Technical content style guide template

Why a style guide matters

Software engineers notice when copy gets the details right. They also notice when it hand‑waves, over‑sells, or hides behind jargon. A clear style guide protects the reader’s time, anchors your brand voice, and keeps every contributor on the same path. The result is trust – the currency that turns curious developers into users and advocates.

Key takeaway Consistency is not an aesthetic preference. It is a signal of technical competence.

Audience

BRAND writes first for working software engineers, second for technical product managers, and finally for executive stakeholders who influence budgets. Every paragraph should answer one of three developer questions:

Does this solve a real pain point in my daily workflow?
Can I trust the author’s technical depth?
Will trying this save me time or unlock new capabilities?

When in doubt, address those questions explicitly.

Quick self check

Can a mid‑level engineer skim the post and understand the main benefit in 30 seconds?
Does the article provide a runnable code sample or reproducible steps?
Are product mentions placed after value explanations, not before?

Voice and tone

Picture a senior engineer who mentors interns without ego. She answers “silly” questions without sarcasm, sprinkles in a meme when the room feels heavy, and never hides complexity but breaks it into bite‑sized concepts. That is the reference voice.

Attribute	What it sounds like	What to avoid
Human	“Let’s walk through a real stack trace to see why this error fires.”	“Dear valued customer, our solution synergistically resolves all issues.”
Plainspoken	“Spin up a local dev container.”	“Commence environment instantiation.”
Wry technical humor	“Unix philosophy: do one thing well. Our CLI tries hard to mind its own business, too.”	Forced jokes, pop‑culture references that age in a month
Translator	“In HTTP terms, the server sends a 429 when you are too chatty.”	Vague metaphors like “The API gets grumpy if you poke it too much.”

Tip Humor should create empathy, not distraction. One witty aside per 500 words is plenty.

Language

A developer can forgive minor grammar slips, but sloppy terminology breaks credibility. Follow three rules: be clear, be precise, be inclusive.

Clear

Explain every acronym on first use. Write “Representational State Transfer (REST)” once, then use REST.

Precise

Name things the way the ecosystem names them. Use compiler, not “code reader.” Use index, not “special table.”

Inclusive

Rotate pronouns, mix cultural names, and avoid references that assume a Western tech bubble.

Counter example Bad: “When Bob writes his frontend he should…” Better: “When Aisha updates the frontend she should…”

Structure

Developers scan before they commit. Help them by structuring every piece as follows:

Problem statement – one or two sentences that frame the pain.
Why it matters – a short paragraph with impact metrics or user quotes.
Solution overview – what the reader will build or learn.
Step by step – numbered sections, each ending with a working result.
Recap and next steps – bullet summary and links to deeper docs.

Keep headings in sentence case, not title case. Use ordered lists for sequences, unordered lists for options. Wrap code blocks in triple backticks with language hints, e.g. ```ts.

Content style examples

Below is a before‑and‑after rewrite to illustrate how the guidelines apply.

Before	After
Our platform facilitates omnichannel engagement through advanced RESTful interfaces.	This tutorial shows you how to call BRAND REST APIs from a Node script so you can send updates to Slack, email, and SMS with one function.
To commence the instantiation of the database…	To start the database setup…

Notice the after version: speaks directly to the reader, names concrete artifacts, and previews the payoff.

Do’s and Don’ts

Quote exact benchmark numbers rather than saying “fast.”
Link to source docs whenever you mention a class, CLI flag, or RFC.
Show errors as well as happy paths.

Don’t

Gate critical knowledge behind sign‑up walls.
Use product screenshots as filler; every image must teach.
Copy marketing slogans into technical tutorials.

Grammar mechanics quick sheet

Rule	Example
Oxford comma	“foo, bar, and baz”
One space after periods	“End of sentence. Next sentence.”
Single space around dashes	“foo - bar”
Capitalize list items and end with a period	“- Install dependencies.”

Keep sentences under 25 words when possible. If you need three commas, consider splitting the sentence.

Putting it all together – a mini template

# How to {do X} with [BRAND]

<80 word intro that states the pain and the payoff>

## prerequisites
- Node 20 or higher.
- BRAND CLI 1.4.0.

## step 1 – authenticate once
```bash
brand login --token $YOUR_TOKEN

After login the CLI stores a temp key at ~/.brand. No need to repeat this step.

step 2 – push your first job

import { Job } from '@brand/sdk';
...

## recap

* You authenticated and pushed your first job.
* Next, explore retries and webhooks in the docs.

Copy that skeleton into any tutorial and you are already 70 percent done.

Final checklist before you hit publish

Title promises a clear outcome and uses verbs.
Meta description under 160 characters.
All code blocks compile or run.
Claims backed by benchmark, user quote, or reference.
At least one diagram, screenshot, or GIF that teaches.
Internal links to docs and related posts.
Post manually proofread – spell check is not enough.

Closing thought

Great technical writing feels like pair programming with a senior you trust. Aim for that feeling every time you publish. When readers walk away having fixed a bug or learned a new trick, they remember the brand that empowered them – and they come back.