LinkedIn allows you to format and style your text in several ways to make your posts and articles more visually appealing. Using basic HTML tags, you can format text to be bold, italicized, hyperlinked, organized into lists, and more. Proper text formatting helps highlight key information, break up large blocks of text, and improve the overall readability of your content. In this comprehensive guide, we’ll walk through all the main text formatting options available in LinkedIn and provide examples of how to use HTML tags to style your text.
Formatting Text Basics
Before diving into specific HTML tags, let’s first cover some basic principles for text formatting in LinkedIn:
– LinkedIn allows a subset of HTML tags that you can use to format text. Most common tags like for bold, for italics, and for hyperlinks are supported.
– To use an HTML tag, you simply enclose the text you want to format between an opening and closing version of the tag. For example: bolded text
– Make sure to use opening and closing tags correctly. An opening tag needs a closing tag. Failing to close tags properly can cause formatting issues.
– Limit use of formatting tags to focus only on text you really want to highlight. Overusing tags can make text hard to read.
– You can use multiple HTML tags together like bolded italics text
– View your formatted posts in preview mode to catch any formatting errors. The text editor doesn’t alert you if tags are used incorrectly.
Bold and Italics
Two of the most basic and popular text formatting tags are bold and italics. Here’s how to use them:
To make text bold, enclose it in opening and closing bold tags:
This text will appear bold
For italics, use the italics tag:
This text will show up in italics
You can also combine both bold and italics together:
This text will be bolded and italicized
Try to use bold and italics sparingly to highlight occasional important keywords and phrases. Overusing them can make text feel cluttered. But when used well, bold and italics help reinforce key points.
Hyperlinks
Adding hyperlinks is easy with the anchor tag:
The href portion sets the destination URL. Place the text you want to appear as the link between the opening and closing anchor tags.
For example:
Check out LinkedIn Learning for more tips.
This generates a linked text “LinkedIn Learning” that sends users to that URL when clicked.
Some tips for hyperlinks:
– Use descriptive, keyword-rich text for the link itself like “LinkedIn Learning” instead of just “click here”
– Make sure the linked URL works and goes to the correct web page
– Open links in a new tab so users aren’t taken away from your content by adding target=”_blank” in the opening anchor tag: Link text
Well-placed hyperlinks make your posts more useful by citing sources and allowing readers to dive deeper into topics.
Line Breaks
To add line breaks in LinkedIn posts, use the
self-closing line break tag:
I’m learning how to format text on LinkedIn.
This line break was inserted with a
tag!
Line breaks are useful for logically separating different paragraphs or sections of text in long posts. They improve readability by breaking up big blocks of text.
You can add multiple sequential line breaks to add more space between sections:
This is the end of one section.
And here starts a new section with more space between.
Use line breaks judiciously. Too many unnecessary line breaks can make text disjointed. But their selective use improves post organization.
Ordered and Unordered Lists
Formatting text into numbered or bulleted lists is a great way to break up and organize information.
For numbered ordered lists, use the
- ordered list tag:
- List item 1
- List item 2
- List item 3
- Bullet point 1
- Bullet point 2
- Bullet point 3
- list item tag
– Nest numbered and bulleted lists by putting indented lists within
- tags
– Leave blank lines between list items for better readability in the text editor
Lists help present information in bite-sized segments that are easy to scan and digest. Use them whenever you have a set of tips, steps, or key points to share.
Highlighted Text
To highlight important text, you can use the inline container tag:
This text will have a highlighted background
The key is setting a background-color style within the tag. You can use any hex color value.
Highlighted text draws users’ attention to critical keywords, phrases, or passages in a large block of text. Use highlighting strategically and minimally for optimal effect.
Subscript and Superscript Text
For scientific and mathematical notation, subscript and superscript text comes in handy.
Subscript text uses the tag:
H2O
Superscripts use the tag:
x2 + y3
This formats chemical formulas, footnotes, and other subscript and superscript notation precisely.
Paragraphs and Headings
Paragraphs and headings provide textual structure.
Paragraphs are denoted using
tags:
This is a paragraph of text separated out from other paragraphs.
Adding paragraph tags organizes long posts into discrete, readable sections.
Headings use heading tags like
for top-level headings,
for secondary headings,
for tertiary headings, etc:
Heading 1
Heading 2
Heading 3
Headings help break long articles and posts into logical sections based on topic or theme for easier readability.
Horizontal Rules
Insert horizontal rules or dividing lines using the
self-closing tag:
Here is some text above a horizontal rule.
And here is some text below it.
Horizontal rules are useful for visually separating sections of text from each other with a clean dividing line:
Tables
You can insert tables using the
tag:Column 1 Header Column 2 Header Row 1, Column 1 Text Row 1, Column 2 Text Row 2, Column 1 Text Row 2, Column 2 Text This generates a table with column headers and rows:
Column 1 Header Column 2 Header
Row 1, Column 1 Text Row 1, Column 2 Text
Row 2, Column 1 Text Row 2, Column 2 TextTables allow you to neatly present and organize tabular data into rows and columns. They keep information tidy and easy to scan.
Text Color
To change text color, use the tag with a color style like:
This text will be blue
Supported color options include hex color codes (#000000) or HTML color names (blue).
Colored text can highlight important keywords but don’t overdo it. Restrict color use to occasional words or phrases to maximize impact.
Text Size
Use the tag to change text size as well:
Bigger text
Smaller text
Specify any font size in pixels. As with text colors, use larger and smaller text sparingly to highlight small pieces of text. Avoid changing sizes frequently.
Conclusion
Those cover the main HTML text formatting tags and options available in LinkedIn. Following HTML best practices will ensure your text renders correctly:
– Use opening and closing tags correctly and nest them properly
– Validate with preview before publishing
– Check for broken formatting from unintended tag interactions
– Be judicious and strategic with text formatting for maximum impact
The ability to format text with HTML gives you added stylistic options for your LinkedIn posts and articles. Use them to highlight important information, improve readability, and make your content more visually engaging.
Key Takeaways:
– Use basic HTML tags like to format text as bold, italics, links
– Organize text with lists, paragraphs, headings, rules, and tables
– Change text color, size, and background highlighting for emphasis
– Preview posts to catch any formatting errors before publishing
– Limit use of formatting tags for optimal readability
This generates:
1. List item 1
2. List item 2
3. List item 3
For bullet point unordered lists, use the
- unordered list tag:
Which outputs:
– Bullet point 1
– Bullet point 2
– Bullet point 3
Tips for formatting lists:
– Make sure each list item starts with an opening and closing