Allow customization of the title-separator

[manuth]

Hey guys
Currently the {{ page.title }}-Property and the {{ site.title }}-Property inside the <title>-Tag are allways separated with an --Character.
Could you implement a way to customize the separator to use?
I'd, for example, like to use an · instead of an -

Best regards an' thanks in advance

[benbalter]

I'd, for example, like to use an · instead of an -

Can you explain a bit more why you'd like to change it? Just personal preference?

I'm generally 👎 to adding options for arbitrary decisions. Every option we add raises the cognitive overhead necessary to use the plugin. We should be absorbing that complexity on behalf of users.

[nickwright80]

Clean visual separation of page title from site title. I agree with keeping things simple though!

How about changing the default separator to | (pipe) or — (em-dash)?

Personally, I've always used |.

[jekyllbot]

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[ghost]

I'm porting a WordPress site and would also like to customize the title separator using a pipe | to maintain parity with the site I'm porting. jekyll.tips links to the following authoritative resource on optimal site titles: https://moz.com/learn/seo/title-tag

According to Moz, the optimal title format for most sites is:

Primary Keyword - Secondary Keyword | Brand Name

I'm assuming "Primary Keyword" and "Secondary Keyword" imply key phrases as well. Applied to a SERP, here's a pictorial representation of what a customized title separator might look like:

The Moz resource linked above also provides a title tag testing tool, guidance on optimal title length, describes the importance of titles in general and links to some additional resources.

Of course the plugin provides the ability to disable the provided title (presumably for customization), though it would be ideal if the plugin-provided title if it could be customized outside of a theme. The cognitive overhead concern @benbalter mentions above can be addressed by providing a sensible default and tucking title customization plugin capabilities into the advanced features section.

[benbalter]

According to Moz, the optimal title format for most sites is:

@JHabdas any reason to believe that the title separator character is significant for SEO purposes, or is it just optimal for there to be primary and secondary keywords delimited by a non-text character?

If the pipe is an SEO best practice, let's just use that. If it can be anything, let's pick the best one.

to maintain parity with the site I'm porting

Will you receive an SEO penalty if your title separator changes? WIll users notice? I'd rather not want to add code and user complexity to support "this is how we've always done it".

[ghost]

any reason to believe that the title separator character is significant for SEO purposes

I was pondering this earlier. Conjecture tells me hyphens are more likely to occur in a page title, and, therefore, a pipe is more likely to be a unique character denoting a site name when appended to a page title.

Will users notice?

Mine will. He's a content marketer. As for adding complexity, maybe we just leave this open and wait for upvotes. Afterall, as mentioned, custom titles are already possible.

[ghost]

Okay. Without adding complexity I lobby we just update the title separator to | and call it a day. Here's an example of why we should do this:

Chicago Housing Projects - An Infamous Past | Chicago Gang History

Notice how the pipe clearly separates the site title from the key phrases.

@benbalter @pathawks Please lemme know if I'm good to proceed and I'll get the PR together.

[benbalter]

I'm not strongly opinionated. Pipe? Dot? Emdash?

[ghost]

Knowing how Pat likes data- and doc-backed deciosions, and given we have the Moz resource guidance, and, for users of SEO Tag, the ability to opt out of plug-in provided titles, seems clear to go with pipe for site title separator and leave the fine grained control to site owners using an opt-out and individual customization. Doing feels to hit a sweet spot IMO for the gem (backed by rational decision), appeased those who want a pipe by default, and still allows those who don't a way out. I'll prepare a small PR for this soon.

[pathawks]

You’ve convinced me 👍

[manuth]

Humh... Well instead of discussing what separator to use...
Would it be a good idea if people could provide their own regelmässig if they aren't fine with the default one...?
I'm just asking since... I'm not sure how complicated that'd be

[ghost]

@manuth will revisit docs with PR so it's clear how to opt out of default titles for user customizations. Thanks for your input

[benbalter]

I'm 👍 on changing the title separator if there's a better best practice than the one one we're currently using, but per my comment above, I'm aggainst the idea of adding additional options just because someone may not like our decision.

[ghost]

Of note, VO on Mojave reads the | as “vertical line” or similar when reading title. Haven't tried with any other glyphs or character entities yet, though I can imagine someone at WebAIM would balk.

[jessuppi]

Disappointing to see the default pipe | separator being used. The dash - is by far the most common title separator on the web, and it's also what Google defaults to when none exist.

e.g. https://support.google.com/google-ads/answer/6349091?hl=en

...uses: <title>About Google Ads - Google Ads Help</title>
...but SERPs append: - Google Support

Pipes have been mentioned several times as meaning something closer to "or" for Google, so usually it makes sense to reserve usage for the homepage only.

E.g. Marco's Pizza Shop | Chicago Pizza Shop | Pizza Delivery Chicago

It shouldn't really be used in the way Jekyll SEO Tag is currently using it, to delimit sitename suffix.

Seems like an easy win to allow customization or go with the vastly more common dash...

Edit: above response also pasted here

[KentoNishi]

I agree with @jessuppi, the separator should be customizable. My current workaround is to replace the | with - in JavaScript.