Titles are likely the first if not the only thing readers will notice about your blog posts. Are you formatting them correctly, or are you arbitrarily capitalizing words?
From the AP Stylebook to The Chicago Manual of Style to the Yahoo! Style Guide, there are a number of recommended guidelines for title capitalization. The right style for you depends on a few things: the field you’re writing about, the medium you use and last but not least, your personal preference. Each system has its own quirks and rules, but as Grammar Girl points out, the best thing you can do as a blog editor is choose a style and stick with it. Also make sure that regular or guest contributors adhere to these guidelines.
AP Style Title Guidelines
Capitalize the first and last words of the title, along with all principal words and words longer than three letters.
Chicago Manual of Style Title Guidelines
Capitalize the first word of the title, the last word of the title, all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, adjectives and subordinating conjunctions.
Your Own Style Preferences
You’ve probably frequented a website or two that clearly does not follow any of these guidelines. Maybe the capitalize every word in the title, or only the first word. Or maybe the theme that you’re using automatically capitalizes ever word in your titles. These options are acceptable, too, as this is in essence a style choice. Just remember to settle on a style and be consistent with it over time.
