Style
These are the styles and conventions we follow when using language and numbers in our products.
Numbers
Formatting: Number formatting varies by region. Group numbers using the appropriate characters (commas, periods, spaces) based on the location of the user.
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North America and United Kingdom: 1,234,567.89
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Europe and ROW: 1 234 567,89 or 1.234.567,89 or 1'234'567,89 as appropriate based on the user’s region.
Truncation: Writing them out is preferred, but you can truncate numbers when space is limited and it won’t cause confusion. Don’t truncate numbers when accuracy is important, e.g. displaying entry counts.
| Value | Notation | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Thousand | K | 25K |
| Million | M | 36M |
| Billion | B | 47B |
Comparisons: When displaying one number compared to another, use “of” to separate them, e.g. “5 of 14 entries.”
Ordinals: When displaying one position compared to the total number of positions, use an ordinal indicator, e.g. “4th of 20.”
Dates
Spell out months and days of the week, e.g. December 12, 2020. If space is limited, you can abbreviate the month, but keep the formatting the same otherwise. Don’t use shorthand, i.e. 12/12/20.
Date ranges: Use absolute dates and, when needed, absolute times.
| Time between events | Display | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 7 days | Both days | Monday - Thursday |
| 7 or more days, OR in different months | Month and date | October 9 - November 6 |
| 7 or more days, AND in different years | Month, date, and year | October 9, 2020 - February 12, 2021 |
Abbreviations: Writing them out is preferred, but you can abbreviate months and days of the week when space is limited and it won’t cause confusion.
- Months: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec
- Days: Sun, Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat
Times
Always include hours, minutes, and either “am” or “pm,” e.g. 7:08pm, 7:00am. Where a product operates across time zones, include the relevant time zone code, e.g. 7:08pm ET, 4:08pm PT.
Abbreviations: Writing them out is preferred, but you can abbreviate time components when space is limited and it won’t cause confusion.
- Time components: s, m, h, d, w
Absolute vs. relative dates and times
Absolute dates and times: Use absolute dates and times when referring to the future.
| Time until event | Display | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 24 hours | Time only | 7:00pm ET |
| Less than 7 days | Day and time | Monday 7:00pm ET |
| 7 or more days, AND in the next year | Month, date, year, and time | December 12, 2020, 7:00pm ET |
Relative dates and times: Use relative dates and times when accuracy isn’t important. The display of any relative date and time needs to include an option to view the absolute date and time.
| Time since event | Display | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Less than 60 minutes | Number of minutes since | 8 minutes ago |
| 60 minutes or more | Number of hours and minutes since [1] | 2 hours, 24 minutes ago |
| 1 day or more | Number of days and hours since [2] | 2 days, 14 hours ago |
| 7 days or more | Absolute date and time | August 14, 2020, 8:00pm ET |
[1], [2] When accuracy isn’t important, the minutes and hours, respectively, can be dropped.
Currency
Use the same formatting as for numbers, with the relevant currency symbol and placement. Don’t use decimal points for a whole dollar amount, e.g. $12, $12.34, 12.34 USD.
Capitalization
Use sentence case for body text as well as headers, buttons, and most other copy elements. Use title case sparingly, when sentence case looks too informal.
Capitalize distinct sections within the product (e.g. the Lobby) and FanDuel-specific terms (e.g. Same Game Parlay).
Punctuation
Avoid periods at the end of headers. Use other punctuation at the end of headers sparingly. Reserve exclamation marks for celebrating wins, announcing news, etc.
Use serial commas.
Contractions
Use contractions to help keep our voice informal and friendly.
Simple tense
Use simple tense for the past, present, and future. Use simple present tense even for the future, unless simple future tense improves clarity. Avoid perfect and progressive tenses.
Do
Don't
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Don't
Literal language
Use words in their usual or most basic sense, avoiding metaphor. If users might be engaged or entertained by a metaphor, supplement it with a more literal interpretation.
Do
Don't
Active voice
Write sentences so that the subject performs the verb’s action. Use passive voice sparingly, to put the focus on the object instead of the subject.