Text & writing · Updated 2026-10-04
When to Use Different Text Cases
Case is partly grammar, partly house style. The same sentence can be correct in sentence case for body copy and title case for a magazine headline—depending on the publication’s rules.
Sentence case
Capitalize the first word (and proper nouns). Used for most paragraphs, many UI strings, and modern web headings in lots of product teams.
Title case
Capitalize principal words. Style manuals disagree on short prepositions and articles. Automated title-case tools apply a simple rule set; they will not match every Chicago/AP exception.
Uppercase and lowercase
- UPPERCASE shouts; use sparingly for short labels or legal formality.
- lowercase is common when normalizing data before deduplication or case-insensitive comparison.
- Do not store display names permanently in uppercase unless a domain rule requires it.
Quick chooser
Case by context
| Context | Usual choice |
|---|---|
| Body paragraphs | Sentence case |
| Blog H1 in many brands | Sentence case or title case (pick one house style) |
| Newspaper headline | Title case (publication-specific) |
| CSS class / slug | lowercase kebab-case |
| Constant in code | UPPER_SNAKE (language-dependent) |
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