What is a Style Guide? Why Do You Need a Style Guide?

A style guide or style manual is a set of standards for
designing and writing documents, either for general use or for a specific publication or organization.

Style guides can serve several purposes:

• To ensure that documents conform to corporate image and policy, including legal requirements.
• To inform new writers and editors of existing style and presentation decisions and solutions.
• To define which style issues are negotiable and which are not.
• To improve consistency within and among documents, especially when more than one writer is involved or when a document will be translated.
• To remove the necessity to start from scratch on every new project.
• To remind the writer of style decisions for each project, when one writer works on several projects that have different style requirements.
• To serve as part of the specifications for the deliverables, when writing for clients outside your company or when outsourcing writing projects

A style guide contains both rules and suggestions for writing style and document presentation. It specifies which option to use when several options exist, though audience analysis and usability testing play a significant role in this decision. The specific content in the style guide is not usually a matter of "correct" or "incorrect" grammar or style, but rather the decisions made from among the many possibilities.

The style guide should be an evolving document. Everything need not be included on the first pass; add items as questions arise and decisions are made, or change items as new decisions are made to deal with the changing situations.

Additionally, while developing a style guide, if the writers and editors are involved at all stages, and if the development can be seen as a cooperative effort with clear benefits to everyone, then developing a style guide can be a productive experience and the document can take less time to produce.