Word list

Words we use

@mention

Pronounced “at mention.” Always lowercase, even at the beginning of a sentence.

accessible, accessibility, a11y

Describes a set of standards that make our product usable to people experiencing disabilities. Avoid using accessible as a synonym for “simple.” For that purpose, use terms like easy to learn, easy to use, or intuitive.

add

Use add when moving a “thing” in the product from one place to another.

• Compare with assign, create

assign

Use assign when referring to ownership and responsibility.

• Compare with add, create

create

Use create when you’re about to make a brand new thing in the product.

• Compare with add

aka, a.k.a.

Stands for also known as. Instead of a.k.a., use aka with no punctuation.

add-on, addon

Use add-on. Lowercase, with hyphen.

all of

Redundant. Just say all.

among, between

Use among when referring to 3 or more persons (or things).

• Compare with between

and/or

Avoid this construction. Use either and or or by itself.

Answer Bot

Two words, title case.

any time, anytime

The two-word any time is always the safer choice. If you do use the one-word form, anytime, make sure it’s an adverb. If you need to say, “At any time,” it must be two words.

app, apps

Use lowercase for general references. Don’t capitalize for emphasis. Capitalize only when referring to a feature, such as Zendesk Apps. When referring to the Zendesk app marketplace use Zendesk Marketplace.

appears, displays

Displays is a transitive verb, meaning that the action transfers to something else. For example, “a screen displays an image.” While displays requires a direct object, appears does not. For example, “an image appears on screen.”

as

Avoid using as as a synonym for “because” or “while.” While grammatically correct, these uses make reading more difficult for a global audience.

• Compare with because

because, since

Use because instead of “since.” Using since can cause problems with machine translation. Use because to refer to the reason for something, and reserve since to refer to a passage of time.

between

Use between when referring to 2 persons (or things) or when referring to relationships between two items at a time, regardless of the total number of items.

• Compare with among

blacklist, whitelist

Avoid this usage. Use blocked and allowed instead.

CC, CCs, CCed

In the product, use uppercase. OK to use as a noun (“the CC”, “the CCs”), as a transitive verb (“CC me”), or as an adjective (“the CCed agent”).

In documentation, it’s permitted to use lowercase and apostrophes (cc, cc’s, cc’ed).

channel

Use lowercase for general references. Capitalize when referring to the Channel framework or describing features of the framework, such as the Channel pull endpoint.

chat, Zendesk Chat

Lowercase when talking about a chat message or the verb. Capitalize when referring to the feature or the product, such as Zendesk Chat.

choose, select

Use choose when the user makes a decision or action. Use select when the user is considering a list of items.

click, swipe, tap

Avoid using platform-specific words like click, swipe, or tap.

Use click to describe the action of pressing a key, mouse, or button. For mobile or screen-based physical contact, use tap. Pair click directly with the button or menu label without “on” or “at.”

Customer Support

Use Zendesk Customer Support or Customer Support when referring to the place Zendesk customers go for support on our product. Avoid Support team.

CSAT

All caps. Short for customer satisfaction. Use only as an adjective, as in CSAT rating or CSAT survey.

data

Always use data with a singular verb. In other words, “The data is unavailable.” If you want to emphasize that something is plural, rewrite to use a term such as facts or numbers.

data center

Data center is always two words.

deselect, cancel

Use clear or cancel instead of “deselect.” As in, “Clear these checkboxes” or “Cancel this selection.”

done

Avoid done since it doesn’t provide enough information. Button labels should make it clear what’s going to happen when the user clicks.

drop-down

This noun describes a UI element that lets users pick from a series of options. Always hyphenate it.

for example, e.g.

Keep it conversational by using for example. The scholarly way to say “for example” is using “e.g.,” which stands for exempli gratia.

either

Use either only for a decision between two choices.

email, emails

No hyphen needed.

feedback

Use give feedback or for some Early Access Program (EAP) links, share your thoughts.

full and fully

Avoid full and fully unless you’re writing marketing copy.

greater, better

Avoid using subjective terms when talking about system requirements or versions. Use objective terms instead.

help center

All lowercase. Help center is not a proper noun.

help desk

Zendesk makes customer service software, not help desk software. The term help desk should only be used when specifically addressing IT or help desk issues.

In most cases, you can use Zendesk Support instead.

Example: “You can use Zendesk Support to improve your relationship with your customers.”

hint

Don’t use it as a heading for a type of note. Use tip instead.

i.e.

Abbreviation for id est, meaning “that is.” Use that is or in other words instead.

incoming, outgoing

Use to refer to email messages that are being downloaded or being sent. Do not use inbound and outbound unless you have no other choice.

Insights

Capitalize when referring to the Zendesk product.

JavaScript

Use Pascal case. Not Javascript or javascript.

knowledge base

Two words, lowercase. Sometimes called KB for short.

Learn about vs. learn more

We reserve the linked words Learn about to begin links to the Zendesk Help Center. Avoid the standalone “Learn more” to prevent the repetition of the phrase in screen readers. Include a few short words about what the user will learn.

• Use this formula: “Learn about [linked subject]”
• Aim for a maximum of four words per link
• Avoid Help Center article names that can’t be localized

macOS

Use when referring to the operating system. Don’t use Mac OS.

min, max

It’s better to spell these out in full (“minimum” or “maximum”) but the short form is OK when you’re short on space. You don’t need a period after min or max.

Net Promoter Score℠, NPS®

Uppercase. Use trademark symbols on first reference. Net Promoter Score is a service mark (℠); NPS is a registered trademark (®). Symbols should be placed directly after the mark, in superscript, and slightly smaller than the mark text.

new

New requires gender for many languages. Add is a better substitute. Features that are new to the user are best communicated through emails, landing pages, and marketing materials.

OK

Avoid OK as a button label. Button labels should make it clear what’s going to happen when the user clicks it. Never use “Okay.”

On mobile devices it’s permitted to use OK for button text.

OAuth

Not oAuth.

on, onto

You record conversations on a ticket rather than onto. Onto conveys actual motion. For example, I jumped onto the parallel bars. If you’re confused, just say “up” before on in the sentence. If it makes sense, onto is the right word.

plan, account

Don’t use account to refer to Zendesk plans.

plugin

No hyphen.

product tray

Use products icon instead.

register vs. sign up

Use register instead.

self-service

Always hyphenate.

set up, setup

Two words (set up) for the verb, one word (setup) for the adjective or as a noun.

sign in, sign out

Use sign in and sign out instead of “log in”, and “log out”. Hyphenate as an adjective or as a noun.

single sign-on (SSO)

Hyphenate sign-on and spell this out on first use.

spam

Don’t use spam as a verb.

subdomain

One word.

subscription

For a person’s Zendesk account only. Not for individual plans or products.

support, Support

Capitalize when referring to the Zendesk Support product. Use lowercase otherwise.

Support team

Don’t use. Use Zendesk Customer Support or Customer Support instead.

stats

Used in Help Center articles and in reports. Abbreviation OK.

thank you, thanks

Reserve thank you and thanks for times when users provide information that’s difficult or inconvenient to collect.

ticket, ticket form

Lowercase for both. Don’t capitalize for emphasis.

trigger

Lowercase.

user name

Two words. Not hyphenated.

website, web form, web page

All lowercase.

Web Widget

Capitalize both words.

workflow

One word.

Zendesk

Always capitalize the name of our company. Never use ZenDesk or give it an apostrophe. We’re not the possessive type.

Zendesk Apps

Capitalize this feature name: The Zendesk Apps framework.

Words we avoid

These words aren’t bad. They’re just not in our terminology diet.

oops, whoops, oh no

Oops, we did it again. Seriously, though, we don’t use oops or other self-deprecating blurts in error messages or empty states.

please

That’s right. At Zendesk, you can skip the P-word. It takes up space in our UI and can come across as insincere.

sorry

We generally don’t apologize when things go wrong. When there’s an error, tell the user what happened and give them clear directions on what they can do next.

Instead we save apologies for meaningful situations: when something goes really wrong or when Zendesk as a company has made a serious error, like deleting an account.

we

Avoid we unless referring to a specific group of people. Don’t use we to refer to Zendesk the company or Zendesk the software. Similarly, avoid using our. See Pronouns.

People

The people in our Zendesk neighborhood. All of the people in the neighborhood have a job to do.

account owner

An account owner is a type of administrator. The account name is associated with this person’s name, usually the person who created the account. Just like “The Highlander,” there can be only one. For example, “Only the account owner has permission to make subscription changes.”

admin, administrator

Admins have additional access to the Zendesk experience like setting up the workflows, adding users, and defining automations. We recommend admins instead of administrators. It’s friendlier and shorter. For example, “Allow admins to tag users.”

Avoid telling agents to “talk to an admin.” Instead, inform them that an admin can do the task and leave the communication up to the agent. For example, “You don’t have Explore. An admin can activate that in your subscription.”

advisor

In Support Enterprise, advisors manage the workflow and configure the Zendesk experience. Advisors don’t solve tickets and they can only make private comments or add notes.

agent

Agents are the bulk of the support staff for Zendesk subscribers. They’re assigned tickets and interact with their customers to resolve issues. For example, “Zendesk Support offers several tools to make your agents more efficient.”

customer

Often synonymous with end user, but not all Zendesk subscribers think of their end users as customers. For example, the end users of an IT department are employees. Use subscriber to refer to people and organizations with a paid subscription to Zendesk.

editor

Editors can create and customize new dashboards, queries, and datasets. (Explore only.)

end user

Not hyphenated when used as a noun. Hyphenated when used as an adjective or modifier. For example, “This access point is for the end user” and “This is an end-user access point.”

manager

Managers have full privileges in Guide. All admins have Guide manager privileges, including access to all content. For example, “You must be a Guide manager to create user segments.”

rep

This is for Sell only.

seat

When you’re adding more space to an account, you’re adding or filling seats. Seats can be used across all products. For example, “You can add more agents by purchasing additional agent seats.”

staff

In Support Enterprise and Admin Center, staff is similar to agent. Staff can edit and solve tickets, view reports, and add or edit personal views and macros. In Explore Enterprise, staff means a viewer who can see dashboards but cannot create or edit dashboards. (Support Enterprise, Explore Enterprise, and Admin Center only.)

subscriber

The people who have a paid subscription with Zendesk. This is in contrast to end users: the customers of our subscribers who don’t pay to use our products.

team leader

Team leaders have more access to Zendesk products than staff agents. They can read and edit all tickets and moderate forums. They can also create and edit end users, groups, and organizations. (Support Enterprise only.)

user

Admin, agent, end user, subscriber, website visitor, trialer: We have a lot of types. User is fine, but be role-specific wherever possible.

viewer

Viewer is used across all products. It refers to users who can see dashboards but can’t edit or create them.