Spelling

Terminology

The following conventions of spelling and terminology apply to the manuals, web pages, comments, and (except where they require spaces or hyphens to be used) function and variable names, although consistency in user-visible documentation and diagnostics is more important than that in comments and code. Also don’t forget that the Code Reference is auto-generated from the code (if you’re writing prose instead of code, don’t forget the Style Guide). The following table lists some simple cases:

Use…	…instead of	Notes
American spelling (in particular -ize, -or)	British spelling (in particular -ise, -our)
“a user” or “a URLURL A specific web address of a website or web page on the Internet, such as a website’s URL www.wordpress.org”	“an user” or “an URL”	#31894, #36218
“Ajax”	“ajax” or “AJAX”	“The name [Ajax] is shorthand for Asynchronous JavaScriptJavaScript JavaScript or JS is an object-oriented computer programming language commonly used to create interactive effects within web browsers. WordPress makes extensive use of JS for a better user experience. While PHP is executed on the server, JS executes within a user’s browser. https://www.javascript.com/. + XML, and it represents a fundamental shift in what’s possible on the Web.” (Source)
“allowed list”, “allowed”, “permitted”	“whitelist”	“Whitelist” can be considered racially insensitive and is also ambiguous. Try using one of the suggested alternatives, or rewording to describe what is actually being allowed more clearly.
“Auto-update” or “auto-update”	“auto update” or “autoupdate”
“back end” (noun)	“back-end” or “backend”	#34887
“back-end” (adjective)	“back end” or “backend”	#34887
“backward compatibility” or “back-compat”	“backwards compatibility” or “backwards compat”	#36835
“blockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. list”, “disallowed list”, “disallowed”	“blacklist”	“Blacklist” can be considered racially insensitive and is also ambiguous. Try using one of the suggested alternatives, or rewording to describe what is actually being blocked more clearly.
“block editor” or “block-based editor”	“Block Editor” or “GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/”	When referring to the new editor.
“block theme”	“block-based theme”
“Classic Editor”	“classic editor”	When referring to the Classic Editor plugin.
“classic editor”	“Classic Editor”	When referring to the classic editor interface and not the pluginPlugin A plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. These can be free in the WordPress.org Plugin Directory https://wordpress.org/plugins/ or can be cost-based plugin from a third-party.
“visual editor”	“Visual Editor”	When referring to the visual editor interface.
“code editor”	“Code Editor”	When referring to the code editor interface.
“CustomizerCustomizer Tool built into WordPress core that hooks into most modern themes. You can use it to preview and modify many of your site’s appearance settings.”	“Theme Customizer” or “customizer”	The Customizer isn’t necessarily theme-specific, #29947
“Dark Mode”	“dark mode” or “dark-mode”	Twenty Twenty-One #855
“email”	“e-mail”	#26156
“front end” (noun)	“front-end” or “frontend”	#34887
“front-end” (adjective)	“front end” or “frontend”	#34887
“full site editing”	“Full Site Editing” or “full-site editing”
“homepage” (noun)	“home page”	#41828
“installation” (noun)	“install”	The word “install” is not a noun. When referring to an instance of WordPress, the correct word to use is “installation”. #41620
“JavaScript”	“Javascript” or “javascript”	#30569
“log in” (verb)	“login”	The word “login” is not a verb. When referring to the action of logging in, the correct phrase to use is “log in”. #18294
“metaMeta Meta is a term that refers to the inside workings of a group. For us, this is the team that works on internal WordPress sites like WordCamp Central and Make WordPress. box”	“metaboxMetabox A post metabox is a draggable box shown on the post editing screen. Its purpose is to allow the user to select or enter information in addition to the main post content. This information should be related to the post in some way.”
“oEmbed”	“embed”
“Paragraph block”	“Paragraph Block” or “paragraph block”	When referring to blocks capitalize the block name and keep ‘block’ lowercase. github#16118
“retrieve”	“retreive” or “retrive”	“retreive” or “retrive” aren’t words, [2465]
“term meta”	“termmeta”
“WordPress”	“WP”	“WordPress” is preferred when referring to the CMS, project, or community.  One exception is when referencing a specific version, e.g. “WP 5.0”, or where the trademark rules prohibit the use of “WordPress”.

Inspired by the GCC Coding Convention.

Capitalization

• Labels
• Button labels
• Actions

Abbreviations and Acronyms

Use abbreviations and acronyms only when they are familiar.

Quotation marks

In DocBlockdocblock (phpdoc, xref, inline docs) comments use the straight sin­gle quote (') or the straight dou­ble quote ("). In strings, which are visible to users, use curly quotes: The open­ing sin­gle quote (‘), the clos­ing sin­gle quote (’), the open­ing dou­ble quote (“), and the clos­ing dou­ble quote (”).
See also Butterick’s Practical Typography.