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Consider Font and Page Size When Writing for the Web
By Clinton R. Lanier (c) 2010

Font type and size. What boring elements, but what
important ingredients in any written communication. We
often don't notice font, even when we can't read it: it's
almost completely transparent.

Writing for the web however forces us to use a completely
different set of rules, and those rules created for hard
copy writing don't really apply any more. For example, when
writing for print you should really use a Times-like font
when writing, because the slight serifs (the small marks at
the end of each leg of a letter) allow the reader to
quickly separate and identify the letters more quickly than
any other letter. This is part of the meta-information of a
document: it facilitates meaning without meaning something
itself.

However, the rule is different for the web. Researchers
have found that sans-serif fonts, specifically Verdana or
Helvetica, work the best. People can more easily read on
the screen when using these fonts. Thus, when setting font
type, these are perhaps the best used.

Actually many specify "verdana, sans-serif;" just to be
safe. In such a case if verdana is not available, the
available sans-serif will be displayed. This might be a
trend, after all web design is design after all, but
research has demonstrated that sans-serifs seem to enhance
understanding when reading online information.

Maybe it has something to do with how we read online. We
scan for information, when we find that information we
concentrate on it, and then move on. We tend to skip to
topics sentences throughout a page. Thus, perhaps words in
san-serifs stand out more. And because we aren't reading an
immense amount of text, we don't need the same strategies
we use when reading hard copy documents (with which we
typically read much more than we do online anyway).

With regards to font size: larger is not better! Large
fonts make for awkward reading, and it is difficult to use
the space effectively to find the information we're looking
for when the words are too big. A font size of what would
be equivalent to 11 pt typically are the best. Sans-serif
fonts tend to be larger, so scaling it back down
from what we would normally use on hard copy (12 pt) is
needed anyway.

You can use bigger font sizes, of course, for headings and
titles, but try to limit the amount of larger font sizes
used: it actually detracts from understanding and it's hard
to see the entire screen easily when the font size of any
element is large.

Using colors with text is tricky. Web designers used to
erroneously think that bright colors would attract people
to read something. They also felt that some type of rainbow
effect was useful or would be catchy somehow. It was
actually more kitsch than catch.

The rules of contrast apply especially to screen. Light
background and dark font need to be used to effectively
communicate. Because we scan screens for information, you
need to use effective contrast to highlight information. We
will quickly miss important information that blends in with
the background.

The size of the page, and the amount of text on it are also
extremely crucial to aiding people in their task of finding
and understanding information. As we graze over a web page,
we are scanning back and forth for specific pieces of
information. Thus, long paragraphs tend to hamper our
attempts. The more information we put in a paragraph, and
the longer it is, the more people have to scan.

This will cause a couple of things to happen. People will
either get frustrated and leave, or they will not find the
information they need because it's buried under a layer of
text they don't need. Thus breaking up the paragraphs into
smaller, more manageable chunks of information--usually by
subtopic--is necessary to help people find information.

Many experts recommend what's called the upside-down
pyramid approach to organizing information. Unlike hard
copy writing strategies, where we introduce a topic and
gradually get to the point, we want to quickly give the
important information at first and then fill in the
details. Readers will first read the important info,
perhaps the first or topic sentence of a paragraph, and
then determine what they want to read next.

Also, the length of a page can be a detriment to design.
Long, scrolling pages are harder to navigate as well,
according to many studies. Users would rather skip to the
next page, just like when reading a book, than scroll
through a bunch of information they don't need. We don't
use things like papyrus scrolls anymore, after all, so it's
hard for users to adjust to finding information in that
manner.

To enhance the amount of information the user gets, we need
to also try to constrain the viewing information as well as
the amount of information we are giving. Thus, the viewing
size in which the primary information is given should be
reduced. This makes the reading task more familiar to users
because, again, it's more like reading hard copy, which is
how we were originally taught to read: small pages with
small bits of information. We weren't originally trained on
the landscaped rectangles we use to view web pages on, thus
it just doesn't seem natural.

Writing for the web isn't hard, it just takes a different
set of considerations than writing for print.
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Clinton R. Lanier is a professor of web design and
technical communication in Las Cruces, NM. An expert in web
design, usability, interface design and technical
communication, he regularly consults as a web designer and
communication consultant. Contact at
http://www.lanier-infomedia.com
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