Editorial Methodology
Overview
Sterdts Knowledge Base articles are written to be educational, practical, South Africa-aware, and easy to maintain.
The goal is to help readers understand shipping topics clearly before they make shipment decisions or request shipment-specific assistance.
Editorial purpose
The Knowledge Base exists to:
explain shipping topics in plain language
support better shipment preparation
reduce confusion around documentation and customs processes
separate general guidance from South Africa-specific context
help readers understand when shipment-specific verification is needed
support long-term trust and authority
The objective is not to create hype, guarantee rankings, or make promises about customs outcomes.
Audience model
Every Knowledge Base topic is reviewed against two audience tracks.
Commercial Freight
For businesses moving commercial goods, including importers, exporters, traders, manufacturers, and distributors.
International Household Moving
For private clients moving personal effects or household goods internationally.
Where a topic applies differently to these audiences, the article should say so clearly.
One source to three outputs
Sterdts follows a one source → three outputs approach.
For each major topic, the canonical article is created first.
From that canonical article, Sterdts may then create:
a short explainer summary
a video explainer script
supporting explanations or transcripts
The canonical article is the main source of truth.
If the canonical article changes materially, any linked summary, video script, transcript, or related explanation should be reviewed.
Text-first governance
Text is the canonical layer.
Video is the explainer layer.
If a video is used, the article should include or link to a full on-page transcript where practical. This keeps the content accessible to readers, search engines, and AI systems.
Required article separation
Where relevant, articles should clearly separate:
General Principle
South Africa Context
Route / Country Variation
Sterdts Operational Practice
This helps prevent general shipping concepts, South African customs context, route-specific variation, and Sterdts’ own process notes from being mixed together.
Writing style
Sterdts Knowledge Base articles should be:
calm
factual
practical
educational
concise but not thin
clear about limitations
useful to both humans and AI systems
Articles should avoid:
hype
ranking promises
legal certainty
customs outcome promises
fragile live rate tables
unsupported duty or tax claims
DIY tariff classification guidance
fake examples
sales-heavy language
Related pages
Last updated
June 2026
Version
v1.0 — Initial public Knowledge Base foundation.