diff --git a/src/models/krate.rs b/src/models/krate.rs
index 146faad160..b0e4a27c40 100644
--- a/src/models/krate.rs
+++ b/src/models/krate.rs
@@ -250,24 +250,29 @@ impl Crate {
     }
 
     fn valid_ident(name: &str) -> bool {
-        if name.is_empty() {
-            return false;
-        }
-        name.chars().next().unwrap().is_alphabetic()
+        Self::valid_feature_name(name)
+            && name.chars()
+                .nth(0)
+                .map(char::is_alphabetic)
+                .unwrap_or(false)
+    }
+
+    pub fn valid_feature_name(name: &str) -> bool {
+        !name.is_empty()
             && name.chars()
                 .all(|c| c.is_alphanumeric() || c == '_' || c == '-')
             && name.chars().all(|c| c.is_ascii())
     }
 
-    pub fn valid_feature_name(name: &str) -> bool {
+    pub fn valid_feature(name: &str) -> bool {
         let mut parts = name.split('/');
         match parts.next() {
-            Some(part) if !Crate::valid_ident(part) => return false,
+            Some(part) if !Crate::valid_feature_name(part) => return false,
             None => return false,
             _ => {}
         }
         match parts.next() {
-            Some(part) if !Crate::valid_ident(part) => return false,
+            Some(part) if !Crate::valid_feature_name(part) => return false,
             _ => {}
         }
         parts.next().is_none()
diff --git a/src/tests/krate.rs b/src/tests/krate.rs
index de46ad4aea..3726852489 100644
--- a/src/tests/krate.rs
+++ b/src/tests/krate.rs
@@ -753,11 +753,12 @@ fn new_krate_bad_name() {
 
 #[test]
 fn valid_feature_names() {
-    assert!(Crate::valid_feature_name("foo"));
-    assert!(!Crate::valid_feature_name(""));
-    assert!(!Crate::valid_feature_name("/"));
-    assert!(!Crate::valid_feature_name("%/%"));
-    assert!(Crate::valid_feature_name("a/a"));
+    assert!(Crate::valid_feature("foo"));
+    assert!(!Crate::valid_feature(""));
+    assert!(!Crate::valid_feature("/"));
+    assert!(!Crate::valid_feature("%/%"));
+    assert!(Crate::valid_feature("a/a"));
+    assert!(Crate::valid_feature("32-column-tables"));
 }
 
 #[test]
diff --git a/src/views/krate_publish.rs b/src/views/krate_publish.rs
index dd8f045fd3..051d6f16be 100644
--- a/src/views/krate_publish.rs
+++ b/src/views/krate_publish.rs
@@ -18,7 +18,7 @@ pub struct NewCrate {
     pub name: CrateName,
     pub vers: CrateVersion,
     pub deps: Vec<CrateDependency>,
-    pub features: HashMap<CrateName, Vec<Feature>>,
+    pub features: HashMap<FeatureName, Vec<Feature>>,
     pub authors: Vec<String>,
     pub description: Option<String>,
     pub homepage: Option<String>,
@@ -51,6 +51,8 @@ pub struct CategoryList(pub Vec<Category>);
 pub struct Category(pub String);
 #[derive(Serialize, Debug, Deref)]
 pub struct Feature(pub String);
+#[derive(PartialEq, Eq, Hash, Serialize, Debug, Deref)]
+pub struct FeatureName(pub String);
 
 #[derive(Serialize, Deserialize, Debug)]
 pub struct CrateDependency {
@@ -102,6 +104,20 @@ impl<'de> Deserialize<'de> for Keyword {
     }
 }
 
+impl<'de> Deserialize<'de> for FeatureName {
+    fn deserialize<D: Deserializer<'de>>(d: D) -> Result<Self, D::Error> {
+        let s = String::deserialize(d)?;
+        if !Crate::valid_feature_name(&s) {
+            let value = de::Unexpected::Str(&s);
+            let expected = "a valid feature name containing only letters, \
+                            numbers, hyphens, or underscores";
+            Err(de::Error::invalid_value(value, &expected))
+        } else {
+            Ok(FeatureName(s))
+        }
+    }
+}
+
 impl<'de> Deserialize<'de> for Feature {
     fn deserialize<D: Deserializer<'de>>(d: D) -> Result<Feature, D::Error> {
         let s = String::deserialize(d)?;