Need help writing VCH online content?

With the new year coming, it’s time to make sure your content VCH.ca is up to date and is in line with our brand standards.

Guiding principles

Information on websites is easy to find and easy to read.
Content is concise and meaningful to the reader.
Content is easy to browse on all types of screens, including a mobile device.

Tone and voice

The tone of VCH is accessible and professional. Like our doctors and nurses, we want to sound friendly and informative without using too much jargon and complex medical terms. When read out loud, the language should sound credible, friendly and approachable.

Write for your reader

When evaluating whether to include information on a website ask yourself: Why is this information important to the reader? If you don’t know why, then don’t include the information.
Information should have meaning that a reader can learn from or take action on.
Avoid using jargon and acronyms your reader won’t understand. Write in plain language so readers with low literacy levels or non-English speakers may understand.
Consider having separate pages or website areas for public facing content versus more technical health professional information.
Be personal and stay away from using third person, authoritative language. Use “you” instead of “the patient” or “the family”. When referring to Vancouver Coastal Health, use “we” where possible.
Information should be easy to skim
- Prioritize information: Place the most important content at the top of a page.
- Write in the active voice
- Use short paragraphs and simple sentences. Don’t use unnecessary adjectives or descriptive words.
- Break up content using short but descriptive headings, just like we’ve done with green subheadings on this page.
- Use numbered lists for outlining steps in a process and bullets to present options. Do not use more than seven listed items at a time. Capitalize the first letter of bullet points.
- Try to include a call to action, even something as simple as clicking through to another related web page. For example: “Share this information with your networks” or “Find out where you can get your flu shot.”

Quick reminders

Avoid using the ampersand (&) in running text.
Avoid using contractions in news releases, reports and published materials.
Do not put a comma before the word “and” or “or” in a list.
Use periods after bulleted or numbered items and capitalize the first word of each item.
Use a hyphen to express ranges for numbers or dates.
When citing numbers both under and above 10 in the same sentence, all numbers are written as numerals.
Use commas to separate digits representing increments of thousands.

Give links useful names

Be specific and use the title of the document or webpage.
Avoid using general terms such as “click here” or “learn more” for naming a link. Instead, include a short description giving the reader some information about why they should click, where the link will lead, and if it will open a webpage or a document (PDF).
To improve SEO (search engine optimization), use keywords that users may search.

Do this: Download the Naloxone infographic.
Don’t do this: Click here for the Naloxone infographic.

Heading styles

Use sentence case for webpage titles and sub-headings. Only capitalize the first word of a title or heading, unless it is a proper name.

VCH brand guidelines

If you’re looking for VCH brand logos and colours, visit our brand guidelines page on VCH.ca.

Helpful resources for web writing

Reference materials for writing style

Style – CP Style Guide
Spelling – Canadian Oxford Dictionary
Metric usage – Canadian Metric Practice Guide or the Metric Editorial Handbook (Canadian Standards Association)
Plain Language Medical Dictionary
Writing for the Web: Nielsen Norman Group