Katherine wrote for advice on rendering terms such as website, web page, email, and Internet. Well, I have just typed them the way I prefer to render them. But let’s see what the experts in print prefer. Then you can make your choices based on the reference manuals you follow and what looks good to you.
website/Web site
website
My reference books that vote for website (no capital letter, one word) are The Associated Press Stylebook 2011 (AP), The Chicago Manual of Style 16th Edition (Chicago), Garner’s Modern American Usage 3rd Edition (Garner), and The American Heritage College Dictionary 4th Edition (AH). Note: AH votes for the next version too.
Web site
References favoring Web site (capital W, two words) are The Gregg Reference Manual 11th Edition (Gregg), Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary 11th Edition (M-W), and AH.
Web page, webpage, web page
Web page: AP, Gregg, and AH vote for this form. (But AH votes twice.)
webpage: Garner and AH prefer this one-word form.
web page: Chicago votes for this rendering.
the Web, the web
the Web: AP, Garner, Gregg, AH, and M-W prefer this form.
the web: Only Chicago recommends this version.
E-mail, email, e-mail
E-mail: This term gets a vote from Garner, Gregg, and M-W, who vote yes for all three forms.
email: AP, Garner, Gregg, and M-W support this form.
e-mail: Chicago, AH, Garner, Gregg, and M-W okay this form.
Internet: All my reference books capitalize Internet.
the Net, the net
the Net: AP, Gregg, AH and M-W capitalize Net when it refers to the Internet. M-W lists both forms.
the net: Chicago recommends this version, and M-W lists it.
Given all these variations, what is a writer to do? You may choose one guide and follow it consistently. Or you may select the forms you like, as I do. But you must be sure at least one current, respected dictionary or style guide supports your choices–if you want to be correct and be able to defend your work.
I love reading and responding to your comments. However, I prefer that you not ask about additional words such as webmaster, e-zine, and intranet. Instead, invest in one or more reference guides and look them up, which is exactly what I would do!
Enjoy!
Lynn
Syntax Training