Minecraft is unusual here because it has its own formatting system built in, and it is more capable than styled characters for most uses.
Section sign codes handle colour, bold, italic, strikethrough, and underline in signs, books, and server names, and they render identically for every player.
Formatting codes or styled characters?
Use the formatting codes wherever they are supported, since they are built into the game and never depend on a font.
Styled characters earn their place where codes are not available or are stripped, which is commonly your player name in third party lists and some launcher fields.
The Java client renders many Unicode characters, while Bedrock has narrower coverage, so a style that works on one may show boxes on the other.
Where styled text works well
- Server names in a multiplayer list, where a small caps name stands out among plain ones.
- Book and quill titles, where you want a heading style the codes cannot give you.
- Sign text, though the line width is short, so wide styles run out of room immediately.
- Avoid it in commands and in anything a plugin has to parse, since parsers expect plain text.
Tip: I titled a shop sign in wide letters and the text ran past the sign width, so only half of it showed in game. Small caps fitted the same words in the same space and stayed readable from a distance.
Related tools: Roblox Fancy Name Generator , Fancy Games Username Generator and Unicode Fonts Generator .
This page styles text you already have. If you are still working out the name itself, a nickname generator covers that side, and it is easier to pick the words first and style them once at the end.