Headlines, Subheads and Body Copy

We vary our headline cap­i­tal­iza­tion guidelines based on the type of content we’re writing and the need for emphasis, but basically there’s only two options: sentence case and title case. (If you need a quick rundown on the difference, read this entry.)

When it comes to choosing which option to use, context is key. Blogs, web pages and printed pieces serve varying purposes, so how a headline interacts with other creative elements — the rest of the copy, the design, etc. — can dictate how it should be capitalized. Keep reading to see our cap­i­tal­iza­tion rec­om­men­da­tions for these specific types of content, as well as general takeaways. 

Looking for guidelines on how to write effective headlines for different components? We have you covered.

We stay consistent when it comes to the headlines/​titles of our tutorials and of the articles on the Hudl Blog: we title case all headlines using the Chicago Manual of Style. The key takeaway? Capitalize every word except for prepo­si­tions. That means even short verbs, like ​“is” and ​“am,” and pronouns, like ​“my” and ​“her,” are capitalized.

This is where we can get a little more creative and let style and content lead the way, while still remaining consistent. 

Overall guidelines:

• Use sentence case when a headline is a complete sentence, or a longer phrase, and punctuate as you would any other sentence.
• Use title case when your headline is a short phrase and/​or only a couple words long. These headlines can use punctuation like commas and question marks when it helps with readability or emphasis, but end punctuation typically isn’t necessary.

Whichever style you decide on, aim to keep it consistent within the piece of content. So if you’ve chosen to use sentence casing for your headlines on a landing page about Hudl Focus, try to stick to that format throughout the whole page.

How a landing page or printed postcard is designed can have a big impact on the way copy is treated, especially when it comes to cap­i­tal­iza­tion. For instance, if a headline is in the Teko typeface and all caps, you obviously don’t need to worry about how it’s capitalized — but you do still have to think about punctuation. 

Here’s a few examples showing how we treat headlines on web pages.

And a few examples of how we do headlines in printed pieces like handouts and banners.

Above all, it’s important to work with the designer and web developer on the content cap­i­tal­iza­tion choices.

For content like emails, paid social content and so on, we use the same guidelines but follow them a little more strictly.

Here’s the overall guidelines: 

• Use sentence case when your headline is a complete sentence, or a longer phrase, and punctuate as you would any other sentence.
• Use title case when your headline is a phrase and only a couple words long. These headlines can use punctuation like commas and question marks when it helps with readability, but end punctuation typically isn’t necessary.

As with any guidelines, there will always be exceptions. Especially when it comes to stylistic decisions — one of these cap­i­tal­iza­tion guidelines might deserve to be broken on occasion.

Say you’re writing a headline for a landing page or a printed brochure and it doesn’t follow these rec­om­men­da­tions. We’d ask you take a minute to:

• Ask others for feedback. (#writing-at-hudl is a great place to go in Slack!)
• Think through the best way to write and emphasize your content. Is there a way to re-write your copy that will follow the guidelines without sacrificing your purpose?
• Put yourself in your reader’s shoes and think about how they will take it in.
• Talk to the designer you’re working with — they might have ideas on what style would be best for their design.

We just ask you to be mindful and col­lab­o­ra­tive when making these decisions. 

A subheadline is any headline that follows under the main one. These most often occur on web pages and blogs, but could show up on longer print pieces or other deliv­er­ables. The same guidelines for choosing sentence case or title case for headlines can be applied to sub­head­lines. Overall, be consistent and remember that complete sentences get a period, while fragments don’t.

Body copy is always sentence case with appropriate punctuation. Easy as that.