hyperlinked phrase:
We all love Story Pins. If you still have questions, head over to our Help Center
.; Opens a new tab
- Keep links at the end of sentences, where possible
- When linking a phrase, link the verb and the subject or else it looks complete (“Call our help line,” not “Call our help line; Opens a new tab”); Opens a new tab
- Limit number of calls to action
- Make link text as self-evident as possible, so people know where the link will take them
- If you’re spelling the URL out, shorten it as much as humanly possible, without sacrificing functionality
- Links should be in bold with no period after, like this: Learn more
- In blog posts where you’re shouting out a brand, don’t include the http://www—just start at the name of the site
- Examples:
- Whenever you create new Pins, make sure to use our best practices.; Opens a new tab
- Don’t say Click here to do X (instead, just say Do X)
- Examples:
When creating URLs on Pinterest
- Use common, short words that describe the page
- Use one word (if you have to use multiple words, use a hyphen to separate them)
- Start URLs with the website—skip the http://www.
- Examples:
- pinterest.com/gifts
- pinterest.com/dolcegabbana
- brand.pinterest.com
- business.pinterest.com/en/how-pinterest-works
- Don’t use acronyms
- Don’t use numbers
- Don’t make URLs case sensitive
- Don’t include http:// or www. (like we said!)
- Examples:
- pinterest.com/giftsanddelights
- pinterest.com/dolceandgabbana
- pinterest.com/tos
- pinterest.com/155#92/99980
Lists
Everyone loves a good list! Lists help break up text and make things scannable, so we’re totally into them.
- Use sentence case
- Use a parallel structure (start with all verbs or all nouns)
- Use bullets whenever possible. Exception: If it’s a sequential list (like steps you have to take), use a numbered list
- Capitalize the beginning of each bullet
- Don’t use punctuation. Exception: If at least one item in the list includes two sentences, use punctuation for all the items in the list
Numbers
When you’re using numbers in tight spaces or places people are likely to scan, numerals can make your copy easier to read fast. Use numerals (1, 2, 15) unless it looks jarring written out (unless this looks jarring with the number “one”).
- Abbreviate once you hit a thousand and round to the nearest hundred (except prices and percentages). Once you hit a million, round to the nearest hundred thousand.
- 1.5k Pins (1500-1549), 1.6k (1550-1599)
- 2.8m (2,750,000-2,849,999)
- Lowercase your increments, units and labels
- 100x, not 100X (“Saves increased by 100x”)
- 5m, not 5M (“5m recipes on Pinterest”)
- 5x increased engagement, not “5x Increased engagement”
- Count a numeral in a UI heading as a capital letter when it kicks off a string, and treat the rest of the sentence’s title case thusly. For example:
- 100 comments, not 100 Comments
- 12 shoppable Pins, not 12 Shoppable Pins
Percentages
- Don’t use a comma until you hit 5 digits. (1230% vs. 12,300%)
- (Nerd alert: See how it plays out for each language.); Opens a new tab
ZIP Code
- Always capitalize ZIP
- Use a 5-digit pattern (80538)
Decimals
- For values > 0, show one decimal place (5.2 is good)
- For values < 0, show two decimal places so it looks precise, but not intimidating/overly long (5.25% is good)
- For whole numbers, don't use a decimal (10 is good, 10.0 isn't necessary)
In longform writing
- Limit how many numbers you include in a single paragraph or post so it’s easy for people to understand
- Always spell out numbers under 10 in longform writing (in UI writing, use the shortest possible writing—in this case, numerals—every time).
- When you’re sharing info about “steps” to do something, keep the steps between three and five. If there are fewer than three steps, think of another way to share that info—you don’t need steps to do it. If it’s more than five steps, try a format that’s more detailed, like a playbook.
- UI: You can have up to 6 secret boards
- Longform: You can have up to six secret boards
- The top 10 tricks to making successful Pins for your business
- UI: You can have up to six secret boards
- The top ten tricks to making successful Pins for your business
Timestamps
Timestamps should make sense when you scan them—no one should have to do lots of mental math to figure out when something happened. In small spaces (like messages) we can abbreviate.
- Just now! up to 59 seconds
- 1 minute/X minutes up to an hour
- 1 hour/X hours up to a day
- 1 day/X days up to a week
- 1 week/X weeks up to a month
- After a month, switch to a MM/DD/YY date
- 3 seconds
- 96 minutes ago
- 30 min
- 36 weeks ago
Using Timestamps in small spaces...
- Xm
- Xh
- Xd
- Xw
- After a month, switch to a MM/YY date
Using timestamps in Ads Manager (including graphs)...
- Use the 24-hour clock structure
- 00:00 is midnight
- 23:59 is the last minute of the day
- Use PST/PDT throughout, not UTC