The Living Styleguide
Voice & Content · the words, cased and chosen consistently
Voice
01
Sentence case, always
One rule removes a hundred small decisions: sentence case everywhere. Headlines, buttons, nav, labels. Title Case reads corporate and dated. The only exceptions are proper names and the all-caps mono eyebrow, which is a typographic device, not a casing choice.
✓ Do
Get paid faster
Start free
How it works · Pricing · FAQ
✕ Don't
Get Paid Faster
Start Free
How It Works · Pricing · Faq
Capitalization
Sentence case
Everything is sentence case except proper names and the wordmark.
Buttons, headlines, nav, labels: first word capitalized, rest lower.
Eyebrow all-caps is a mono typographic device, not Title Case.
03
Headline promises, body proves
Three layers, three jobs. The headline promises the outcome the reader wants. The subhead explains it in one plain sentence. The body proves it with specifics. A headline that names the product instead of the outcome has wasted the most valuable line on the page.
Invoicing, handled
Get paid faster, chase invoices never.
↑ headline — promises the outcome
Northwind sends, tracks, and follows up on every invoice automatically.
↑ subhead — explains in one sentence
Teams using Northwind get paid an average of 11 days sooner, with zero follow-up emails written by hand.
↑ body — proves with specifics
Content hierarchy
Promise → explain → prove
Headline promises the outcome, not the product
Subhead explains in one plain sentence
Body proves with real specifics
Teaching pages differ: the headline states the one insight, not a promise.
04
Numbers stay numerals
Real quantities are numerals, because the specificity is what makes them believable. "11 days faster" lands; "several days faster" evaporates. Spell a number out only when it's rhetorical. The concrete figure is the proof.
✓ Do
11 days faster
4,200+ teams
$29/mo · 98% on-time
✕ Don't
eleven days faster
4200 teams · thousands of teams
$29.00 / month · 98.0%
Numbers & dates
Numerals, specific
Numerals for real quantities. Commas in thousands.
Spell out only when rhetorical ("not one").
Round honestly. Drop trailing .00 and .0.
Dates: "Jul 2026" compact, "July 31, 2026" in prose.
05
Say "you"
Write to one reader in the second person. "You do the work; it does the chasing." Not "users" or "customers" — those are words you use about people, not to them. Direct address is warmer, clearer, and matches the personal brand.
✓ Do
You do the work; it does the chasing.
Your invoices, followed up automatically.
✕ Don't
Users do the work; the system handles chasing.
Customer invoices are followed up on.
Person
Second person
Address the reader directly as "you". The product is "it" or its name.
Never "users" / "customers" in reader-facing copy — talk to them, not about them.
06
Honest by default
The brand's spine, in copy: name the limit instead of overclaiming, and never manufacture urgency. Real proof, real numbers, real scarcity or none. This is the anti-AI-slop stance applied to the words — a claim you can't back gets cut, not weaseled.
✓ Do
14 days free, no card required.
Works with what you already use.
11 days faster on average.
✕ Don't
⏰ Only 3 spots left today!
The last invoicing tool you'll ever need.
27 people are viewing this now.
Honesty
Real or cut
Name limits, use real proof, never manufacture urgency.
No fake countdowns, viewer counts, or fabricated testimonials.
A claim you can't back gets cut, not softened.
07
The word list
The shared dictionary: terms the system uses consistently, and ones it avoids. This is where coined vocabulary lives — the terms worth owning across cards, pages, and essays so each means one thing everywhere. It grows as new terms are coined.
| Use | Not | Why |
|---|
| follow up | nag / hound | warm, not aggressive |
| you / your | users | direct address |
| on time | timely | plain over formal |
| set it once | configure | human over technical |
| free trial | freemium | say what it is |
Coined terms you own go here — the vocabulary is the engine.
Terminology
One word per thing
A shared always/never list so a term means one thing everywhere.
Coined vocabulary lives here — extend it as you name new things.
Plain and human over formal and technical, unless the audience is technical.