WordPress: Bold and Italics
Overuse of text bold face and italics can often have the opposite of the desired effect. That is, instead of drawing attention to important information, it can make text harder to read and overwhelm the user. Users with visual impairments may also have difficulty with text that is over-emphasized.
Bold
- Use bold for important individual words or short phrases
- Do not use bold for entire sentences or paragraphs
- Do not apply bold to headings (they are already bold).
Italics
- Do not italicize whole sentences or paragraphs.
- Use italics for individual words that need empahsis e.g. I will not be attending due to the severe weather
- TV programs, movies, music albums, books, magazines, plays, journals and newspapers should be italicized: The New York Times, Harvey Mudd College Magazine.
- Online magazines, journals and scholarly publications also should be italicized. Works of art (paintings, drawings, sculptures) are also typically italicized.
- Do not italicize the name of a newspaper or periodical that is part of the name of a building, organization, prize or the like: Los Angeles Times Book Award, Tribune Tower.
- Ship names: We set sail aboard RMS Titanic.
- Taxonomic designation, technical terms and idiomatic phrases from another language are also appropriate for italicization.
How to Apply Bold and Italics
- Highlight the text; a toolbar will appear above the block
- Select either the B or I buttons
Use either bold or italics, not both. If bold and italics are applied to the same text, neither will be shown.
Alternatives to Bold and Italics
If you have some important information in a sentence or paragraph, consider adding a heading above that content to draw attention to it.
Another option is to apply the pre-determined “Highlighted” style, like this paragraph has
- Write the pargraph
- Make sure the cursor is somewhere withiin the paragraph
- In the block settings, select the Highlighted button
