Title Case vs Sentence Case: Which Should Your Website Use?

Title case capitalises most words in a heading ("How to Choose a Web Host in the UK"). Sentence case capitalises only the first word and proper nouns ("How to choose a web host in the UK"). For UK websites, sentence case is usually the better default. GOV.UK requires it, and it reads more naturally to British audiences.

That's the short version of title case vs sentence case. Either can work, and some sites use title case for title tags while using sentence case on the page. What matters most is that you choose deliberately and apply the choice everywhere. This guide covers the rules for each style, what UK style guides say, where each one works best, and whether it makes any difference to SEO.

To switch text between styles quickly, paste it into our free case converter. It handles Title Case, Sentence case, UPPER CASE, lower case and developer formats such as kebab-case.

What's the difference?

Start case is what you get when someone holds Shift at the start of each word. It isn't a recognised style in most guides, but it's common on websites, often by accident.

Title case rules

Title case has no single standard. Different style guides disagree on details, especially about prepositions. The common core:

1. Capitalise the first and last words, and all nouns, pronouns, verbs, adjectives and adverbs.
2. Keep lower case articles (a, an, the), short coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor) and short prepositions (in, on, at, to, for, of, by), unless they're the first or last word.
3. Capitalise both parts of most hyphenated words in a heading ("Step-by-Step", "Long-Term"), though guides vary.
4. Keep proper nouns and brand styling as they are ("iPhone", "eBay", "HMRC").

The arguments start at the edges. Is "with" short enough to stay lower case? What about "through" or "about"? Some American guides lower-case all prepositions, some only those under four or five letters. If you choose title case, write down your rule, because otherwise every writer will make their own.

Sentence case rules

Sentence case is simpler, which is a big part of its appeal:

1. Capitalise the first word.
2. Capitalise proper nouns: names of people, places, organisations, products and brands.
3. Capitalise acronyms and initialisms as normal ("VAT", "UK GDPR").
4. Everything else is lower case.

The only judgement call is what counts as a proper noun. "Google Business Profile" is a product name and keeps its capitals. "business profile" used generically doesn't.

What UK style guides say

GOV.UK

The GOV.UK A to Z style guide is unambiguous: "Always use sentence case, even in page titles and service names." It also warns against block capitals for large amounts of text because they're hard to read.

The GOV.UK Design System applies the same rule to interface elements:

• Its headings guidance says: "Write all headings in sentence case."
• Its button guidance says: "Write button text in sentence case, describing the action it performs."

Because GOV.UK is one of the most-used websites in the country, its style shapes what many British readers expect from online services.

The Guardian and other UK publishers

The Guardian and Observer style guide is well known for favouring lower case wherever possible, and its headlines are set in sentence case. Several other UK news publishers also use sentence case for headlines. Many UK organisations, including charities and councils, base their own style guides on GOV.UK or Guardian style for exactly this reason.

Technical and product style guides

Outside the UK, major technical style guides have moved the same way. Google's developer documentation style guide tells writers to "use sentence case" for titles and headings, capitalising only the first word.

Title case is still common in American publishing and in some US-headquartered brands, which is why you'll see it on many SaaS websites.

Title case vs sentence case: where each works best

Headings

Sentence case wins for most UK websites. Long headings in title case are harder to scan, because every capital is a small interruption. It's also easier to keep consistent, because there are fewer rules to remember.

Buttons and calls to action

Buttons should say what happens next: "Get a quote", "Book an appointment", "Download the checklist". Sentence case keeps them sounding like a helpful instruction rather than a sign. Avoid all-caps buttons for anything longer than a word or two.

SEO title tags

This is where reasonable people differ. Some sites use title case in title tags so results look like headlines. Others keep title tags in sentence case to match the H1. Neither is wrong.

What does matter for title tags is length, accuracy and putting the main topic first. Our guide to title tags and meta descriptions covers those in detail. You can see how a title looks in either style using the SERP snippet preview, which shows both desktop and mobile results.

Does capitalisation affect SEO?

No. Search engines treat "Boiler Service Leeds" and "boiler service leeds" as the same words. There's no ranking benefit to either style.

Capitalisation can affect how people respond, though:

• Readability. Long titles in title case or all caps take more effort to read.
• Consistency and trust. A site where every heading uses a different style looks unedited.
• Title rewrites. Google may rewrite title tags that are keyword-stuffed or don't match the page, regardless of case. Writing your title tag in the same style as your H1 can make it more obvious they describe the same thing. See our post on why Google rewrites title tags.

One technical point: URLs should be lower case regardless of your heading style. Mixed-case URLs can create duplicate addresses for the same page on some servers. Our guide to SEO-friendly URLs explains why, and the slug generator turns any heading into a clean lower-case slug.

Common mistakes

• Mixing styles on one page. Title case H1, sentence case H2s and start case buttons all on the same page.
• Capitalising for emphasis. "Our Expert Team Provides Bespoke Solutions" doesn't make the words more important. It makes the sentence harder to read.
• Over-capitalising job titles and departments. In running text, "our marketing manager" doesn't need capitals. In a heading or signature, follow your style guide.
• Lower-casing proper nouns in sentence case. "Google search console" is wrong; "Google Search Console" is a product name.
• All-caps paragraphs. Long runs of capitals are harder for everyone to scan, which is why GOV.UK warns against them. If a design calls for capitals on a short label, use CSS text-transform and keep the underlying text in normal case.
• Changing style halfway through a site rebuild. If you switch styles, update old headings too, or the inconsistency will show.

Setting a house style

You don't need a 50-page style guide. A single page covering these points is enough for most small businesses:

1. Headings (H1 to H4): sentence case.
2. Title tags: sentence case or title case (pick one).
3. Buttons and navigation: sentence case.
4. Product and service names: list them with the exact capitalisation to use.
5. Brand name: how it's written, every time.
6. Spelling: British English (organise, colour, centre).
7. Numbers, dates and times: for example "1 November 2026" and "9am to 5pm", plus when to write numbers in words. A number to words converter spells out longer figures consistently.

Share it with anyone who writes for the website, including agencies and freelancers. Then use the case converter to fix headings in bulk when you migrate old content.

If your team publishes across several channels, such as the website, email and social, and keeps finding inconsistencies, a review step in the publishing workflow fixes more than a style guide alone. Make It Flow helps businesses map those workflows. Get in touch if you'd like to talk it through.

FAQ

What is the difference between title case and sentence case?

In sentence case, only the first word and proper nouns get a capital letter, as in a normal sentence. In title case, most words are capitalised, except short articles, conjunctions and prepositions. "How to set up DMARC" is sentence case. "How to Set Up DMARC" is title case.

Should website headings be in title case or sentence case?

For most UK websites, sentence case. It's easier to read, simpler to apply consistently, and matches GOV.UK guidance and the style of many UK publishers. Title case isn't wrong, and some brands prefer it, but whichever you choose should be used for every heading on the site.

Does GOV.UK use sentence case?

Yes. The GOV.UK A to Z style guide says to always use sentence case, even in page titles and service names. The GOV.UK Design System also says to write all headings and button text in sentence case. Proper nouns such as department names keep their capitals.

Should buttons use title case?

Sentence case is generally clearer for buttons, because they read as an instruction: "Get a quote", "Book now", "Download the guide". GOV.UK's design system says to write button text in sentence case and describe the action it performs. Whatever you choose, keep every button on the site in the same style.

Does title case help SEO?

No. Search engines don't distinguish between upper and lower case words for ranking. Capitalisation can influence how a result looks and whether people click, but there's no ranking benefit to either style. Focus on a clear, accurate title with the main topic first, and keep the style consistent across the site.

What words stay lower case in title case?

Typically articles (a, an, the), short coordinating conjunctions (and, but, or, nor) and short prepositions (in, on, at, to, of, for, by), unless they're the first or last word. Style guides disagree on longer prepositions such as "with" or "about", so set your own rule and apply it consistently.

Related reading

• Flesch Reading Ease: What Your Score Means and How to Improve It: What the Flesch Reading Ease score measures, how the formula works, what score to aim for, how it maps to UK reading ages, and where formulas fall short.
• UUID v4 vs v7: Which Should You Use for Database IDs?: UUID v4 vs v7 explained: how RFC 9562 defines each, why time-ordered v7 IDs suit database indexes, the collision odds, and when v4 is still the better pick.