Web pages are filled with text. Sometimes the information is organized neatly in a visually appealing way that makes it easier to read. Other times it can be jumbled up and confusing to navigate. It’s important that text is simple to read, well organized, and that fonts and styles are used properly. And doing this is easy when you use a word processor like the one you can download from openoffice.org.
Fonts
Choosing the right font can make all the difference. Fonts fall into two main categories: serif and sans serif. Serifs are the little embellishments on letters, like little “feet” on a capital A. Serif fonts, such as Garamond or Times New Roman, are easier to read because the letters naturally flow together, making them a better choice for body text. Sans serif fonts, such as Helvetica or Gill Sans, have straight edges and are more difficult to read, causing your eyes to pause and linger as they move across the page, and are good for headlines and titles.
Headers
Headers help break up large blocks of text, and clearly point out separate ideas.
Bullets and Numbered Lists
Whenever you have long lists, use bullet points or numbers. They help break out specific information and list it in a way that’s easy to understand.
Example:
§ Important fact
§ Another important fact
§ A third important fact
Bolded Text and Italics
Italicized text is great for conveying internal dialog, setting apart text in a different language, or stressing certain words. Consider the different meanings in the phrase “love your pets, don’t love your pets.”
Bolded text can be used in similar ways.
Links
The most commonly recognized formatting for web links is blue underlined text. Most programs will format links automatically.
Consistency
The single most important thing when formatting text is to keep your style consistent. If each page looks different from the rest, your text will end up looking sloppy and thrown together at the last minute.
