All About Slashes

Slashes are very important in web design. So, let's make sure you know which ones you're talking about.

Chances are, when we talk about Slashes on the web, we're not talking about this guy:

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We're probably referring to a character on the keyboard.

Slashes come in two different varieties, forward slash and backslash.

Forward Slash

/ The top of the forward slash points forward. Forward slashes are located on the same keyboard key as the question mark.

Forward slashes are very common on the web. We use them in URLs for websites. Behind the scenes, they indicate a folder.

We also use forward slashes in HTML. In fact, you've already seen them. Forward slashes are what we use to indicate a closing tag. Ex: </body>

Backslash

\ The top of the backslash points backward. Backslashes are located above the return key on a Mac keyboard.

Backslashes are not used when speaking of web sites, URLs, and HTML. Forget about them.