Underlining and the Web

Underlining
It’s generally not a good typographic practice to use the default underline function in most applications including the <u> tag in HTML. Many designers believe that underling is not an appropriate method for adding emphasis to text.  It’s a holdover from the days of typewriters when other forms of emphasis, like bold text or different colors, were not available. On the web there is a convention that underling denotes a hyperlink so many web designers feel that underling should only be used to represent hyperlinks. Website users may get confused if they click on underlined text that is not a link. Bold ( <strong> in html) or italics (<em> in html) are more valid ways of emphasizing text. In HTML the <u> element, used for underlining,  was deprecated in HTML 4.01. It returned in HTML 5 but has a different semantic meaning.

One or two spaces after a sentence?

Two spaces after a sentence is a holdover from the days before computers and desktop publishing. Typewriters used mono-spaced fonts where every letter had an equal amount of horizontal space. Adding two spaces after a sentence made mono-spaced lines easier to read. However most every font on a PC or Mac uses proportional typesetting so typing two spaces after a sentence are no longer needed yet old typewriter habits still continue. In proportional typesetting skinny letters are given less space than wide ones, white space between letters takes on a balanced appearance. Without the extra white space characteristic in mono-spaced type, breaks between sentences stand out in proportional typesetting without the need for two spaces after a line. Here are some articles with more information on the issue of one or two spaces after a sentence:

http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2011/01/space_invaders.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sentence_spacing
http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/how-many-spaces-after-a-period
http://desktoppub.about.com/cs/typespacing/a/onetwospaces.htm
http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/spaces-period-end-of-sentence.aspx

Typography Tips & Resources

5 Typography Do’s and Don’ts Everyone Should Know

Top Ten Web Typography Sins

Underlining for Emphasis?

Underlining in Professional Typesetting?

Typography Rules Designer Should Know

Ideal Fonts for Brand Logos

Illustrated Glossary Of Typographic Terms You Should Know

15 Best Web Safe Fonts That Work With HTML & CSS – from 5/8/17, by Robert Mening from WebsiteSetup. Arial is one of the most widely used fonts.
A Comprehensive Guide to Typography Basics – from 6/9/16 by Ed Wassermann of EvatoTuts+. Explains the differences between serif and sans serif typefaces.
Job Satisfaction in the Work Place infographic  – 2017 from Strategies Corporation. An example of nice typography in a poster/nfographic.