diff --git a/appview/pages/funcmap.go b/appview/pages/funcmap.go
index 0ccb070f..26b94b87 100644
--- a/appview/pages/funcmap.go
+++ b/appview/pages/funcmap.go
@@ -297,8 +297,9 @@ func (p *Pages) funcMap() template.FuncMap {
 		},
 
 		"normalizeForHtmlId": func(s string) string {
-			// TODO: extend this to handle other cases?
-			return strings.ReplaceAll(s, ":", "_")
+			normalized := strings.ReplaceAll(s, ":", "_")
+			normalized = strings.ReplaceAll(normalized, ".", "_")
+			return normalized
 		},
 		"sshFingerprint": func(pubKey string) string {
 			fp, err := crypto.SSHFingerprint(pubKey)
diff --git a/appview/state/follow.go b/appview/state/follow.go
index bd4b847f..9e218cac 100644
--- a/appview/state/follow.go
+++ b/appview/state/follow.go
@@ -26,6 +26,7 @@ func (s *State) Follow(w http.ResponseWriter, r *http.Request) {
 	subjectIdent, err := s.idResolver.ResolveIdent(r.Context(), subject)
 	if err != nil {
 		log.Println("failed to follow, invalid did")
+		return
 	}
 
 	if currentUser.Did == subjectIdent.DID.String() {