Website Design : Are You Using Text In The Right Way?
By Mark Walters
Of the many different website design considerations, text is one of the most important, yet it is also one of the most neglected. You can have the best layout and graphics in the world, but if visitors to your site cannot easily read the information that you are giving them then they will not stay on your website for more than a few seconds. Fortunately, getting the text part of your website design correct is not difficult. All you have to do is adhere to these guidelines…
- Do not use small font sizes as visitors to your website will click the back button on their web browser straight away. You may have good eyesight but many people do not. Going with a font size of 11 or 12 is generally recommended for the main body of your website content, and you should make your sub-titles and heading at least a font size or two larger. Be consistent too, by ensuring that you use the same font sizes for your content, sub-titles and headings throughout every page of your website.
- Only make use of fonts which are available on all computers, such as verdana and arial. Whilst you may not consider these to be the most visually appealing fonts, they are the most practical ones to use. One reason for this is that they are the easiest fonts to read on a computer screen; in fact, the verdana font was specifically created to be read on computer screens, rather than to be printed out. Another reason is that if you choose a random, fancy font, then many computers may not have it stored, in which case the computer will automatically select another to display your website in, and so you cannot be sure how your website will render on other people’’s screens.
- The color(s) you use for your text should sharply contrast to the color(s) you use for your background. Black text on a white background is the easiest color scheme for people to read, but it is not necessary to limit yourself to that if it does not suit the overall style and color scheme of your website design. If the background color is light, then use black, or dark gray, text, and if the background color is dark, then use white as the color for your text. Using non black, dark gray or white text very rarely works, so be extremely careful if you are intent on making your text a different color.
About The Author
This article was written by a website design expert who has more than 10 years experience in the industry. He is currently doing website design in Rye, NY and can be contacted at http://kinneymedia.com