How to use a Non-Breaking Space in WordPress

A non-breaking space allows you to add a space between two words that prevents an automatic line break (line wrap) at its position.

They’re commonly used where amounts, such as dollars are separated using a space or when typing a brand name.

When using Microsoft Word it’s as easy as typing Ctrl + Shift + Space – but it’s not at easy in an HTML WYSIWYG editor such as in WordPress.

To use non-breaking spaces in WordPress in you need to apply some PHP code to your WordPress installation, as shown below:

If you’re not sure where to place this code I highly recommend you read How to create a WordPress plugin for your custom functions.

function itsg_allow_nbsp_in_tinymce( $init ) {
    $init['entities'] = '160,nbsp,38,amp,60,lt,62,gt';   
    $init['entity_encoding'] = 'named';
    return $init;
}
add_filter( 'tiny_mce_before_init', 'itsg_allow_nbsp_in_tinymce' );

You can then follow the steps below to insert a non-breaking space into a WordPress post.

1. With the post open, click on the ‘Text’ tab at the top of the WYSIWYG editor
2. 
3. Locate where you need the non-breaking space, it’ll be harder to read since it’s the source code – not the formatted text.
4. Once you’ve located the place, remove the normal space and add the following code

5.   

6. BEFORE
7. 
8. AFTER
9. 
10. You can nowclick on the ‘Visual’ tab to return to the visual editor
11. Click Publish/Update to save the changes.

If you would like to make the key combination automatically create non-breaking spaces, as it does in Microsoft Word – see WordPress – How to automatically insert Non-Breaking Space using Ctrl + Shift + Space