Copy styles guidelines
A guide to help standardize the Redfin voice and copy style, strengthen the brand, and create a unified experience for users.
Voice and tone
Genuine
Optimistic
Modern
Avoid using industry jargon
Redfin employees are familiar with real estate terms, but we shouldn't assume our website users and Redfin clients are equally as familiar. Err on the side of using simple words and explanations rather than industry jargon.
Whenever a word may not be as easily understood, consider adding a flyout with a brief explanation.
On the first mention of a commonly abbreviated industry term, write out the entire term and follow it with the abbreviation in parentheses. You may use only the abbreviation thereafter.
“choose,” “select,” or “pick”
Use “choose” when the user is presented with three or more options.
Use “select” when there’s only one correct answer or binary selections, or when a physical act of selecting is required.
Don't use “pick” unless it's the only word that will fit in the space, or if there are alliterative advantages.
“click,” “tap,” or “hit”
Use “click” for describing desktop or laptop computer interactions.
Use “tap” for mobile phone and tablet interactions, as in the Redfin app.
Don't use “hit” except as a call to action.
Use "agent" rather than "broker" or "Realtor"
In consumer-facing copy, the terms "real estate agent" or "agent" are more accessible than "broker." The term REALTOR® is a trademark owned by the National Association of Realtors (NAR) and protected by law, so we avoid using it except in reference to a member of NAR. There may be exceptions to these rules in copy written specifically for SEO purposes.
Don't write Redfin's
To protect our trademarked name, avoid making “Redfin” a possessive or contraction (i.e., “Redfin’s”).
“Redfin” (the website) is a registered trademark,
and “Redfin” (the brokerage) is a trademark.
Misuse of our trademarks can result in diluting them and our right to govern their usage by others.
Use they/them when gender is unknown
Although "they" has traditionally been plural, its meaning has evolved, and it is now widely accepted as a singular, gender-neutral pronoun. Use "they" as a pronoun when referring to an employee, customer, or other individual whose gender is unknown.
Use first-person plural pronouns for Redfin agents
Redfin is one team, and our agents are a big part of the team. Whenever possible, speak about Redfin agents as “we” and “us,” not “they” and “them.”
Punctuation
No end punctuation for main/hero headlines
Main/hero headlines should have no end punctuation (i.e., a period) unless it is necessary to understand the meaning (i.e., a question mark) or if the headline is more than one statement and needs end punctuation to distinguish the statements.
Exclamation points should be used only in rare cases.
Use a serial comma
Also called the Oxford comma, this is the comma before the final conjunction in a series of three or more.
Don't use a serial comma if the final conjunction is an ampersand (&).
Note: Ampersands should be used only in proper nouns, like company or department names, or when there's not enough space in a headline or a graphic element.
Use an em dash (—) with no spaces on either side
Use em dashes, not hyphens, to set off words or phrases in a sentence. (When using HTML, it's best to use the HTML entity &mdash, instead of typing a literal em dash.)
Hyphenate compound modifiers
Hyphenate compound modifiers to ensure your meaning is clear. Some exceptions apply, including specific Redfin resources and adverbs ending in “ly.”
Use correct formatting for disclaimers
Use an asterisk (*) to indicate a disclaimer. If there are multiple disclaimers on a page, use disclaimer symbols in this order: asterisk (*), double asterisk (**), dagger (†), double dagger (‡). The symbol should appear at the end of the phrase or sentence containing the claim, after the period or other ending punctuation.
Formatting
Dates and times
Try to spell out the day of the week and month, whenever possible.
Write “June 1,” not “June 1st.”
For times, use one space after the numerals, lowercase and no periods in the abbreviation, and an en dash for time ranges. Example: 7 pm, 3:30 pm–4:00 pm
Use numerals to state all times except noon and midnight. So instead of 12 pm, write noon; instead of 12 am, write midnight. Both 12 pm and 12 am may cause readers to have to stop and think, while noon and midnight are instantly clear to readers who scan.
To avoid redundancy, don’t use the number 12 with the word noon or midnight.
Years
Don't use a possessive apostrophe (the apostrophe preceding the s) when referring to a decade; only the s is needed. An apostrophe showing omission (’) is optional and may be used to replace the first two numbers of the full year. When referring to a specific year, a possessive apostrophe may be used, but it’s preferable to rephrase the sentence.
Addresses
Abbreviate “avenue,” “boulevard,” “street,” etc. in numbered addresses, no periods.
Always use figures for an address number.
Spell out and capitalize “First” through “Ninth” when used as street names; use figures for 10th and above. Do not superscript.
Abbreviate compass points used to indicate directional ends of a street or quadrants of a city in a numbered address. Do not use periods.
Do not abbreviate if the house or building number is omitted.
Spell out number under 10
In general, spell out numbers from zero to nine.
Use figures for:
Numbers 10 and above
Numbers preceding a unit of measure
Prices
Ages of people, animals, events, or things
If a character count does not permit spelling out the number or if the figure will add visual impact, it may be okay to make an exception.
Use sentence case for main/hero headlines and CTAs
Sentence case is when only the first word and proper nouns are capitalized.
Abbreviate property details
Use abbreviations for Ave, St, Blvd, etc. Don't add a period to the end.
Abbreviate directions N, E, S, W, NW, NE, SW, and SE. Don't add a period to the end.
Abbreviate square feet and use periods.
Use lowercase “a” when referring to a “Redfin agent”
Since “Redfin agent” is not a proper noun, we should not capitalize the “a” in “agent”.
Note: In the past, we capitalized “Redfin Agent” as a proper noun when using the two words together, so this is a departure from our previous guidance.
Use best practices for buttons and links
Buttons
CTA button copy should be concise. 1-2 words is ideal, try to keep CTA button copy at or under 25 characters.
Avoid using punctuation in CTA buttons.
The button should reflect what will happen once it is clicked.
Use sentence casing for CTA text.
CTA text links
Hyperlinks should be concise (1-3 words is ideal, 5-6 words max).
When using an inline link, don't link everything—only link what matters.
If the hyperlink is a complete sentence and part of the body copy, end it with punctuation and link the end punctuation.
If the hyperlink is part of a sentence, do not link the end punctuation.
If the hyperlink stands alone and is not part of the body copy, do not use end punctuation.
Avoid ending with an ellipsis (“...”). If an ellipsis is used, it should signal that a secondary dialog will open to a complete task.
Use sentence casing for CTA text.