A better question is “can blog post titles be italicized”?
Yes, they can but it’s not necessary. You can if that’s the style you like. As you can see with this blog, I don’t italicize my blog post titles. Most sites don’t. Italicized titles is not the default with all WordPress themes I’ve used so the norm is not italicizing titles.
What about when sourcing a blog post title in an endnote or footnote – should it be italicized then?
For example, if you have a list of references at the end of blog post, should the blog posts you reference have italicized titles?
For both APA and Chicago referencing styles, the answer is no, you do not italicize the title of a blog post when you reference it. Blog posts should be referenced in the same format as journal articles. You do italicize the name of the blog/publication.
Here’s the endnotes/footnotes referencing format for both APA and Chicago styles:
APA style: Author Surname, First Initial. Second Initial. (Year, Month Day). Blog post title. Name of publication (italicized). URL
Chicago style: Author (Lastname, Firstname). “Title of Blog Posting.” Name of blog (blog). Parent publishing entity. Month/Day/Year of Publication. URL.
Should blog post titles be put in quotes?
Again, the default with all WordPress themes I’ve used, and I’ve used many, is to not wrap blog post titles in quotation marks. I’ve wrapped a word or words in the title with quotation marks but not the entire title. In fact, IMO, it would be improper to wrap your blog post titles in quotes. Don’t do it. It would look odd. You’d look like an amateur.
Should blog post titles be put in quotes when referencing them in footnotes/endnotes?
Yes, if you use Chicago style. No, if you use APA style.
What is the optimal capitalization style for blog post titles?
Should you capitalize just the first word and proper nouns? All words except minor words (articles, short conjunctions and short prepositions)? What should you do?
The resource on blog post capitalization I’ve read is the article Capitalization in Blog Post Titles. What do I do? I used to capitalize all major words in a title but now just the first word and proper nouns. Admittedly, I’m not 100% consistent across all sites and articles. That is one area I have to improve.
References:
Blog Post and Blog Comment References. APA STYLE. https://apastyle.apa.org/style-grammar-guidelines/references/examples/blog-post-references
Chicago Style Guide, for 17th Edition. Western Oregon University. https://research.wou.edu/c.php?g=551307&p=3785498
Jon Dykstra is a six figure niche site creator with 10+ years of experience. His willingness to openly share his wins and losses in the email newsletter he publishes has made him a go-to source of guidance and motivation for many. His popular “Niche site profits” course has helped thousands follow his footsteps in creating simple niche sites that earn big.
