This seems to be a common problem:
When you write a web address at the end of a sentence, should you follow it with punctuation, or use no punctuation? If I use punctuation after a URL will it break the web link or send people to the wrong web address?
For example, should I write…
Who likes www.chow.com?
or just
Who likes www.chow.com
??
In years past this was a real problem, but these days you can stop worrying about it.
Using Microsoft Word, Gmail, Outlook, etc., punctuation will not cause a problem with your links — the software will create an accurate link for you, in spite of any punctuation that follows it.
“URLs and Terminal Punctuation
…When you’re writing a URL on a blog, in an e-mail program, or in some other online environment and the link will be active, you have to be sure the terminal punctuation won’t be included in the address when someone clicks on it or quickly copies it and pastes it into their browser. Many e-mail and instant messaging programs, for example, automatically make everything following http:// active until they reach a space — meaning the terminal punctuation will be included in the address when someone clicks on it, resulting in a broken link. Thus, unless you can control exactly how the address will be rendered, it’s best to leave off the terminal punctuation or rewrite the sentence so the URL doesn’t come at the end.”
From Grammar Girl
Hi Maureen,
Thanks for sharing that! Personally, I don’t agree with Grammar Girl. All of the software I use can handle punctuation after a URL. Plus, it’s not hard to spot an error if it happens because the hyperlink formatting would include, rather than exclude, the punctuation.