Copy & word count

Asset supply & amends

  • Copy should be supplied as either a Word or Google document
  • Please specify any suggested pull quotes at the end of the document
  • Any URLs within body copy should be clearly labelled
  • Any amends should be supplied as tracked changes within the same document
  • Bylines are permissible at the bottom of the page. Headshots accompanying a byline will be no larger than 300px
  • Please share desired calls to action (copy and URL) at the end of the document

Word Count

  • Headlines should be 65–70 characters
  • Standfirsts should be 150–210 characters
  • Body copy should be 600-1,000 words
  • Pull quotes should be 180 characters max
  • Image captions should be 110 characters max
  • Hub tile descriptions should be no more than 110 characters

All word counts include spaces

Basic FT style and tone

Article content should engage via fresh insight, concrete detail and case studies/examples. Ideally content should be written in plain English, avoiding first/second person, using quotes to add insight, rather than to drive narrative.

FT STYLE IN BRIEF:

  • Sentence case for heads, sells, subheads and pull quotes
  • No caps after colons
  • No full stops on heads, sells or pull quotes
  • No Oxford comma
  • Initial caps for job titles
  • Double quotes are the rule, single for quotes within quotes
  • Adjectival hyphens only if needed for clarity. Be consistent in this within a project
  • N dashes with spaces for asides – like this
  • N dashes closed up for spans of time, distance, etc, so 2022–23
  • One to nine, 10 and up
  • Per cent not percent or % (unless on a graphic)
  • Recentish change to the way the FT abbreviates million: this is now mn, like bn and tn, so 5mn people
  • Companies are singular
  • Avoid first/second person
  • Keep copy evergreen, so avoid “last year”, “recent”
  • The United Kingdom is made up of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain is England, Scotland and Wales (although many people from Northern Ireland regard themselves as British)
  • UK spelling, so “ise” not “ize”, etc