The Art and Zen of Web Sites ( http://www.tlc-systems.com/webtips.shtml )

Text

The viewing area of your browser is much smaller than a normal printed page, so you may have to reformat your documents to fit this new environment, rather than just dropping an existing document into your HTML editor.

Don't run text the full width of the screen. This creates long lines of text that are difficult to read. Text also needs air around it, to breathe. That's why most printed documents have margins.

You can easily solve these problems by using the "Blockquote'' tag, which gives a margin on both sides of the page. You can nest Blockquotes to vary the width as necessary.

You can use tables to create more complex text layouts such as columns.

You can use dictionary lists ('DL') as a simple way of formatting text that requires indentation.

Don't use long paragraphs of text. It's hard to read these in printed form and, for some reason, even harder on to read on a computer screen. Try to keep paragraphs to four sentences or less.

If you specify a text font other than the default, make sure that the font (or its equivalent) is one that is standard on your visitors' computers. And when specifying one of these fonts, don't forget to specify the equivalent font names for other operating systems and hardware platforms as well.

And try not to put links in your text, especially in the middle of a sentence or paragraph. If you have links that relate to your text, put them at the end, like footnotes. Give your visitors a chance to read your text before sending them somewhere else.

Hard Copy

You might want hard copy because it makes it easier to design and edit your pages. Just like an advertising layout.

It gives co-workers and customers a way to view and comment on your pages. You can print out information rather than writing it down.

You can build a portfolio of your work to use in sales presentations or for advertising.

Your visitors can print out a hard copy of the information on your site for later reference.

If you're using tables to control the layout of your page, they will also have an effect on printing. You can add some control to how the pages print. When printing, the browser may begin a new page if a table won't fit on the current page (just as it would with an
image). Judicious use of tables can force page breaks when the document prints out. But be sure to test this with different browsers.

If your browser has a "Page Preview" option, you can use this to get a preliminary idea of how your pages will print.

If your page has a lot of browser-specific code, it may not print out properly if the visitor has a different browser.

If your page has a black or colored background, it may not print properly.

If your page uses an image for the background, it will probably print without the background.

If your page uses frames, it probably won't print correctly.

But the biggest surprise awaits those whose ultra-chic pages have black or dark backgrounds with white or light-colored text.