Back in May, we wrote a short post explaining why we write the name of our website as GOV.UK, in capitals, and the URL as www.gov.uk, so that people know it’s a URL and know where to find it on the internet.
One of the first questions someone asked in the comments under that post was: how should we say it out loud?
The answer is like this: “GOV dot UK”. Or more phonetically: “guv dot yew kay”. And, if you’re saying the URL out loud, say the “www dot” too.
Saying the dot out loud helps people know that we’re talking about a website, and tells them exactly where to find it.
All the listener has to do next is type what they’ve heard into their web browser and they’ll end up at the right place.
So there you go. When you say it out loud, say “GOV dot UK”.
Follow Giles on Twitter, and don’t forget to sign up for email alerts.