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Content strategy guidance
Built to support the cross-agency Coronavirus Task Force, Coronavirus.gov is the government’s definitive information source for the public. faq.coronavirus.gov is its knowledge base: an accessible, user-friendly, searchable resource about coronavirus (COVID-19) related information for the American public.
In order to keep operations running smoothly — and to keep the site in compliance with both best practice and federal law — GSA TTS recommends the following content strategy.
Content is written for the general American public. Our goal is to provide accurate, up to date information for the general public that:
- Is simple and easy to understand
- Answers their questions and concerns as directly as possible about coronavirus (COVID-19)
- Helps to reduce uncertainty and pain in a challenging time
This site is not intended for specialist audiences (healthcare professionals, funeral home workers, etc.) since very clinical or technical content about coronavirus (COVID-19) may be confusing or, at worst, frightening for this site’s main audience.
Read additional guidance on how to write for this audience.
Can small businesses get loans?
The Small Business Association (SBA) has announced that small business owners can apply for low-interest disaster loans due to COVID-19.
You can apply on SBA’s website, by email, or by phone at 1‐800‐659‐2955.
| What we're doing | Why it works |
|---|---|
| Questions are answered directly on the site. | To be the government’s definitive information source, people need to be able to get the info they need without clicking elsewhere. |
| Content focuses on the user, not the agency. | This makes it easier for people to identify the subject of the sentence and get clear, actionable guidance. |
| Headlines are written as questions. | This provides a consistent user experience for both searching and reading. |
| Content meets federal plain language guidelines. | This keeps us compliant with the Plain Writing Act of 2010 and 21st Century IDEA. (Note: clinical language is acceptable, but should be consistent across pages.) |
| Content is consistently styled. | This gives us clarity on things like abbreviations, capitalization, and pronouns. |
| Content follows accessibility best practices. | This makes the site available to everyone, including people using screen readers. |
This style guide is based on 18F best practice. If you have questions about style that aren’t covered here, they may be covered in the 18F Content Guide.
Avoid whenever possible. If they must be used, spell them out the first time and add the abbreviation in parentheses.
- ✅National Business Emergency Operations Center (NBEOC)
The active voice helps the reader identify the subject of the sentence. When in doubt, cut directly to the verb and give the reader clear directions.
- ✅Avoid close contact with people who are sick.
Use sentence case in headlines. Don’t capitalize nouns unless they’re proper nouns.
- ✅How to protect yourself
Avoid using “citizen” if you mean “person
- ✅How to protect yourself