Company Standards: How We Keep the KB Consistent
Learn how company standards keep knowledge base content consistent, trustworthy, and easy to navigate for every team member and reader.
Company standards are the shared rules and conventions that every knowledge base contributor follows — from how you phrase a heading to how often you review an article for accuracy. They exist because documentation quality directly affects how much people trust and use the KB. When content is inconsistent or out of date, readers stop relying on it and start asking colleagues instead, which defeats the purpose of having a knowledge base at all. These standards apply to everyone who creates or edits content, whether you're writing a quick how-to guide or overhauling a department-wide SOP.
What These Standards Cover
The Company Standards section is organized around three core areas that together determine whether a piece of content is fit to publish:
- Writing style — voice, tone, tense, capitalization, punctuation, and inclusive language
- Formatting conventions — how to structure headings, lists, tables, code blocks, and callouts
- Content governance — ownership, review cadences, the stale-content workflow, and permissions
Each area has its own dedicated page. Use the cards below to jump directly to the topic you need.
The Three Pillars of Content Quality
Every piece of content you publish should pass a quick three-part check before it goes live. These pillars apply equally to a two-paragraph update and a multi-section guide.
Clarity — Could a new hire with no prior context understand this article on the first read? If you need insider knowledge to follow the logic, add context or link to prerequisite material. Avoid jargon unless you define it on first use.
Consistency — Does this article match the voice, formatting, and structural patterns used across the rest of the KB? Readers build mental models from repeated patterns. When one article uses bold for UI labels and another uses quotation marks, that friction adds up.
Accuracy — Is every fact, step, and screenshot in this article still correct? Outdated content is worse than no content because it actively misleads readers. Every article must have a named owner and a scheduled review date to keep accuracy in check.
These standards apply to both internal and external KB content. Whether you're writing a policy document visible only to staff or a help article published to customers, the same voice, formatting, and governance rules apply. The only difference is the audience's assumed familiarity with internal terminology.
Quick-Reference Standards Table
Use this table as a fast checklist when you're writing or reviewing any KB article. Detailed guidance for each item is available on the Writing Style and Content Governance pages.
| Standard | Rule |
|---|---|
| Voice | Second person ("you") throughout; never first-person singular ("I") except in FAQs |
| Tense | Present tense for descriptions; imperative mood ("Click Save") for instructions |
| Heading style | Sentence case for all headings — capitalize only the first word and proper nouns |
| List formatting | Parallel grammatical structure; full sentences end with a period; fragments do not |
| Link format | Descriptive anchor text only — never "click here" or raw URLs in prose |
| Bold | Reserved for UI labels, key terms on first use, and critical warnings |
| Code formatting | All commands, filenames, environment variables, and code snippets use inline code or fenced code blocks with a language tag |
| Numbers | Spell out one through nine; use numerals for 10 and above; always use numerals for steps and measurements |
Getting Help
If you're unsure how a standard applies to your specific content, reach out to your workspace Admin or post a question in your team's dedicated KB channel. If you believe a standard needs updating, follow the governance process described on the Content Governance page — standards are themselves subject to review and versioning.
Bookmark this overview page and the quick-reference table above. Most day-to-day writing questions can be answered in under thirty seconds with a quick scan of that table.