Punctuation is one area in which web typography is particularly poor. While HTML character entity references make it easy to use typographically correct punctuation, many web authors settle for the simplified punctuation present in the ASCII character encoding.
Quotation marks and primes
The ASCII character encoding includes single and double straight quotation marks, which serve as substitutes for a range of characters. In each case, one of the following characters should be used instead.
| ‘ ’ |
‘ ’ |
These two characters are opening and closing single quotation marks, and are usually curved or slanted in comparison with straight quotation marks. The character used as a single closing quotation mark also functions an an apostrophe. Single quotation marks are sometimes used for quotations, but are more often used to indicate a use–mention distinction (referring to a word itself rather than the concept it represents), introducing neologisms, or indicating an ironic or unusual use of a word or phrase. An apostrophe is used to indicate possession or to show omitted letters. |
| “ ” |
“ ” |
These two characters are opening and closing double quotation marks, and are usually curved or slanted in comparison with straight quotation marks. Double quotation marks are usually reserved for quotations, but occasionally are used in the same situations as single quotation marks, as described above. |
| ′ | ′ | This character is a prime, and is usually slanted in comparison with a straight quotation mark. Primes are used to represent the units feet (in distance), arcminutes (in angles), and occasionally minutes (in time). |
| ″ | ″ | This character is a double prime, and is usually slanted in comparison with a straight quotation mark. Double primes are used to represent the units inches (in distance), arcseconds (in angles), and occasionally seconds (in time). |
Hyphens, dashes, and minus signs
The ASCII character encoding includes a hyphen character, which also serves as a substitute for a range of characters. Hyphens are used in compound or split words. In other cases, one of the following characters should be used instead.
| – | – | This character is an en dash, and is usually longer than a hyphen. En dashes are used in ranges and connections (for example, Spring–Autumn 2007 or Torquay–Brixham ferry). |
| — | — | This character is an em dash, and is usually much longer than a hyphen. Em dashes are used in parenthetical statements (as an alternative to using brackets) or to indicate a relation between two clauses (as an alternative to using semicolons). |
| − | − | This character is a minus sign, and is usually longer than a hyphen and set higher than a hyphen or dash. Minus signs are used to represent subtraction or negative numbers. |
Other characters
There are several other characters not present in the ASCII character encoding that can improve web typography. These are described below.
| … | … | This character is an ellipsis, and usually resembles three full-stops but with reduced spacing. Ellipses are used to represent omitted words, pauses, or the trailing off of a sentence. |
| × | × | This character is a multiplication sign, and usually resembles a lower case x but set higher. Multiplication signs are used to represent multipication or cross products. |
| ÷ | ÷ | This character is a division sign, and usually resembles a dash with dots above and below. Divisions signs are used to represent division. |