Style text for readability
- Always use left-aligned text for body text
- Avoid centred or right-aligned text
- Never use justified text
- Use readable and readily available fonts
- Sans-Serif fonts like Verdana and Arial are readable and universally available
- Be careful if using Serif fonts (like Times New Roman) for smaller size text because they can be difficult to read
- Serif fonts can be used for large text, such as headings and titles
- Avoid ALL CAPS for body text – all caps is slower and more difficult to read and it LOOKS LIKE SHOUTING
- All caps is acceptable for short phrases and menus, but avoid if possible
- Never use blinking text or marquee text (text that scrolls horizontally across the screen) – it is distracting and difficult to read
- Use underline only for links and nothing else [see 2b]– underlined text is more difficult to read and will be frequently confused with links
Be careful with the use of colour:
- Use high contrast between foreground and background
- Add colour to make information stand out more, but do not use colour alone to give information because some people cannot see colours (for example blind people using software to convert the information into speech)
- Add another cue such as an icon or explicit words [see 5c]
- Avoid red/green combinations in both images and text – these can be difficult to see for people who are colour-blind