Unicode Superscripts vs. Real Markup
Dedicated superset number characters exist and are surprisingly handy for footnotes:
¹ ² ³ ⁴ ⁵ ⁶ ⁷ ⁸ ⁹
When you control the markup, however, the better approach is to superscript a normal digit yourself:
<p>This next word<sup>1</sup> has a footnote.</p>That form keeps the character selectable in CSS or JavaScript, so you can target it for special styling or behavior. You’d likely also wrap it in an anchor that points to an ID further down the page containing the footnote explanation.
When a Plain Paragraph Isn’t Flexible
HTML-based superscripts aren’t always practical. In the WordPress Gutenberg editor, for example, default paragraph blocks expose formatting options like bold, italic, and strikethrough—but not superscript. Switching a block to HTML just to add one superscript number is more hassle than it’s worth, which makes a Unicode character like ¹ the pragmatic choice.
- A caveat: Gutenberg also can’t attach an ID to a link, so offering a “jump back” link from this footnote back up to the reference isn’t really practical there.
