Content

It comes down to context, but a simple rule is that if it reads like a sentence, give it a period.

• Top-level page titles, headlines, and labels generally should not have periods.
• Second-level heads usually should get periods because they tend to be written as sentences, whereas our top-level ones aren’t.
• Helper text and tooltips should have periods.
• Lists are content-specific. In a list of sentence-like items, each item should end in a period. Omit the period in a list of items like names or terms.

There are no hard and fast rules on the use of exclamation points, but they should be used sparingly. If everything is worth an exclamation point, then nothing is.

In a UX context, ellipses are commonly used to shorten long strings that don’t fit in a container. As such, don’t put spaces before, inside, or after the ellipsis.

Always use curly quotation marks, apostrophes, and primes. They are usually curved, depending on the font, and have different opening and closing versions. Most modern word processors default to smart quotes, but always check to ensure consistent use across your copy.

For more guidance and to access keyboard shortcuts, see Typography. For proper punctuation use, see the Morningstar Style Guide.