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Subject:Re: Intranet site tips of visuals From:"Clark, Robert" <Robert -dot- Clark -at- SCHWAB -dot- COM> Date:Thu, 7 Jan 1999 12:18:08 -0800
To Lisa (and the group)
I'm sure there are formal studies done relating to fonts and styles of web
pages are most easily read and understood, but finding them on the web, Oy!
I have learned somewhere (forget the source...Sleeper effect) that the most
readable style of font for pages in general, and as such should apply to web
pages is an Arial/Helvetica based font for headings - because without the
"little feet and hands" found on Serif fonts, it slows the readers eye
movement down so they can read the heading slowly and know they are in the
place they need to be. In contrast, a Serif based font, Roman, Times Roman,
etc. was found to be the best for paragraph text because with the little
feet and hands, the eye can move swiftly from letter to letter and read the
text as a string of words rather than a word at a time.
I use this learned behavior exclusively in the documentation I produce and
if you look at templates from RoboHelp and Doc2Help (and I believe some in
Word as well), this usage is consistent.
As a developer of many, many Internet (and Intranet) sites, I have also
found (see Sleeper effect above) that simple is always better. No frames,
no Java, nothing more complex that the lowest common denominator of browser
can support. This bears true especially when porting web files to Windows
CE based browsers and other palm top systems becomes more widespread.
It does not mean we can't develop web pages that have some of these
features. For example, I frequently build false frames using tables as
placeholders for navigation elements. They look like frames, the just lack
the scroll bar and more importantly - users don't have to break out of the
frames and they can print the entire page without having to worry about
printing the wrong frame.
Using mouseover, Active X elements and the like for buttons becomes more
problematic, but if in the web page header, you have browser recognition
elements and design optional, more basic display elements for those users
who are at the lowest common denominator for browsers, you are covered.
I hope that helps.
Robert Clark
Documentation Support
Charles Schwab & Co.
SITE Access Services
415-667-0307
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