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 Make Your Web Pages Easier to Read
Make Your Web Pages Easier to Read
Computer
screens are hard on the eyes, and their limited size forces users to
scroll. This makes reading online harder, slower and more uncomfortable
than reading on print. Following are a few simple tips that you can
follow to make the experience of reading online easier to your visitors:
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Write less: Try to use at least 50% of the words you
would use in print. Once you finish writing, go back and try to
further reduce your word count.
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Use
plenty of contrast: black type on white background
works best, followed by white text on black background.
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Use
headlines to break the discussion into several
paragraphs. Breaking the discussion into small, manageable chunks,
each dealing with a sub-topic of your discussion, makes things much
easier for readers.
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Online
users don’t read, they scan. Use elements that
facilitate scannability: bolding key words and
phrases, and using bullet points are two examples of this technique.
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Don't
make your lines of text too long. If lines of text run from one side
of the screen to the other they will be very hard to read.
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Try to
convey one idea per paragraph, instead of bundling
them in long, cumbersome paragraphs.
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Use
hyperlinks to present complementary information
instead of trying to include everything in the body of your article.
For example, if you are writing a piece about “search engine
submission techniques”, you may touch the subject of “keyword
optimization” at one given point. If you want to explain what
“keyword optimization” means, hyperlink the words to another page
where readers can find more about that subject.
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Try to
limit your discussion to one short page, instead of
breaking your article into several pages. Most people won't read
through a long article broken into two, three or more pages. If you
have to write a long article, provide a
so that your readers can print the article
and read it off-line.
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Try not
to use small fixed font sizes. When possible, don't specify a font
size at all, so that the default browser size (12pt.) will becomes
active. However, if you want to specify the font size, do it in
percentage terms. That way, your users will be able
to select their preferred default settings, our use their browser's
Text Size menu options to adjust the font size. If you use fixed font
sizes (points), they will not be able to do this. If you absolutely
want to use fixed font sizes because they better preserve the intended
layout of your pages, use sizes of 10pt. or higher.
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Use
font types that are specifically designed for reading on the
web, like Verdana or Georgia.
About The Author
Mario Sanchez publishes The Internet Digest (
) a website and newsletter that gives you free advice on web design
and Internet marketing. |
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