Whether it is a personal chat, business promotion, or any kind of communication on WhatsApp, it is essential to highlight the key information in the text message. This proper formatting of the text messages will significantly enhance clarity, engagement, and impact which will surely capture the reader’s attention.
Why To Format WhatsApp Messages?
Do you want to make your WhatsApp messages pop? Then it’s time to learn how to format the text message (bold, italics, strikethrough, and more). Here are a few reasons that tell you why we need to use text formatting features in WhatsApp.
- Highlighting the text with bold, italics, or other formats will stand out as the key details of the information.
- It lets you express more clearly and thereby enhances the readability for a better understanding.
- It looks professional in work-related or business conversations.
- It quickly grabs the attention of the readers, especially in marketing messages (discounts, offers, or price drops).
- This creates a visually appealing message for effective communication.
Whether you’re using WhatsApp on iPhone, Android, Web, or Mac, these cool formatting tricks will work the same way.
Formatting Style How To Get Example Bold Enclose the text in Asterisk (*) *Hello* = Hello Italic Enclose the text in Underscore (_) _Welcome_ = Welcome Strikethrough Enclose the text in Tilde (~) ~Later~ = Later Monospace Enclose the text in Backticks (“`) “`Okay“` = Okay Bold & Italic Enclose the text in Asterisk & Underscore (*_) *_Good Morning_* = Good Morning Bold & Strikethrough Enclose the text in Tilde & Asterisk (~*) ~*Where*~ = Where Italic and Strikethrough Enclose the text in Underscore & Tilde (_~) _~Shopping~_ = Shopping To Add Bullets Place a Hyphen (or) Asterisk and space before each word or sentence * text (OR) – text = · text Numbered List Place a Number and Space before each line of text. 1. Text 2. Text Quote Place angle bracket (>) and space before the text message > This is a quoted message = │This is a quoted message.
Let’s get into the details to know how to use these text formatting options.
How To Bold Text In WhatsApp?
Highlighting the key information in bold helps readers quickly grasp information in your messages, making them easier to understand than long, unformatted blocks of text.
To make the text bold and highlight key points, follow either of these two ways:
Using Shortcuts
- Open the WhatsApp chat you intended to send a bold text and type the message.
- Keep an Asterisk (*) sign before and after entering the text/message.
- For example, if you want to type *Meeting at 10.30 am* in bold, then you get Meeting at 10.30 am.
- However, ensure there won’t be any space between the asterisk mark and the following word.
- While the text is in bold, the asterisk mark will fade before sending the message.
Using Formatting Option
- On Android phones – Type the text and long-press to select it. Some options like cut, copy, bold, italic, and three vertical dots (⋮) will appear. Select the Bold option from the list to highlight the important text.
- On iPhones (iOS) – Type the message, and long-press to select the text. Tap on the Format option, and select Bold.
How To Italics Text In WhatsApp
Similar to the bold text, you can highlight key information in italics. This is especially useful in highlighting some names or some terms to set them apart from the rest of the message.
There are two easy ways to convert the text into italics:
Using Shortcut
- Type the message you want to send on your WhatsApp chat.
- Add an underscore (_) sign to both sides of the text message.
- Ensure there won’t be any space between this underscore and the text.
- For example, to get italics of this text, type _I found a great article about gardening_ then the result will be I found a great article about gardening.
Using Built-In Formatting
- For Android users – Type the text and long-press it to select the text you want to highlight. Find the Italics option (if not tap on the three vertical dots) and select Italics to convert your text to this format.
- For iOS users – Select the text, tap on the Format option, and quickly tap on italics.
How To Strikethrough The Text In WhatsApp
Strikethrough text means that the text is no longer relevant, incorrect, outdated information, or you’ve changed your mind about something. This simply crossing something out without deleting it.
Using Shortcut
- Type the message you want to strikethrough your WhatsApp chat.
- Add a Tilde (~) mark before and after the text messages.
- Ensure there won’t be any space between the mark and the text.
- For example, type Let’s meet at ~3:00 PM~ 4:00 PM instead, then the result will be Let’s meet at 3:00 PM 4:00 PM instead.
Using Built-In Formatting
- On Android Phones – Type the text and long-press it to select the text you want to strikethrough. Tap on the three vertical dots (⋮) and select “More” options. Select the Strikethrough option from the menu, and the text appears accordingly.
- On iPhones – Tap the format option after selecting the text and tap on the strikethrough option.
How To Use Monospace Font In WhatsApp
Bored of sending messages in the same font, especially if you want to send them to special friends or on special occasions? Then use a refreshing Monospace font to give a message a distinct look. Here is the process:
Using Shortcut
- Open your preferred WhatsApp chat.
- Type the text message and enclose the text within three backticks (“`).
- For example, type “`A reminder: The meeting is scheduled for 11:00 am“` then the message appears like this – A reminder: The meeting is scheduled for 11:00 am.
- Make sure there is no space between the backquotes and text.
Using Built-In Formatting
Whether it is an iPhone or Android phone, the process will be almost the same.
- Type the text in the WhatsApp chat and long press to select the text.
- For Android users, tap on the three vertical dots -> select More options -> tap Monospace
- For iPhone (iOS) users, tap on the Format option -> select Monospace font.
- The text appears in this Monospace option.
How To Make A Bulleted List On WhatsApp Chat
You can also add a bulleted list to your message on your WhatsApp chat either by using shortcuts or the format option.
Using Shortcut
- Place an asterisk (*) or hyphen (-) before starting each line.
- Ensure that there should be a space before each word or sentence.
- Press enter and repeat the same either an asterisk or a hyphen.
- For example,
– text
– text
(OR)
* text
* text
Then the result will appear as
- text
- text
Using the Formatting Option (On WhatsApp Web)
- Whether it’s a list of groceries or some important notes, entering the text in bullet points is quite essential.
- For this, type the list and select the text.
- Then choose the bullet point option and the selected text will appear in bullet points.
How To Make A Numbered List On WhatsApp Chat
Just like adding bullets to the WhatsApp Chat, you can add a numbered list to your message.
Using Shortcuts
- Place a number followed by a dot (.) and space before each line of the text.
- When you tap enter, then it will automatically add numbering to the list.
For example,
- Text
- Text
- Text
Using Formatting Option (On WhatsApp Web):
- Type the text messages on your desired WhatsApp chat.
- Select the overall text message and tap on the numbered list.
- Then the text appears in a numeric list on the chat.
How To Add Quotes In WhatsApp Messages
- To add a quote to the message, place an angle bracket or greater-than sign (>), and space before the text message.
- However, this quoting will help you when you want to cite someone or highlight something important.
- For example, > this is a quoted message -> ǀ this is a quoted message.
- Also, if using WhatsApp web, then simply select the text and tap on the quote option. This makes the text appear in quotes.
How To Add Inline Code To WhatsApp Chat
If you want to share technical information on WhatsApp, then add an inline code to your message.
- Open the WhatsApp chat to whom you want to add inline code.
- Enter the text message with a backtick (`) on both sides of the message without any space.
- For example, type `text message` on your chat, then the resulting message will appear like this
text message
Why Do We Need To Use Formatting Tools In WhatsApp
Using formatting tools in WhatsApp will help the message reach in a better way, and help you communicate properly. Here are a few benefits of using these formatting tools in WhatsApp.
- Readability – Using different fonts like monospace enhances readability and makes messages clearer and easier to understand.
- Highlight Key Information – The use of bold text or italics will highlight crucial details like price, sales, or time-sensitive messages.
- Saves Time & Effort – The use of formatting tools will make the messages structured clearly to prevent miscommunication and confusion.
- Perfect for Professional/Business Account – In the case of using WhatsApp for Business/work, these tools will make the message look more organized and professional.
- Boost Engagement – It efficiently grabs the reader’s attention and thereby increases the response rate with more appealing messages.
- Manual Formatting Shortcut – If you remember these formatting signs, then the manual method is the most preferred option, especially for those who type quickly (or) have to apply it for large content/text.
FAQs:
Some high-end devices won’t display the formatting changes on WhatsApp Web until you press the send or space button. Unlike mobile users, you won’t see the text format change immediately, till the message is sent.
Yes, you can either use any of the above styles directly within the app (or) by using some third-party apps to add other fonts or text styles to the messages. Simply visit the website, enter the text into the textbox, and choose the desired font/styling option. Copy and paste the formatted text into WhatsApp chat.
Yes, follow these two main rules for proper text formatting on WhatsApp.
* No space between the formatting symbol and the text message (e.g., *Hello* but not *Hello *).
* Combine text formatting with signs that are closed in reverse order (mirror the characters). For example, *_Welcome_* but not *_Welcome*_).
* Also, don’t combine monospace font with any other text formatting.
Conclusion
Whether for personal or business use, these simple WhatsApp tricks will take your messages to the next level. Formatting text will enhance readability, engagement, and professionalism. We hope this article helps you in formatting the text properly in your WhatsApp chats. In case of any questions related to WhatsApp, feel free to share them with us. We will respond promptly to resolve your queries.
