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Abbreviations and acronyms in web content

Last updated on June 29, 2026

When used well, abbreviations and acronyms can make content faster to read by using fewer words. When not used well content can lose meaning and clarity.

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Define abbreviations and acronyms

Write the term in full the first time you use it on the page and put the abbreviation or acronym in parentheses, for example:

  • Personal Education Number (PEN)

You may use the shortened version without writing the full term if you’re confident it’s better known to the widest audience than the long-form version. Such as, PDF or DNA.

Use sentence case for the full term

  • Use lowercase for general terms such as ‘information technology (IT)’
  • Only capitalize when it’s a proper noun, such as the official name of a specific document, program or organization. For example, ‘Information Technology Strategy for B.C. Government’

Using acronyms in headings and navigation

Use acronyms in headings and ‘On this page’ navigation only if they’re familiar to your audience. If an acronym may be unclear to a broad or public audience, use the full term instead, even if you define the acronym in the body text.

Headings should be easy to scan so people can understand content without searching for the meaning. This is especially important for people who use screen readers to navigate by headings.

Using acronyms in intranet headings

Because intranet content is written for BC Public Service employees, acronyms may be used in headings and ‘On this page’ navigation more often than on public-facing websites. However, they should only be used when they are widely recognized across the organization (for example, PSA or BCGEU). When in doubt, use the full term in the heading. Even for well-known acronyms, always spell out the full term the first time you use it in the body text.

Capitalization

Most acronyms are written in all caps. Check the Canadian Press style guide (external link) for exceptions. If you don’t have a guide, contact your ministry’s Government Communications and Public Engagement shop.

Provinces and territories

You do not need to spell out British Columbia before using the abbreviation B.C. 

Always use periods between the 'B' and the 'C', for example: B.C. The only exceptions are brand or company names, such as BC Ferries or BC Hydro.

Other Canadian provinces and territories are abbreviated using periods only when they include more than one word:

  • Alberta: AB
  • Manitoba: MB
  • New Brunswick: N.B.
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: N.L.
  • Northwest Territories: N.T.
  • Nova Scotia: N.S.
  • Nunavut: NU
  • Ontario: ON
  • Prince Edward Island: P.E.I.
  • Québec: QC
  • Saskatchewan: SK
  • Yukon: YT

For mailing addresses see Canada Post's guidance on abbreviations (external link). 

Latin abbreviations

Don't use e.g. or i.e. Instead, use ‘such as’, ‘like’ or ‘for example’ to introduce examples.

Metadata

Include abbreviations that your audience uses in the metadata to help search engines find the page more easily.