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urlseonaming-conventions

URLs: Dash vs. Underscore


Is it better convention to use hyphens or underscores in your URLs?

Should it be /about_us or /about-us?

From usability point of view, I personally think /about-us is much better for end-user yet Google and most other websites (and javascript frameworks) use underscore naming pattern. Is it just matter of style? Are there any compatibility issues with dashes?


Solution

  • This is just a guess, but it seems they picked the one that people most probably wouldn't use in a name. This way you can have a name that includes a hyphenated word, and still use the underbar as a word delimiter, e.g. UseTwo-wayLinks could be converted to use_two-way_links.

    In your example, /about-us would be a directory named the hyphenated word "about-us" (if such a word existed, and /about_us would be a directory named the two-word phrase "about us" converted to a single string of non-white characters.