Should That Text Use the Bold, Underscore, or Italic Tag?

Typography and the overall design of each post that you churn out for visitors to read is an important factor that can help enormously as you are trying to connect with your readers.  A simple change in your font can evoke a dramatic shift in the response that readers give, producing more thought-provoking comments, some of which may give you ideas for future posts or material that you can respond to and continue the conversation.

Before beginning to take a look at the fonts in use at your site, you first need to know the basics of using fonts within your posts.  While I am not referring to the CSS and font styles that have been pre-styled into your template, it is of equal importance that you aren’t using any font that is hard to read no matter what font style you plan on using.

These rules by no means should be considered “standard practice,” but conform with many of the standards that people are looking for when they read your blog.  Adopting a set of “best practices” when writing posts can help you dramatically increase the frequency that people comment on your blog, as they will be tuned-in to what you have to say and will realize that something truly is important every time you make a bold statement.

Note: Only basic tags have been included.  The codes used below should be formatted according to (X)HTML and W3C standards, but haven’t been indicated as so.

The Underscore

What It Does: The underscore (or underline) produces emphasis on a word or set of words, often used for highlighting links (automatically inserted with proper CSS styling) and other text that needs to be dramatically separated from the rest of the text.

When It Should Be Used: Whenever you need to create a dramatic and sudden shift in the text, such as the headings in a short list when all items are on the same list.

To Produce the Tag: Highlight over an item, then select the underline button in your blog editor; otherwise (sometimes) Control/Command+U.  HTML tag: u

The Emphasis (Bold) Tag

What It Does: Creates an “exaggeration” of the text that it has been used on.  It sets apart the selected text from the rest of the document, making it stand out more prominently.

When It Should Be Used: The bold/emphasis tag should be used  in the case that you need to separate text from the rest of an entry, as the text is darker than the surrounding text.  One of the best ways to use the text is for people that want to quickly scan over your post, so you’ll want to highlight key phrases and words that should be addressed.

To Produce the Tag: Use the button in the blog editor with the bold representation; otherwise use Control/Command+B.  HTML tag: b or strong

Italic Type

What It Does: Italic type is a typeface based on cursive handwriting, similar to calligraphy, with a slight slanting to one side.

When It Should Be Used: This font face should be used to separate a single word, meaning that the word deserves extreme significance.  It should also be used for the names of ships, poems, foreign words and taxonomy, individual letters, defining terms, or a thought process.

To Produce the Tag: Use the italic representation in your blog editor bar; otherwise use the Control/Command+I keys.  HTML tag: em or i

The Strikethrough

What It Does: Creates a horizontal line through text that you have specified.

When It Should Be Used: This format should be used perhaps the most sparingly, as you can easily exclude content from the post completely.  You should use it to indicate that something has been deleted or excluded, but that the reader should still know about it (text is readable through the strikethrough).

To Produce the Tag: Use the strikeout button in your blog editor.  HTML tag: strikethrough or del

The Heading (Basics)

What It Does: The heading tag creates larger font sizes than your default font.

When It Should Be Used: They should be used to separate content, including lists, and separation of different subjects.  Ideal for readability and search engine purposes - H1 through H6 tag.  You can use the H3 tag, then the default (paragraph) tag for highly organized content.

To Produce the Tag: Use your blog editing software, if it is included, otherwise use the following HTML tags: H1 through H6 tags

CAPITALIZATION OF ENTIRE WORDS

What It Does: Produces a shouting, or extremely pronounced effect when offset by the rest of your content.

When It Should Be Used: Sparingly.  It indicates that you are shouting online, unless used in headlines or header elements.

To Produce the Tag: Caps/Shift Key

Code

What It Does: Removes formatting of text, unless combined with other tags.

When It Should Be Used: Ideally, it should be used for inserting code into your posts, so the WYSIWYG editor doesn’t strip out code that should be displayed.

To Produce the Tag: Use your WYSIWYG editor or the code HTML tag.

Other Tags to Use

Maximum accessibility and readability should be your top priority whenever you write a post.  These tags should also be used, formatted much like typical tags.

• dfn - Definition terms.
• samp - Defines sample computer code.
• kbd - Defines keyboard text.
• var - Defines a variable.
• cite - Defines a citation.
• blockquote - For inserting text from other sites or others’ speeches.
• list tags - li, ol, and ul items (sometimes in the WYSIWYG editor)
• Again, there are hundreds of others, but these are the main ones that people use when blogging or writing text online.

Conclusion

The main point of this post was not to intimidate anyone into overusing the tags–they should always be used appropriately for the benefit of your readers; addressing the design and readability aspect of your site.  These tags are not completely necessary, but it adds a touch to each post that allows you to separate your content from other sites, even though you may be blogging in a crowded niche.

In some cases, it is required that you use particular font formatting, such as italics for the names of works of art, so these areas should always be addressed when you are writing content.

Through the use of CSS and other conditional tags (WordPress themes), as well as on single post pages (editing the HTML), you can fully customize the view of each individual post page.  Finally, the main idea to remember is that text not separated, bunched together in a single paragraph is a reader’s worst nightmare–readers often avoid this type of post.  Add separation to at least a few words in your blog posts!