And stop banging your head trying to remember the name of dsc_1234_APPROVED-header Photos1#untitled##.tiff
It takes time, but pays dividends. The following recommendations provide a simple framework to get you started.
Basic Rules
- All lowercase.
ex:logo.png>Logo.png
avoids loss due to forgotten capitalization - Dashes to separate words.
ex:2023-annual-report.pdf>2023_annualreport.pdf
this improves readability and cursor word selection - No special characters (no spaces, underscores, capitals, accents, etc).
ex:country-espana.pdf>country.España_.final.pdf
ensures universal / web-safe compatibility - Start with broad/common words and become more specific.
ex:smith_bob_portrait.jpg>portrait-of-bob-smith.jpg
ensures like-kind items stay together when viewing file list - Assume the reader is blind. Use the filename to indicate the content of the file/image. Do not use the filename to indicate purpose.
ex:photo-beach-sunset.jpg>homepage-promo-best.jpg
this improves accessibility and SEO
Lists / Dates
- Dates begin with the year (4 digits), then month (2 digits), then day (2 digits).
ex:progress-2023-01-02.pdf>progress-january-2-2023.pdf
ensures items retain order when sorting - Ensure you have enough digits (ex: if the list could have more than ten items, use two digits)
ex:photo-shoot-01.jpg>photo-shoot-1.jpg
otherwise item 10 shows before item 1
Other tips
Strictly enforce the conventions. Even a small deviation can snowball into a mess. Come to an agreement on naming conventions EARLY. It is very difficult to change file names throughout a website after-the-fact. You may consider prefixing all photos with photo- and all logos with logo- so they can be easily grouped. Try to keep the names short; fewer than six words.
