Build guide

Reddit CQS Explainer

Treat the supplied manuscript as the source of truth. Do not shorten it, add claims, invent score thresholds or rewrite observations as confirmed Reddit policy.

Part 1Page setup

  • Build this as an evergreen guide using the site’s existing article or resource template—not a product page.
  • Retain the live site header, footer, navigation, cookie controls, author treatment and other global components.
  • Use the existing editorial URL directory if the site has one. Set the slug to reddit-cqs.
  • Use the title and H1 supplied with the manuscript. There must be exactly one H1.
  • If no SEO title is supplied, use: Reddit CQS: How to Check Your Score and Improve It
  • If no meta description is supplied, use: Learn what Reddit’s Contributor Quality Score means, how to check your CQS tier, what lowers it, and practical steps to improve it.
  • Set a self-referencing canonical and leave the page indexable.
  • Use the site’s normal article width. Aim for approximately 760–820px for prose; tables may extend to approximately 960px.
  • Do not add a hero image, stock illustration, video, lead form, sidebar promotion or table of contents.
  • Use the site’s default social-sharing image if an Open Graph image is required.

Part 2Article structure

Identify sections by their subject matter rather than matching these labels to the writer’s headings. Preserve the writer’s headings and wording.

Article opening and definition

Place the H1 at the top of the article. The definition of CQS must begin immediately beneath it.

  • Do not insert a promotional hero, introductory banner, contents box or generic preamble between the H1 and the definition.
  • Style the first definition paragraph as a restrained article lead using the theme’s existing lead style.
  • Keep the following explanation of CQS versus karma, its account-wide scope and its introduction as normal prose.
  • Link the first suitable reference to Reddit’s official documentation:

    https://support.reddithelp.com/hc/en-us/articles/27441485903124-What-is-the-Contributor-Quality-Score

  • Do not add a tier illustration. The later table supplies the visual structure.

Suggested section ID: what-is-reddit-cqs

Five CQS tiers

Render the five levels as a real HTML table, not an image or five separate promotional cards.

Use these columns:

  1. Tier
  2. What it means
  3. Typical treatment of posts and comments

Requirements:

  • Preserve the order: Lowest, Low, Moderate, High, Highest.
  • Use compact theme badges for the tier names if available.
  • Do not communicate the tiers through color alone. Keep every tier name visible as text.
  • Do not add numerical scores, percentages or thresholds.
  • Place the paragraph explaining the practical Moderate threshold directly below the table.

Suggested section ID: reddit-cqs-levels

How to check CQS

Use the site’s numbered-steps component or a semantic ordered list.

  • Keep every instruction visible on the page; do not place the steps in tabs or an accordion.
  • Link the subreddit mention to:

    https://www.reddit.com/r/WhatIsMyCQS/

  • Place the expected reply timing and what to do if no reply appears with the relevant step, or immediately below the list as a neutral note.
  • Render the third-party-checker caveat as a short informational callout after the steps.
  • If the client site already has a live CQS checker, link to it as a secondary option in this paragraph. Do not build a new checker, and do not describe an estimate as Reddit’s official score.
  • If no live checker exists, omit the secondary link rather than creating a placeholder.

Suggested section ID: check-reddit-cqs

What CQS affects and what only looks like CQS

Place the short explanatory paragraph first, followed by a three-column diagnostic table.

Use these columns:

  1. What you are seeing
  2. What it usually means
  3. What to do

The table must include the manuscript’s cases for:

  • “Removed by Reddit’s filters” or reputation-filter removals
  • Posts held in some communities
  • Chat, DM or invite limits
  • A temporary inability to follow accounts
  • Nothing from the account being visible anywhere

Keep quoted Reddit interface messages visually distinct with quotation marks or inline-code styling, but do not style entire table cells as code.

Link the manuscript’s shadowban-check reference to: https://www.reddit.com/r/ShadowBan/

Suggested section ID: what-cqs-affects

What affects the score

Keep the distinction between confirmed and observed signals unmistakable.

  • Present the manuscript’s “Reddit states” and “users or moderators have observed” material as a two-part list.
  • A two-column layout may be used on desktop, but stack it into one column on small screens.
  • Use neutral styling. Do not add confidence scores, warning icons or “proven” badges.
  • Follow the list with the manuscript’s prose on common causes, content, bans, VPNs and alternate accounts.
  • Keep VPN and alternate-account material as explanatory paragraphs, not alarm or error banners.

Suggested section ID: what-affects-reddit-cqs

How to improve CQS

Render the improvement plan as one continuous numbered list.

  • If each step has a short lead phrase, bold only that phrase; keep the reason beneath or beside it as normal text.
  • Do not turn the list into a checklist with interactive controls.
  • Keep the timing guidance immediately after the numbered plan.
  • Present the advice for a recently removed post as a neutral note or standard callout below the timing paragraph.
  • Do not add promised dates, point gains, progress bars or guarantees.
  • Do not add AutoModerator code or moderator configuration instructions.

Suggested section ID: improve-reddit-cqs

Brands, marketers and multiple accounts

Render this as ordinary editorial prose.

  • Do not insert product cards, prices, account inventory, testimonials or buttons in this section.
  • Do not add internal sales links inside these paragraphs.
  • Preserve the distinction between buying or injecting a score and acquiring an account with existing history.
  • Keep all caveats about clean connections, gradual use and real participation visible.

Suggested section ID: reddit-cqs-for-brands

Questions and answers

Display every question and answer expanded on the page.

  • Use the section heading as an H2.
  • Use each question as an H3 followed immediately by its answer.
  • Do not use a collapsed accordion, dropdown or carousel.
  • Include only the questions supplied in the manuscript. Do not generate extra edge cases.

Suggested section ID: reddit-cqs-faq

Closing offer

Place the close after the final FAQ answer, separated with a standard divider or compact theme CTA panel.

  • Keep the writer’s two-sentence recap.
  • Include no more than one commercial button or linked CTA.
  • Use the writer’s CTA label if supplied.
  • Link first to the URL supplied in the manuscript. If no URL is supplied, use the site’s existing live landing page for established Reddit accounts. If that does not exist, use the broader live Reddit-services landing page.
  • Never invent a route.
  • Do not repeat the CTA elsewhere in the article.
  • Existing template furniture such as related articles may appear after the article close.

Part 3Tables and responsive behavior

Both tables must use semantic <table>, <thead>, <tbody>, <th> and <td> markup.

  • Use the theme’s table component where available.
  • On narrow screens, place each table in a horizontally scrollable wrapper. Do not remove columns or hide cell content.
  • Keep the tier table at a minimum width of roughly 680px and the diagnostic table at roughly 760px.
  • Ensure keyboard users can reach and scroll the wrapper.
  • Use visible borders, sufficient cell padding and alternating row treatment only if already supported by the theme.
  • Do not use tiny text to force tables into the viewport.
  • Give the tables accessible names such as “Reddit CQS tiers” and “CQS problem diagnosis.”

Part 4Heading and visual rules

  • Use H2 for each major subject section.
  • Use H3 only for FAQ questions or genuine subsections already present in the manuscript.
  • Do not skip heading levels.
  • Add stable anchor IDs based on the suggested IDs above, even if the writer uses different heading wording.
  • Keep paragraphs short enough for comfortable reading, but do not break sentences into decorative fragments.
  • Use existing typography, spacing, button and callout tokens. Do not create a second visual system for this page.
  • Avoid red/green trust scoring, gauges, meters or graphics that imply a numerical CQS.
  • Do not place sales modules, ad blocks or newsletter forms between article sections.

Preserve all valid links supplied with the manuscript.

  • External editorial links should not be marked sponsored or nofollow.
  • Follow the site’s normal same-tab/new-tab policy. If external links open in a new tab, add rel="noopener".
  • Do not link references to bought karma, score buying or account problems to product pages.
  • Keep the only commercial internal link in the final close.
  • Verify all external and internal links before publishing.

Part 6Structured data and metadata

Use the site’s existing schema system rather than adding a duplicate schema block.

Include:

  • Article or BlogPosting
  • BreadcrumbList if breadcrumbs are shown
  • FAQPage only when the visible FAQ questions and answers exactly match the structured data

Do not add HowTo, rating, review, product or offer schema to the article.

For article schema:

  • Use the actual H1 as headline.
  • Use a real author and actual publication/modified dates only.
  • Use the site organization as publisher.
  • Do not fabricate an author biography or update date.

Part 7Accessibility and QA

Before publishing, verify:

  • There is one H1 and a logical H2/H3 hierarchy.
  • The definition begins directly beneath the H1.
  • All five tiers appear in the correct order.
  • Both tables retain every row and column on mobile.
  • Numbered checking and improvement steps remain true ordered lists.
  • FAQ answers are expanded and readable without JavaScript.
  • Confirmed Reddit signals remain visually and verbally separate from observed signals.
  • No numerical formula, invented tier threshold or guaranteed recovery timeline has been introduced.
  • No AutoModerator code or moderator tutorial has been added.
  • The only page-specific sales CTA appears after the FAQ.
  • Links resolve successfully and the canonical points to the published URL.
  • Keyboard focus, contrast and table scrolling meet the site’s accessibility standard.
  • Article and FAQ structured data validate without warnings caused by missing or hidden content.