File Naming Standards

Use consistent, web-friendly file names to ensure assets are easily understood, searchable, and manageable across teams and platforms. Well-structured names support accessibility tools, improve SEO performance, streamline asset organization, and make it easier to track versions and updates over time.

General Best Practices

Applies to both documents and images:

• Use clear, concise names that describe the asset’s content or purpose
• Use hyphens to separate words (avoid spaces or underscores)
• Use all lowercase letters
• Avoid special characters (#, %, &, ?, etc.)
• Include a date or version number only if the asset is regularly updated
• Do not repeat the file extension in the name (e.g., avoid guide-pdf.pdf)
     

Format-Specific Notes

Images

• WebP is the preferred format for web
• SVG, JPG, and PNG are acceptable only in limited use cases
• Use descriptive, keyword-friendly names for public-facing images
• Keep names short but meaningful for icons, thumbnails, and campaign assets

Documents

• Follow the same naming structure as images
• Include dates or version numbers for frequently updated materials (e.g., reports, forms)
      

Examples

employee-handbook-2025.pdf
flu-vaccine-consent-form.pdf
jane-smith-headshot.webp
fall-campaign-hero-banner-oct.webp
cta-icon-heart-outline.svg