Although I’m not a journalist, I tend to follow the AP Stylebook when I write blog posts since it’s considered the standard for grammar and punctuation in the media world. Like most bloggers, I have gone back and forth between the spelling and capitalization of technological terms such as website, Web page, webmaster, Internet, e-mail, and the Net. Staying consistent when using these terms in a blog post, newspaper article, or magazine is important so that’s when style rules come into play. Most of these terms have already settled to a standardized form and now there is one more to add to the list, the term “website.” Today, the Associated Press (AP) formally announced at the American Copy Editors Society Conference that the term “Web site” will change to “website.” According to a tweet in AP’s Twitter stream, the change will take effect immediately in the AP Stylebook Online and will appear in the 2010 AP Stylebook print edition which will be available next month.
The style change doesn’t come as a surprise given how many people have “Asked the Editor” to change the style from “Web site” to “website.” I have always preferred “website” instead of “Web site” simply because the latter was an antiquated way of writing it. However, since the AP Stylebook used “Web site,” I thought it would be best if I followed the correct spelling and capitalization style rules.
