Take a look at your website and evaluate the way spacing, headers, font, paragraphs, and color are influencing legibility. Could a few design changes make the difference in how your readers are able to process your information? What areas could be improved? What changes should you make? And what other design factors play a role in readability online?

2. If
you
were
designing
for
a
magazine,
you’d
put
great
thought
into
the
layout
of
the
pages,
the
typefaces,
and
the
colors.
Why not take the same considerations
into thought when posting content
online?
In
terms
of
design,
many
of
the
same
principles
are
applicable
to
online
content
as
they
are
in
print.
If
you
keep
these
strategies
in
mind,
your
online
content
will
be
easier
to
read
and
thus
easier
and
more
likely
to
be
shared
or
go
viral.
Let’s get started.

3. Spacing
Almost
as
important
as
the
words
in
your
content
is
the
space
that
goes
around
it.
Space
helps
add
emphasis
to
certain
statements
–
and
makes
the
content
easier
to
read!
Line
Spacing:
to
increase
legibility,
you
may
need
to
adjust
the
space
between
lines
of
text,
as
well
as
spacing
between
words
or
leDers.
White
Space:
don’t
forget
the
space
surrounding
the
content!
More
white
space
means
neater
pages
and
easier
reading
–
parFcularly
on
the
internet
where
readers
are
looking
at
a
backlit
screen.

4. Headers
Headers
draw
the
reader’s
aDenFon
because
they
should
indicate
the
subject
at
hand
in
a
clear
and
concise
maDer.
You
can
customize
the
look
of
headers
in
your
website
by
adjusFng
the
style
sheet
and
using
CSS.
Make
sure
that
your
“headers”
aren’t
simply
bold
or
italics!
Use
the
<h1>,
<h2>,
and
<h3>
tags.
Why?
Google
and
other
search
engines
will
go
through
your
content
and
categorize
your
site
using
these
tags.
The
easier
it
is
for
search
engines
to
figure
out
what’s
relevant
to
keyword
searches,
the
easier
it
is
for
potenFal
customers
to
find
you!

5. Font
Font
is
key
in
readability.
Also
keep
in
mind
that
many
“special”
fonts
aren’t
available
on
all
computers,
so
before
you
code
that
niXy
script
into
your
site,
consider
readability
on
computers
that
might
not
have
that
font.
Generally,
it’s
a
good
idea
to
go
with
sans-­‐serif
fonts
for
the
internet,
as
this
increases
readability.
A
“serif”
is
the
liDle
lines
that
appear
on
some
fonts
at
the
ends
of
leDers.
For
example,
the
font
you
are
currently
reading
is
sans-­‐
serif.
The
typewriter
font
being
used
for
the
header
is
serif.
Most
print
media
uses
serif-­‐based
fonts,
most
internet-­‐
based
media
uses
sans-­‐serif.

6. Paragraphs
Avoid
long
paragraphs
for
media
meant
to
be
consumed
online.
Generally,
a
paragraph
should
be
no
longer
than
three
or
four
sentences.
Paragraphs
that
are
too
long
can
seem
daunFng
to
the
eye.
AddiFonally,
avoid
using
the
tab
buDon
to
format
paragraphs.
The
double
return
between
paragraphs
is
easier
on
the
eye
when
words
are
on
a
screen.
In
order
to
get
this
effect
using
HTML,
use
the
code
<p>

7. Color
Obviously,
don’t
put
hot
pink
text
on
a
black
background,
or
blue
text
on
a
red
background.
Using
creaFve
colors
and
eye-­‐catching
visual
effects
is
fine
–
just
make
sure
you
don’t
sacrifice
the
readability
of
your
content!
It
is
also
beDer
to
keep
from
using
stark
black
with
stark
white,
as
this
has
been
known
to
cause
increased
reading
impediments
in
dyslexics
and
also
is
hard
on
the
eyes
of
anybody.
It’s
beDer
to
use
slightly
off
white
with
slightly
off
black
for
an
easily-­‐readable
piece.

8. Applying the Basics
It’s
a
good
idea
to
take
the
Fme
to
go
through
your
site
and
look
at
your
content
not
only
for
the
quality
of
the
wriFng…
but
the
visual
aestheFcs
and
how
easy
it
is
on
the
eyes.
Ge`ng
your
site
up
the
Google
charts
has
a
lot
to
do
with
content
and
it’s
true
that
content
is
king
–
but
you
need
to
put
the
king
on
an
appropriate
throne
to
make
sure
that
people
noFce
him!

9. Content Equals Money
Content
Equals
Money
is
a
content
wriFng
service
that
serves
a
wide
variety
of
clients
with
top-­‐shelf,
sharable
content.
Our
goal
is
to
work
with
small
companies
in
order
to
help
them
reap
the
same
results
from
content
markeFng
as
the
Fortune
500
companies.
Content
markeFng
is
truly
scalable
and
can
work
for
all
businesses
and
business
sizes!