Websites Need To Be Readable
After searching for a while for a project I am working on, I came across a site that was perfect as far as having the information I needed. Problem was, I couldn’t read it. The background and text colors were so similar that it made it next to impossible to see it. So I left and kept searching. It got me to thinking though and I thought I would share those thoughts on how to make your site more “readably” attractive to your visitors. 1) Consistency Make all your pages look and feel the same way. Not only is it more esthetically pleasing to the eye but having all you major components (like menus) in the same place not only makes navigation easier when people are wandering around your site but a visitor can get use to the layout faster making them more comfortable with your over all site structure. 2) Format using CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) One file controls all the elements in your site and with one change you can affect all the pages in your site at once. You can set site wide font size, header tag size, font color and so much more this will go along way in adding that element of consistency. 3) Font Size Make the size big enough to read. Keep in mind that not all people have perfect vision. 12-pt is usually the limit and any smaller becomes difficult. 4) Contrast Make sure your text color and background color contrast greatly. This allows the text to stand out and become easier to read. 5) No Long Text Segments Break the text up by using smaller paragraphs. (3-4 sentences). Maybe add sub headers or titles to break up the larger chunks of text. Bullet lists to change up the way it all may flow together. This will allow visitors to scan the content quickly and get to the parts that interest them the most, faster. 6) Spelling This is my biggest pet peeve of all. With all the spell checkers available, dictionaries online and even browsers checking spelling, there is no need for something to be misspelled. It takes little time to set up a site to be consistent and easy to read and follow. A little common sense and some planning and you will benefit with visitors that stay longer and leave happier. Word of mouth is still one of the best advertisers and can be both a positive and negative influence, so take the time to ensure the buzz on your site is positive. Popularity: 7%
Friday ~ July 07, 2007 by OMS Posted in Website Design |
“Comments”
Having an attractive layout will also help your article become more popular and maybe even go viral because many people won’t even give a chance to a huge block of text or one that is hard to read.
