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URLs and web addresses

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Communications to customers often refer to websites and URLs. Follow these guidelines to make your URL references clear and easy for customers to understand.

URL vs. address

In content for a general audience, use address rather than URL. In content for a technical audience, don't spell out URL on first mention. If you have a reason to spell out URL, use uniform resource locator.

Use a, not an, as an article preceding URL.

References to specific sites and domains

Don't include https:// in a URL. Include the protocol only if it's something other than HTTP, such as File Transfer Protocol (FTP).
Examples
www.microsoft.com/business
ftp://example.com/downloads/myfile.txt

The trailing slash at the end of a URL is optional. In most cases, leave it off. Never use a trailing slash in a URL that ends with a file name.

Most of the time, use lowercase for URLs, email addresses, and newsgroup addresses.

To refer to an entire website or top-level domain, such as Microsoft.com, omit http://www from the URL and capitalize only the first letter of the URL, even if the site name is capitalized differently.
Examples
www.microsoft.com
Microsoft.com
Codeplex.com is home to the open-source project site hosted by Microsoft.

Grammar and formatting

Use of (not for) to describe the relationship of the word URL to a resource. Use the preposition at with the location of a specific address.
Examples
Search results include the URL of the page.
Learn more about Microsoft products and services at www.microsoft.com.

If the reader might think the period at the end of a sentence is part of the URL, rewrite the sentence or set the URL off.
Examples
Go to windows.microsoft.com/upgrade to learn how to get your free Windows 10 upgrade.
To get your free Windows 10 upgrade, go to our website:
windows.microsoft.com/upgrade

Write brief but meaningful link text, using the title or a description of a page rather than a generic phrase like click here. In alt text for a graphic that links to another location, state clearly that the graphic is a link.
Examples
Go to the Windows 10 upgrade page to learn how to get your free upgrade.
(Alt text) Picture of a woman talking on a phone that opens an online chat session with Microsoft support.
(Alt text) Windows 10 logo and link to the Windows 10 upgrade page.