Blog Post Title Capitalization: Rules, Examples, and Best Practices
Updated April 2026 · 12 min read
Your blog post title is the first thing readers see - in search results, on social media, in email newsletters, and on your blog's homepage. Getting the capitalization wrong doesn't just look sloppy. It signals to potential readers that the content below might be just as careless.
Whether you're running a WordPress blog, publishing on Medium, or building a Substack audience, this guide covers everything you need to know about capitalizing blog titles correctly. We'll walk through the major style guide rules, show you real examples, and call out the mistakes bloggers make most often.
In This Guide
- → Why Blog Title Capitalization Matters
- → Title Case Rules for Blog Posts
- → Which Style Guide Should Bloggers Use?
- → 20 Blog Title Examples: Wrong vs Right
- → 8 Capitalization Mistakes Bloggers Make
- → Platform-Specific Guidance (WordPress, Medium, Substack)
- → When Sentence Case Works Better
- → Should You Capitalize Blog Subheadings Too?
- → Blog Title Capitalization Checklist
Why Blog Title Capitalization Matters
Blog titles do three jobs at once. They tell readers what the post is about, they convince people to click, and they signal quality before anyone reads a single word of your content. Capitalization affects all three.
A title like "how to start a blog in 2026" looks like a draft. The same title written as "How to Start a Blog in 2026" looks like a finished, published piece. That difference in perception happens instantly - within the first half-second of someone seeing your title in a list of search results or scrolling through a social feed.
Beyond first impressions, consistent capitalization builds your blog's credibility over time. When every post follows the same rules, readers subconsciously register your blog as professional and trustworthy. When capitalization is random - some posts in title case, some lowercase, some with inconsistent patterns - it creates the impression that nobody is paying attention to details.
And for SEO, capitalization matters more than most bloggers realize. While Google doesn't rank pages based on capitalization directly, it does measure click-through rates. Properly capitalized titles consistently earn more clicks than poorly formatted ones, which feeds back into better rankings over time.
Title Case Rules for Blog Posts
Most blogs use title case for their post titles - capitalizing the major words while leaving minor words lowercase. Here are the core rules that apply across all major style guides:
Always Capitalize:
- The first word of the title, no matter what it is
- The last word of the title, no matter what it is
- Nouns - Blog, Writer, Strategy, Content, Reader
- Verbs (including short ones) - Is, Are, Was, Be, Do, Has, Write, Start
- Adjectives - Best, New, Simple, Great, Free
- Adverbs - Always, Never, Very, Really, Quickly
- Pronouns - You, Your, I, It, They, We
- Subordinating conjunctions - Because, Although, Since, While
Generally Lowercase (Unless First or Last Word):
- Articles - a, an, the
- Short prepositions - in, on, at, to, for, of, by, with, from
- Coordinating conjunctions - and, but, or, nor, yet, so
The trickiest part for most bloggers is remembering that short verbs are always capitalized. Words like "is," "are," "be," "do," and "has" look like they should be lowercase because they're small, but they're verbs - and verbs are always capitalized in title case. This is the single most common mistake in blog title capitalization. For a full breakdown, see our guide to common title case mistakes.
Which Style Guide Should Bloggers Use?
There are four major style guides with title case rules: AP, Chicago, APA, and MLA. For most bloggers, the differences are minor, but here's a quick comparison of the cases where they disagree:
| Rule | AP | Chicago | APA | MLA |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Words with 4+ letters | Capitalize | No length rule | Capitalize | No length rule |
| "with" (4 letters) | With | with | With | with |
| "between" (7 letters) | Between | between | Between | between |
| After colon | Capitalize | Capitalize | Capitalize | Capitalize |
| Hyphenated words | Capitalize major | Capitalize all | Capitalize major | Capitalize all |
Our recommendation for bloggers: use AP style. It's the most widely used format outside of academia, it's what journalists and marketing writers follow, and its rules are the most intuitive. AP capitalizes words with four or more letters, which eliminates a lot of guesswork about prepositions.
That said, the specific style guide matters less than picking one and sticking with it across every post. For a detailed side-by-side comparison, see our title case styles comparison guide.
20 Blog Title Examples: Wrong vs Right
Here are real-world examples of blog titles written incorrectly and then corrected. All "right" versions follow AP title case rules.
Wrong
10 ways to grow your blog in 2026
Right
10 Ways to Grow Your Blog in 2026
Wrong
Why Your Blog Posts Aren't Getting traffic
Right
Why Your Blog Posts Aren't Getting Traffic
Wrong
How To Write A Blog Post That Ranks On Google
Right
How to Write a Blog Post That Ranks on Google
Wrong
the ultimate guide to content marketing
Right
The Ultimate Guide to Content Marketing
Wrong
What is the Best Time to Publish a Blog Post?
Right
What Is the Best Time to Publish a Blog Post?
Wrong
Blog SEO: everything you need to Know
Right
Blog SEO: Everything You Need to Know
Wrong
I Started a Blog And Here Is What Happened
Right
I Started a Blog and Here Is What Happened
Wrong
how I grew my email list from 0 to 10,000 subscribers
Right
How I Grew My Email List From 0 to 10,000 Subscribers
Wrong
WordPress Vs. Squarespace: which is better for blogging?
Right
WordPress vs. Squarespace: Which Is Better for Blogging?
Wrong
A Step-by-step Guide To Writing Your First Blog Post
Right
A Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Your First Blog Post
Notice the patterns: "to" stays lowercase (it's a preposition), "is" gets capitalized (it's a verb), and the first word after a colon always gets a capital letter. If you're ever unsure, paste your title into our free headline capitalization tool and it'll handle the rules for you.
8 Capitalization Mistakes Bloggers Make
After reviewing thousands of blog titles, these are the errors that come up again and again:
1. Lowercasing "is," "are," "was," and "be"
These are verbs, not filler words. "What is Title Case" should be "What Is Title Case." This is the number one mistake bloggers make. Every style guide agrees - verbs are always capitalized.
2. Capitalizing every word
"How To Write A Great Blog Post For Your Website" capitalizes "To," "A," and "For" when they should be lowercase. Title case doesn't mean "capitalize everything." Articles, short prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions stay lowercase unless they're the first or last word.
3. Forgetting the last word rule
The last word of a title is always capitalized, even if it's normally a lowercase word. "5 Things to Be Grateful For" - not "5 Things to Be Grateful for." Every major style guide requires this.
4. Inconsistency between posts
One post uses title case, the next uses sentence case, the third uses some hybrid. Pick a style and apply it everywhere - titles, subheadings, categories, and navigation labels.
5. Capitalizing "vs." inconsistently
"WordPress Vs. Squarespace" should be "WordPress vs. Squarespace." In title case, "vs." is a preposition and should be lowercase (unless it's the first word, which it rarely is). Some bloggers capitalize it randomly.
6. Not capitalizing after a colon
"Blog SEO: everything you need to know" is wrong. The word after a colon starts a new clause and should be capitalized: "Blog SEO: Everything You Need to Know."
7. Treating hyphenated words wrong
"A Step-by-step Guide" should be "A Step-by-Step Guide." In AP style, capitalize the major elements of hyphenated compounds. In Chicago style, capitalize all parts except articles, prepositions, and conjunctions.
8. Using ALL CAPS for emphasis
"THIS Blog Post Will CHANGE Your Life" looks unprofessional and screams clickbait. Save all caps for legitimate acronyms like SEO, HTML, or CMS. For emphasis, strong title case does the job better.
Platform-Specific Guidance
Different blogging platforms display titles in slightly different contexts. Here's what to keep in mind for the most popular ones:
WordPress
WordPress uses your title for the H1, the browser tab, the SEO title tag, and the slug (URL). Capitalize your title properly when you type it - WordPress won't auto-correct your capitalization. The slug is generated from your title, so "How to Start a Blog" becomes how-to-start-a-blog (always lowercase in URLs, which is correct).
If you use Yoast or Rank Math, the title you enter becomes the default SEO title. Make sure the capitalization is right before you publish - fixing it later means waiting for Google to re-crawl.
Medium
Medium's editor doesn't enforce any capitalization style - whatever you type is what appears. Medium titles show up in search results, in your profile feed, and in Medium's recommendation algorithm. Properly capitalized titles look more polished in all three contexts.
Medium also uses your title for the <title> tag and OG tags automatically, so what you type becomes exactly what appears when someone shares your post on social media.
Substack
Substack titles appear in three key places: the web post, the email subject line, and subscriber notification previews. Each of these contexts benefits from proper title case because you're competing for attention against every other email and notification in your reader's inbox.
For Substack specifically, many successful newsletters use title case for the post title but sentence case for the subtitle/preview text. This creates a natural visual hierarchy - the title stands out while the preview feels conversational.
When Sentence Case Works Better
Title case isn't the only option. Sentence case - capitalizing only the first word and proper nouns - has become increasingly popular for blogs, especially in tech and lifestyle niches. Google uses sentence case for most of their product interfaces. Apple uses it across their documentation. Many modern SaaS blogs have adopted it too.
Sentence case works well when:
- Your blog has a casual, conversational tone. Sentence case feels friendlier and more approachable than title case. If your blog reads like you're talking to a friend, sentence case matches that voice.
- You write very long titles. Title case becomes harder to read as titles get longer. "How I Built a Six-Figure Business While Working Full-Time and Raising Two Kids" is easier to scan in sentence case.
- Your audience expects it. Developer blogs, personal journals, and thought-leadership pieces often feel more authentic in sentence case.
- You want to match modern tech branding. If your blog sits alongside a SaaS product, sentence case creates visual consistency with Google, Apple, and Microsoft's design language.
The key rule: if you choose sentence case, still capitalize proper nouns (Google, WordPress, SEO) and the first word. And stay consistent - every post should follow the same style. See our complete sentence case vs title case guide for a deeper comparison.
Should You Capitalize Blog Subheadings Too?
Short answer: yes, match your title style. If your blog titles use title case, your H2 and H3 subheadings should too. If you use sentence case for titles, use sentence case for subheadings.
Subheadings serve as mini-titles for each section of your post. They show up in the page's table of contents, in rich snippets when Google pulls them for featured answers, and as visual anchors that help readers scan your content. Inconsistent capitalization between your main title and subheadings creates a disjointed reading experience.
Some bloggers use title case for the H1 and sentence case for H2s and below. This can work as a deliberate hierarchy choice, but make sure it's intentional and consistent - not just random formatting from post to post.
One exception: H4 and smaller headings that function more like labels or list items can reasonably use sentence case even when the rest of your headings use title case. These are typically short phrases that don't benefit from full title case treatment.
Blog Title Capitalization Checklist
Before you hit "Publish" on your next blog post, run through this:
- ✓ First and last words are capitalized
- ✓ All verbs are capitalized (including is, are, was, be, do, has)
- ✓ Articles (a, an, the) are lowercase unless first/last word
- ✓ Short prepositions (in, on, at, to, for, of, by) are lowercase
- ✓ Coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor) are lowercase
- ✓ Word after colon is capitalized
- ✓ Hyphenated words are handled correctly (Step-by-Step, not Step-by-step)
- ✓ Title matches H1 on the page
- ✓ Style is consistent with all other posts on your blog
- ✓ Subheadings follow the same capitalization convention
- ✓ No ALL CAPS words (except acronyms like SEO, HTML)
- ✓ Ran through a capitalization checker to catch edge cases
The Bottom Line
Blog post title capitalization is one of those small details that separates amateur blogs from professional ones. The rules aren't complicated: pick title case or sentence case, learn the handful of rules that apply to your chosen style, and apply them consistently to every post.
The fastest way to get it right? Type your title, paste it into a headline capitalization tool, select your preferred style guide, and copy the corrected version. It takes five seconds and eliminates the guesswork entirely.