Fine Point #3: Use Sans-Serif Fonts

Another way to make your pages more readable is to use a sans-serif font. The serif fonts like Times, Palatino, and New York are good fonts for printing, but on the screen the serifs make them more difficult to read, especially in a smaller font size or on a smaller screen.

Fonts that work well are Verdana, Arial, and Helvetica. You may also review your font listing for other more readable fonts. Not all computers have all the same fonts so you may want to indicate several two or three fonts so you can make sure others see your pages as you designed them.

See for yourself. The first paragraph below is Times, the second Verdana. They are both the same font size. Which would you rather read all day?

  1. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ulliam corper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem veleum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel willum lunombro dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi. Li Europan lingues es membres del sam familie.

  2. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit, sed diam nonummy nibh euismod tincidunt ut laoreet dolore magna aliquam erat volutpat. Ut wisi enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ulliam corper suscipit lobortis nisl ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis autem veleum iriure dolor in hendrerit in vulputate velit esse molestie consequat, vel willum lunombro dolore eu feugiat nulla facilisis at vero eros et accumsan et iusto odio dignissim qui blandit praesent luptatum zzril delenit augue duis dolore te feugait nulla facilisi. Li Europan lingues es membres del sam familie.

Here's how to do it with Home Page | Netscape Composer

This page was designed by Dan McDowell for the Triton and Patterns Projects of San Diego Unified School District. Last updated July 5, 1999.

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