diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index cc04d41c..05e6d801 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,10 @@ The format is based on [Keep a Changelog](https://keepachangelog.com/en/1.0.0/),
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Fixed
+
+- Links with non-whitespace characters preceeding them are prefixed with a space ([#695](https://github.com/jpanther/congo/issues/695))
+
 ## [2.7.3] - 2023-10-31
 
 ### Fixed
diff --git a/layouts/_default/_markup/render-link.html b/layouts/_default/_markup/render-link.html
index d0d013ae..e8799b1a 100644
--- a/layouts/_default/_markup/render-link.html
+++ b/layouts/_default/_markup/render-link.html
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
-{{ $link := .Destination }}
-{{ $isRemote := strings.HasPrefix $link "http" }}
+{{- $link := .Destination -}}
+{{- $isRemote := strings.HasPrefix $link "http" -}}
 {{- if not $isRemote }}
   {{ $url := urls.Parse .Destination }}
   {{ if $url.Path }}