OnlyMovTitle Case vs Sentence Case: Which Should You Use?
By OnlyMov Editorial Team · · Editorial policy
"How to Write Better Emails" or "How to write better emails"? Neither is wrong — but mixing them across your site, deck, or app looks careless, and each carries a different tone. Here's what each style is, who uses which, and the simple policy that ends the debate for your team.
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The two styles, defined
Title Case: Capitalize the first word, last word, and every major word between. Minor words (a, an, the, and, or, of, in, to…) stay lowercase unless first or last: "The Art of Writing Well".
Sentence case: Capitalize only the first word and proper nouns — exactly like a sentence: "The art of writing well".
The classic trip-up in title case is verbs that look minor: "Is", "Are", "Be" are verbs and always capitalized — "This Is How It Works". Style guides differ on words like "with" and four-letter prepositions, which is why picking one reference matters more than which you pick.
Who uses which
Title case territory: book and film titles, news headlines in US publications (NYT, WSJ), academic paper titles in APA headings levels 1–2, and traditional/formal contexts generally.
Sentence case territory: most modern tech and product writing — Google, Apple, and Microsoft style guides all mandate it for UI and headings — plus UK publications (The Guardian, BBC), and most European languages by default.
The drift is one-directional: over the last decade, tech, web, and app writing has moved steadily to sentence case, which reads as modern and conversational. Title case increasingly signals print, formality, or American headline tradition.
Practical guidance by context
- Website headings and UI — sentence case; it matches how modern products read and is harder to get wrong
- Blog post titles — either, but one sitewide; SEO is unaffected by the choice, inconsistency is what looks sloppy
- Email subject lines — sentence case reads more personal ("Quick question about Thursday"); title case reads more like marketing
- Presentations — sentence case for slides; title case survives on the title slide
- Academic and formal documents — follow the required style guide (APA, Chicago); the requirement overrides preference
Whatever you choose: write it down. A one-line style rule ("Headings: sentence case; product names capitalized") prevents years of drift.
Step-by-step summary
- 1
Pick a default
Sentence case for web, product, and email; title case if your brand skews formal or print.
- 2
Document the exceptions
Proper nouns, product names, and any required style guide contexts.
- 3
Convert existing text consistently
A case converter handles bulk changes; spot-check verbs like "Is" if using title case.
Frequently asked questions
- Is "is" capitalized in title case?
- Yes. "Is", "Are", "Was", and "Be" are verbs — always capitalized in title case despite their size. The lowercase minor words are articles, conjunctions, and short prepositions.
- Does capitalization style affect SEO?
- No — search engines treat "How to Write Emails" and "How to write emails" identically for ranking. Choose on brand voice and consistency; click-through differences between the styles are negligible.
- What about ALL CAPS?
- For headings and titles, avoid it — it reads as shouting, is slower to read, and hurts accessibility for screen-reader users in some implementations. Reserve caps for short labels or single emphasized words.