Title: Text formatting
Author: WordPress.org
Published: March 2, 2021
Last modified: April 6, 2021

---

# Text formatting

## In this article

 * [Text highlighting](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/formatting/text/?output_format=md#text-highlighting)
 * [Using type](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/formatting/text/?output_format=md#using-type)
    - [Formatting common text elements](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/formatting/text/?output_format=md#formatting-common-text-elements)
 * [Spaces between sentences](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/formatting/text/?output_format=md#spaces-between-sentences)

[↑ Back to top](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/formatting/text/?output_format=md#wp--skip-link--target)

 **Highlight:** Maintain consistent type and text formatting.

Consistent text formatting and type treatment is a principal factor in great documentation
and design. The intuitive use of text formatting, color combinations, alignment,
spacing, and punctuation enables simplicity and improves readability for the reader.

Formatting text uniformly by utilizing distinct design and structures such as that
in headings, tables, lists, URLs, and code examples helps distinguish information
easily, while also making it easier for scannable and accessible documentation.

## 󠀁[Text highlighting](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/formatting/text/?output_format=md#text-highlighting)󠁿

Text can be highlighted to distinguish itself from other text using the following
text-formatting conventions:

**Bold**
 Use bold formatting, `<b>` in HTMLHTML HTML is an acronym for Hyper Text
Markup Language. It is a markup language that is used in the development of web 
pages and websites. or `**` in Markdown for [UI elements](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/developer-content/ui-elements/)
and at the beginning of [notices](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/formatting/notices/).

Although a double underscore (`__`) can be used for bold formatting in Markdown,
it can be difficult to distinguish in a text editor. Preferably, use double asterisks(`**`)
for bold formatting in Markdown.

**Italic**
 Use italic formatting, `<i>` in HTML or `_` in Markdown, when drawing
attention to a specific word or phrase, such as when defining or introducing [key terms](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/formatting/key-terms/)
or using [words as words](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/formatting/words-as-words/).
You can also use a single asterisk (`*`) for italic formatting in Markdown.

**Underline**
 Do not underline.

**Strikethrough**
 Do not use strikethrough.

**Code text**
 Use `<code>` in HTML or `\`` in Markdown to apply a monospace font
and other styling to [code in text](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/developer-content/code-in-text/),
inline code, and user input.

Use `<pre>` in HTML or `\`\`\`` in Markdown for [code examples](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/developer-content/code-examples/)
or other blocks of code.

Do not override or modify font styles inline.

**Quotation marks**
 Use [quotation marks](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/punctuation/quotation-marks/)
in the American (US) English style.

**Capitalization**
 Use standard American (US) English [capitalization](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/language-grammar/capitalization/)
rules. Use sentence-case capitalization in [headings, titles, and other content](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/formatting/headings/).

**Font**
 Don’t override global styles for font type, size, or color.

## 󠀁[Using type](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/formatting/text/?output_format=md#using-type)󠁿

Clear, legible, as well as aesthetically pleasing typography is one of the primary
features in visually appealing content.

 * In general, use sentence-case capitalization and avoid other forms of capitalization
   such as all-uppercase, all-lowercase, or title case.
    For more information, see
   [Capitalization](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/language-grammar/capitalization/).
 * Use left alignment for text. This ensures an even left margin with a irregular
   right margin- improving document structure.
 * Avoid center-aligned text.
 * Ensure adequate and consistent line spacing – which is the amount of vertical
   space between two lines of text in a text body. If your site’s design determines
   the line spacing, don’t change it. Don’t reduce line spacing to fit more text
   or content; rewrite or edit the text instead.

For more information, see [Capitalization](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/language-grammar/capitalization/),
[Headings and titles](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/formatting/headings/),
[Procedures and instructions](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/formatting/procedures/),
[Code examples](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/developer-content/code-examples/),
and [UI elements](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/developer-content/ui-elements/).

### 󠀁[Formatting common text elements](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/formatting/text/?output_format=md#formatting-common-text-elements)󠁿

  |  **Text element** |  **Convention** |  **Example** |  
   |  Code and console output |  Use code text. See [Code in text](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/developer-content/code-in-text/). |  `alt="The WordPress mascot Wapuu."` |  
 |  Company-, product-, brand-names, and trademarks |  Title-style capitalization is generally used if there are two or more proper nouns. See [Trademarks](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/formatting/trademarks/). |  WordPress

WordCamp CentralWordCamp Central Website for all WordCamp activities globally. [https://central.wordcamp.org](https://central.wordcamp.org) includes a list of upcoming and past camp with links to each.

 |  
 |  Emphasis |  Sometimes it’s acceptable to use italic text for emphasis. |  Use the 24-hour format only when _absolutely_ needed. |  
 |  Error messages |  Use sentence-style capitalization. Enclose in quotation marks when referencing error messages in text. |  Error Code 345. Do you want to continue? 
 If you see the error message, “Executable not found.” quit and restart the terminal. |  
 |  Filename extensions |  All lowercase. See [Filenames](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/formatting/filenames/) |  `.css``.php` |  
 |  Filenames |  All lowercase. See [Filenames](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/formatting/filenames/). |  `new-cache.php``wp-settings-1.php` |  
 |  Key terms |  Italicize the first mention of a new term. See [Key terms](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/formatting/key-terms/). |  An administrator’s tool of sorts, _phpMyAdmin_ is a PHPPHP PHP (recursive acronym for PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor) is a widely-used open source general-purpose scripting language that is especially suited for web development and can be embedded into HTML. [https://www.php.net/manual/en/preface.php](https://www.php.net/manual/en/preface.php) script meant for giving users the ability to interact with their MySQLMySQL MySQL is a relational database management system. A database is a structured collection of data where content, configuration and other options are stored. [https://www.mysql.com](https://www.mysql.com/) databases. |  
 |  Markup language elements (tags) |  Use bold text in code font. Capitalization varies. |  **`<link>`****`<!DOCTYPE html>`** |  
 |  Mathematical constants and variables |  Use italics. |  _x/y + z = 4_ |  
 |  Placeholder variables |  Use italicized code text. See [Placeholders](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/developer-content/placeholders/). |  `EMAIL_ADDRESS``PHONE_NUMBER` |  
 |  Titles of books, movies, articles, posts, papers, and other full-length works |  Use italics. See [Cross-references](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/linking/cross-references/). |  _The GutenbergGutenberg The Gutenberg project is the new Editor Interface for WordPress. The editor improves the process and experience of creating new content, making writing rich content much simpler. It uses ‘blocks’ to add richness rather than shortcodes, custom HTML etc. [https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/](https://wordpress.org/gutenberg/) BlockBlock Block is the abstract term used to describe units of markup that, composed together, form the content or layout of a webpage using the WordPress editor. The idea combines concepts of what in the past may have achieved with shortcodes, custom HTML, and embed discovery into a single consistent API and user experience. Editor Guide__WordPress 5.6 “Simone”__Getting started with WordPress hooksHooks In WordPress theme and development, hooks are functions that can be applied to an action or a Filter in WordPress. Actions are functions performed when a certain event occurs in WordPress. Filters allow you to modify certain functions. Arguments used to hook both filters and actions look the same.: Introduction_ |  
 |  UIUI UI is an acronym for User Interface – the layout of the page the user interacts with. Think ‘how are they doing that’ and less about what they are doing. elements or strings |  Use sentence-case capitalization. |  Navigate to page 4.  Copy the selected items. |  
 |  URLs |  Use lowercase capitalization for complete URLs. If necessary, line-break long URLs before a slash. Don’t hyphenate.See [Link text](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/linking/link-text/). |  wordpress.orgWordPress.org The community site where WordPress code is created and shared by the users. This is where you can download the source code for WordPress core, plugins and themes as well as the central location for community conversations and organization. [https://wordpress.org/](https://wordpress.org/) |  
 |  Version variables |  Use italics for the variable. |  Version 5.6._x_ |

## 󠀁[Spaces between sentences](https://make.wordpress.org/docs/style-guide/formatting/text/?output_format=md#spaces-between-sentences)󠁿

Leave only one space between sentences; that is, leave only one space between the
sentence-ending punctuation and the first character of the next sentence.

First published

March 2, 2021

Last updated

April 6, 2021

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