More website problems...
We are most accustomed to reading
black text on a white background. Scientific studies have shown that standard fonts such as Arial or Times Roman have easier readability. Resist the temptation to be creative when it comes to text. Color combinations besides black and white are possible but remember the contrast between the background and the text is most important. Don’t use heavily patterned backgrounds or dark colors.
How we write our website content is very important. Studies show that web readers are far more likely to "scan" the text than read it word for word. Savvy web users are learning to filter through the "information overload" that has flourished since the Internet became a household word. Users are looking for visual clues to the location of specific information and will expect to find them quickly or they will move on.
Writing for the web requires that we introduce information with concise and abbreviated statements. We may start with bold headings or a list of the contents in the site. This may be a function of the navigation buttons or of brief summaries of products or information inside. We may use other visual clues, such as graphics or colored text to draw attention to key information. From there we can hyperlink to more detailed information and pictures. Depending on how much information we wish to present there can be two to four levels of detail.
Larger manuscripts or documents should be broken down into smaller sections, much smaller than we would divide the chapters of a book. We should provide frequent cues to the content of sections with headings or callouts. It is ideal for each section to take no more than a single screen on the computer although that is not always achievable.
