Dates

These guidelines are for American English, which is the language we use as a base before translating to other languages.

That means for most content, you should use the U.S. format of month day, year for dates: June 26, 2021. 

When possible, use the month’s full name (October 1, 2024). If the date includes the day of the week, either spell out both day and month or abbreviate both. 

For UI elements such as tables, links, and footers, or in other situations where space constraints apply, use 3-letter abbreviations followed by a period (Mar. 25, 2023; Oct. 1, 2024).

Use numbers only, not ordinals, for dates: June 26, not June 26th or June 26^th. 

For date ranges, use an en-dash with no spaces. For example, December 23–25.

For content targeted at a non-US audience, you may use this date format (with no punctuation): 27 July 2021.

Avoid using year numbers (2016, 2017, etc.) when it would make your content seem dated. Year numbers should never appear in headlines but may be used in event details. Always use the full year when discussing CPX.

When writing a month and year only, do not add a comma: June 2021.

For centuries, use ordinals but not superscripts: 21st century.

Be specific when referring to dates: June 2020 not last June.