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When you start editing your content, you see content that is set against white, a good solid border, and a good clear font. Using the default font from your system gives you the best chance for readability. We all love that old saying, “Keep it simple stupid.”
Why choose a dark background?
Your audience uses phones, smartwatches, and tablets; not only do you need your content to be visible and easy to read, but there is also the issue of contrast with their device background.
Black text on a dark background works! Black text on a white background works better!
Nowadays, the best practice for dark text on white background is a dark grey that matches the background, rather than the black text we all learned with. This is called Greyed Out in web design.
There are some great guides in this article that cover the proper use of dark backgrounds.
3 - Font Style
Now that you have a dark background and a readability theme, the next step is the font style. Font style is the first thing the eye focuses on when looking at your content. Don’t use too small a font or too small of a color.
You should consider a size of 14px and above when making decisions about your font style. It is most important to choose a text that is readable. This means it needs to be large enough to be visible, but small enough to be comfortable to read. It’s up to you to choose how to balance out these two needs.
If you are choosing to use the default system font on your website, usually the size 14, 12, or 10 is recommended. If you would like to use your own font, you should measure the text and compare the size of your preferred font style. Remember, size 20 is a lot of extra space so there should be some compromise.
How do you find the correct text size? There are two options:
1 - Use the web developer tool (Firebug). This tool allows you to measure a particular text in the browser window.
2 - Use a unit converter. There are many websites that can do this measurement for you; here are some examples:
Once you have the correct font style and size you want, all that is left is to format your text to your liking. A very easy way to do this is by using the HTML or Markdown tool to do all of the formatting for you. Markdown uses the same codes you use in your favorite text editor. You can preview what it will look like by clicking preview under the tools in the editor.
This is also a great way to get someone else on the team involved in this process. You can create a document in Markdown and just send that to your co-workers. They can make edits and create a document that you can upload to the server. Be sure to save backups as these text documents are easily changed.
If you want to use Markdown and don’t use a server-side system to host your content, then there are options to use for free. You can use a cloud-based solution like WordPress and Google Drive to keep track of your document. Just be aware of any file size limits.
4 - Color
Color is an integral part of any design. In some instances you can choose to forego a colorful layout and go for a much simpler design with two main colors, but this should not be the case. Even if you only have a white and a black text, you should consider your color palette.
Colors are a much bigger part of your site. Don’t be afraid to choose colors you don’t like. You may not like the color of the sea or your favorite shade of green, but you will soon grow fond of it and think of it as your signature color.
When working with your color palette, choose one of the three: primary, accent, or neutral. Your site’s basic layout and the information your visitor wants to read should be the main focus of your site. Secondary features are important but should not be the focus of your site. Your third feature can be your branding color but should blend in with your other two colors.
5 - Font
Last but not least, font. There are two things you need to consider in regards to font for your website: size and color.
For the size of your font, there is a rule of thumb that you can use to determine your letter spacing.
The average width of your letters is about 0.75 inches. The length of your letters can vary depending on the font.
What does this mean for your website? You should try to have a minimum spacing of 1em between all of your text. You can have a wider spacing for headings and body text.
For the color of your font, your choice should fall in line with your chosen color palette. If you choose two colors, then your font should be compatible.
Here is a list of websites to help with the font.
How to add images
Now you’re all set up and ready to go. If you’ve made it this far, I have high expectations for your future, so I’ve included some handy tips to help you on your way. These tips are focused on photos in particular, but if you’re uploading a document, just change the word photo to document and you’ll be all good to go.
1 - Resize images to make your website load faster
By resizing images you are able to remove files with low quality or high file size. This can help you meet your website file size restrictions. Many web hosting companies specify a file size limit that you are allowed to upload to their server.
2 - Add a width and height
The ideal way to resize an image to optimize its dimensions is to put the image into an image editor. Images look best when the entire image is visible, so use your image editor to crop, resize, and crop your images again to remove empty space. Make sure your images are at least 400x225px.
3 - Use JPEG instead of PNG
Compared to JPEG, PNG files take longer to load and take up more space on the server. JPEG files can be reduced by as much as 50%, sometimes more. Because of this, you can shrink images without losing quality. Most image editors offer tools that resize images, so try to do the most resizing there is.
4 - Optimize your images
If you’ve done your image editing right, now you have an image with a minimum width of 400 pixels and a maximum width of 900 pixels (or 1.5:1 ratio) that is in JPEG format and named “image.jpg”. What else can you do to improve its loading time?
1 - The biggest speed-up comes with reducing the resolution
Instead of reducing the size of your image, try reducing the resolution first. Lower the resolution of your image by half, which may be achieved by using “-thumbnail” as the name of the file.
2 - When you’re satisfied with the image, resize it down to make it smaller
JPEG images are always larger than they need to be, so once you’ve selected your image, you can reduce it by adjusting the Width and Height in your image editor. This will reduce the size of your file and improve its speed to load your website.
3 - Optimize the color palette of your photo
You should reduce the number of colors that your photo contains as much as possible. A better resolution reduces the number of colors in your photo
