While the Google Developer Documentation Style Guide contains editorial guidance for writers essentially documenting content oriented towards Google developers, we believe it contains practical advice suitable for most developer documentation.
While this is one of the few pieces of Google style guidance that’s publicly available, it references a hierarchy of standards that writers consider when authoring documentation. In order of precedence:
- Style specific to the product that writers might be documenting
- The style guide itself, which discusses specific words, product names, formatting guidance, and general principles related to writing for accessibility, inclusive language, and global audiences
- External resources, such as the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the Microsoft Writing Style Guide, and the Chicago Manual of Style (subscription needed)
This guide is also unique in its acknowledgment of the need to be flexible by quoting George Orwell!
