Headline Capitalization Rules: AP, APA, Chicago & More

Inconsistent capitalization makes your blog look unprofessional. But with multiple style guides offering different rules, it is easy to get confused. Here is a clear breakdown of the major capitalization styles so you can pick one and stick with it.

Title Case vs. Sentence Case

Before diving into specific styles, understand the two main approaches:

• Title Case: Capitalize the first letter of most words — "How to Write Better Headlines"
• Sentence case: Capitalize only the first word and proper nouns — "How to write better headlines"

Title Case is more common for blog headlines and looks more authoritative. Sentence case feels casual and conversational.

AP Style (Associated Press)

The most widely used style for online content:

• Capitalize words with four or more letters
• Capitalize the first and last word regardless of length
• Lowercase articles (a, an, the), conjunctions (and, but, or), and prepositions under four letters (in, on, at, to, for)
• Example: "How to Write Headlines for Your Blog"

APA Style (American Psychological Association)

• Capitalize words with four or more letters
• Capitalize the first word after a colon
• Capitalize both words in hyphenated compounds
• Example: "Content Strategy: How to Write Well-Crafted Headlines"

Chicago Manual of Style

• Capitalize all major words (nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs)
• Lowercase articles, prepositions, and coordinating conjunctions regardless of length
• Always capitalize the first and last word
• Example: "A Guide to Writing Headlines That Get Results"

Which Style Should Bloggers Use?

For most blogs, AP Style is the safest choice. It is familiar to readers, widely taught, and works well in search results. The key is consistency — pick one style and apply it to every headline on your site.

Common Capitalization Mistakes

• ALL CAPS: Reads as shouting and hurts readability
• Capitalizing every word: "How To Write A Better Blog Post" is incorrect in all major styles ("to" and "a" should be lowercase)
• Random capitalization: "how To write Better headlines" looks careless
• Inconsistency across posts: Switching between Title Case and sentence case confuses readers

Check Your Headlines Automatically

Our free Headline Analyzer helps you evaluate headline structure, length, and formatting — all processed privately in your browser without any data leaving your device.