AP Stylebook Guidelines: Web site or website?
When you should and should not use AP Stylebook guidelines for websites.
AP Stylebook is a media-preferred set of style guidelines adopted by a media-oriented organization for media-seeking people and should not be relied on as a scholarly reference manual for all industries, or, even for the non-media-writing general public.
Clear examples of style differences can be seen between legal writing, technical writing, and even the good ole' college thesis. AP Stylebook guidelines simply do not apply well here, and nor do they on non-news websites.
What do we tell clients to use: website or web site?
We never recommend using "Web site" with a capital "W" unless it is at the beginning of a sentence. It is outdated even if AP Stylebook digs it.
Why?
Because it is not the best choice from an SEO perspective and it looks odd to readers. If you want the most bang for your buck, use "website."
Why (again?)
Google will often match "website" in searches with "web site." Google is far less likely to match "web site" with "website" search queries.
Use website. Be different. Be more identifiable. Have better search engine results.
There. Another SEO "secret" divulged courtesy, LA Wolfe.
Continued From Page 1: Should I use website, or web site?
Why AP Stylebook prefers "Web site," or more correctly, how they do not support their irrational choice.
When asked the question, "Others use one word for Internet-related terms. How about AP?" AP responded:
"AP style is e-mail (hyphenated), and some other e- words such as e-commerce and e-book. Our style is Web site and Web page (two words), but webcam, webcast, webmaster."
In other words, there is no rhyme or reason to AP style guidelines when it comes to one word vs. two, or even when to capitalize "web."
The wordbiz Report, published by Debbie Weil, offers an interesting exchange between readers who took up the website vs. web site debate. Clearly, her readers prefer "website." So she wrote to AP Stylebook and asked them why they chose "Web site." AP Stylebook editor, Norman Goldstein, replied,
"Style," in the sense we're talking about, really means a preference (in spelling or punctuation or capitalization or usage) when there is a choice to be made. AP made the choice of "Web site" for what we thought were very good, language-based, reasons. Others are free to use their preference - as long as it is clear to a reader and consistent."
My question to Mr. Goldstein: Just what are these "very good, language-based reasons?" That is a question, to date, AP has yet to answer. But the Capital Community College Foundation, a nonprofit scholarship charity does explain how words become compound words:
"In English, words, particularly adjectives and nouns, are combined into compound structures in a variety of ways. And once they are formed, they sometimes metamorphose over time. A common pattern is that two words — fire fly, say — will be joined by a hyphen for a time — fire-fly — and then be joined into one word — firefly. In this respect, a language like German, in which words are happily and immediately linked one to the other, might seem to have an advantage. There is only one sure way to know how to spell compounds in English: use an authoritative dictionary."
I am going with Oxford Dictionary, and the direction of the sane masses. Sorry, AP website wins.
By Lahle Wolfe | For reprint information on this article visit our Media Center