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The Basics The most important thing on any website is content. Content is most often displayed using text, and lots of it. The simplest of web pages consists of black text on a white background and nothing more. Here are some basic rules regarding the display of text on-screen:
1. Don't use more than three different types of fonts, preferably no more than two. One font is the best. Too many different styles of text can detract from readability, as well as make the site look very unprofessional. By using the same font on all your pages, you give your site a more uniform look. I primarily use Verdana, size 2 (10-point).
2. Don't center everything on the page. It makes text more difficult to read and, in my opinion, looks very amateur. You should reserve centering for titles, page headers, and graphics. In some cases, centering can be used to make something stand out. Use it sparingly.
3. Don't make your text or font size too big. Web developers with larger monitors and higher screen resolutions often have the tendency to use larger font sizes because they looks like like normal size fonts on their computers. The problem here is that the larger fonts look horrible on systems with smaller screen resolutions. Never use font size 3 or larger for anything other than headers.
4. Do not italicize everything. I have found this horrible, disgusting trend to be more popular than it should be. Italics should be reserved for single words or sentences, as it makes the text look funny and very hard to read.
5. Keep your font sizes consistent! Headers and titles are expected to be bigger than the rest of the content on the page. Nothing is more ugly than having several paragraphs with each paragraph containing a different size font. It is sloppy-looking and makes the page look very amateur.
6. Proofread before publishing. Before putting a page on the web, don't forget to check the spelling and grammar of your work. In writing, it is rare than anyone gets it right the first time around. Remember your English teachers always telling you to proofread? I've seen major news websites have some blatant spelling and grammar errors in their stories because they published too quickly and didn't read over them. Don't be that guy.
Copyright 2001 |
