Do You Capitalize Website Names? Best Practice (Statistics)

Knowing how to capitalize domain names is actually a bit trickier than you might realize. Luckily, this article is here to help you understand all you need to know to make sure you get it right.

Do You Capitalize Website Names?

You do not need to capitalize website names in your writing. Most domains are listed in lower-case format, so it’s best to write them in this way to adhere to the original domain entry. You can capitalize a domain name in marketing documentation if it fits the brand’s identity.

Do You Capitalize Website Names

For the most part, it’s encouraged to leave domain names in the lower case. You would see them in a sentence like this:

  • I visited google.com to see what this was all about.
  • You can refer to amazon.com for more information.

Also, if you can, you should try to avoid placing a domain name at the start of a sentence. Placing one at the beginning of a sentence will mean that you have to capitalize it.

While this isn’t a problem for more recognizable domains, it could get confusing for people if they see a capitalized domain of something they haven’t heard about before and don’t know whether it’s supposed to be a capital letter or whether it’s just because it starts the sentence.

Are Website Names Capitalized AP Style?

AP Style encourages writers to stick to the brand’s identity when capitalizing website names. For example, Google would be used since Google has a capital “G.” It all depends on the way the brand writes its own name.

You might find that domain names are all kept the lower case in AP Style as well. By this, we mean that if .com or co.uk addresses are included, then you are more likely to see google.com rather than Google.

Is It Wrong To Capitalize Website Names?

It is not wrong to capitalize website names. It is encouraged to do so if you know how the brand identifies itself. If it uses capital letters within its title, then it’s suitable to use them yourself to make sure you’re representing the brand in the correct way.

Many people have conflicting ideas about what is right and what is wrong with domain and website names. There isn’t a single answer that is definitively correct because it depends on personal preference.

The following are both correct:

  • google.com
  • Google.com

It depends on how it works in your sentence and whether you want to use the capital letter to adhere to the brand’s identity.

Best Practice

It might help to learn about specific domain names. If you’re not sure what the best practices are, we’ll be sure to help you out with some of the most popular websites around. After this, you’ll know how to use domain names correctly.

Is Google’s Domain Name Capitalized?

According to Google Ngram Viewer, “google.com” is more common than “Google.com.” Clearly, it’s more common to include Google without the capital letter. The capitalized version is also losing a lot of popularity over recent years, according to the graph.

google.com or Google.com

Is Facebook’s Domain Name Capitalized?

According to Google Ngram Viewer, “Facebook.com” is more common when it is capitalized. The results are much closer here, though, showing that both options are correct.

facebook.com or Facebook.com

Is Instagram’s Domain Name Capitalized?

According to Google Ngram Viewer, “instagram.com” is best left uncapitalized. There is also a clear difference between the two options, showing that it’s rare to capitalize the domain name.

instagram.com or Instagram.com

Is Nike’s Domain Name Capitalized?

According to Google Ngram Viewer, “nike.com” is the most popular choice. This graph is probably the most interesting since there was a time when the capitalized variation, “Nike.com,” was more popular in the early 2000s.

nike.com or Nike.com

Is Amazon’s Domain Name Capitalized?

According to Google Ngram Viewer, “Amazon.com” is the most popular choice, but it’s on a steady decline. “amazon.com” is also increasing in popularity over recent years, so it could end up that the uncapitalized variation might be more popular one day.

amazon.com or Amazon.com

Conclusion

There are no exact rules to follow when capitalizing domain names. For the most part, they are left uncapitalized, and it’s best to keep them away from the start of the sentence to avoid a confusing capital letter. You should capitalize them when it matches the brand’s identity, though.