Please note this article was first published in 11 Feb 2010. Its content may now be out of date. We recommend taking a look at more recent website building blog posts or check out our comprehensive support pages. If you are looking for information on our 14 day free website builder trial we have a large number of webpages that guide you throug the process.
The information you include on your web pages can make the difference between a customer getting in touch and/or going elsewhere. Your text content should be informative, clear, non-fussy, descriptive, easy to read and most importantly… interesting! When you build your website using your Reason8 website builder, you have a whole bar of options to make sure that your text is laid out to the best advantage. It’s vital to make sure that your pages are clutter free and easy to read.
One of the worst things that you can do as a website builder is to have pages full of boring, endless text with no format or structure. No one will read the information hidden within the mass of text and it could even push visitors to leave the site altogether rather than struggle trying to pick out the information they need from a confusing mountain of words.
Your Editor is designed to make the job of formatting and structuring your content as easy as possible. There are few basic steps you can follow to add simple structure to your pages, so that reading them is more of an effortless pleasure rather than a laborious task.
First - Try splitting your content into relevant paragraphs rather than one huge block of text. Your content will instantly be easier to read.
Second – Add headings and subheadings to break up the content. This also works to introduce various sections of information and makes it easier for visitors to quick scan the page to see what information is offered.
Third – Add images of good quality and relevance. They’re a great way to break up the page and work as a great team with text to provide quick and detailed information. They do say that a picture is worth a thousand words and where web pages are concerned, that’s absolutely correct.
Fourth – Add Formatting and structure to your text to highlight the various areas of information and make it easier for visitors to find the information they need quickly.
The formatting options include:
Format – Normal Text or Headings; 1, 2 and 3 (Heading 1 being the biggest). Avoid setting all your text in a heading format though as this will defeat the object.
Font – Choose from 6 typefaces: Arial, Comic Sans, Courier New, Tahoma, Times New Roman, and Verdana. Choose one typeface and stick to it for the main content. A different font can be used for headings but avoid using any more than two fonts on any one web page.
SIZE – Sizes from Small to HUGE offer a great way to make text stand out. For the bulk of your text, use small or medium and use the larger sizes for headings or important statements.
BOLD – Text is thicker and darker. Italic – text slants to the right. Underline – A line under the text.
COLOUR – Choose the colour for your text from a colour grid or a full colour chart. For a clean design, avoid using more than 3 colours on a page.
HIGHLIGHTED Text – Lay a block of colour over a word or line of text to highlight.
INDENT – A paragraph or block of text really stands out from the main body of text when indented.
BULLET points – Great for lists of information. Each line is prefixed with a bullet point and the whole list is indented.
HORIZONTAL LINE – Separate different sections of information with a thin line across the page.
JUSTIFY – Left, Centre, Right and Block. Each paragraph allows individual positioning.
The best way to use these options is sparingly. Don’t overdo formatting otherwise your page could end up being even more difficult to read. Less is More where text is concerned. Start with a nice clean set of uniform paragraphs in one main colour and add structure to your page by using just a few of the various options.
Please remember, this article was first published 11/02/2010. The content may be out of date and you cannot post comments any more. Please check out our new blog.
We have been in business since 2003. Back when the founders of Facebook were still in college, we were writing code and helping our users create great websites.
If you need help, why not check out our huge selection of videos, step-by-step guides and knowledge papers.
We have helped many thousands of our customers create great looking websites. Take a look at a few examples, created using our website builder.
These days, websites without background videos run the risk of appearing old-fashioned. Even dinosaurish,
There’s nothing wrong with dinosaurs, or with looking like one. Dinosaurs are cool. Unless they’re chasing you of course.
But our new background videos have landed, exploded and changed the game. They have wiped out the old standards for beautiful websites, and have replaced them with a new standard that will leave all other websites looking like fossils.
Luckily, both our existing clients and our new ones have access to this brilliant new feature we’ve introduced, and we’d like to share its benefits with you today.
A superhero is only super because he or she stands out amongst the crowd. If we were a planet of flying, teleporting, time-freezing super-strong aliens, then we wouldn’t think there was anything super about us. When it comes to using formatting methods such as bold, italics, capitals or centering, all of these little text-enhancing superheroes will only stand out if they are used sparingly, in the right place, and when absolutely necessary…
Reviews, testimonials, recommendations – we all seek reassurance in them. We might even skip past the good ones just to see if there are any bad ones.Other people are sources of information for us. They can tell us whether this product or service is actually any good or not. Reading their testimonials builds trust in your business.
If I have multiple domain names, will my website rank better on the search engines? Will I be more likely to draw in extra traffic? Will my website become a supercharged powerhouse bursting with domain names that will become a magnet for new business? The answer might not be quite as positive as you would expect, but hopefully we can answer your questions during this article…
Choosing a domain name for your new business may not be as simple as you think. Most people just use their company name, but unless your branding is well recognised, this may work against you…
Is it possible for your business website to look too good? Too polished? Too slick? Too posh?
Perhaps it depends on how slick and posh you already are.
“If a customer fills out a form and adds their email address, what can I do with it?” This is a terrible question, asked by non-GDPR compliant cavemen and cavewoman who still think it’s OK to treat other people’s info as if it’s their own…
You are building a GDPR-friendly email list, and now you want to start sending out newsletters, the professional way. Where do you start?
“Don’t sell your product. Solve their problems.” Mark Cuban’s wise words sum up the art of selling – it is about helping people, fixing problems and improving the lives of others…
iF we’re honest, not many people will accuse you of clownery for not having a proper business email address. But they might not call you professional either…
Building a professional website to grow your business should be easy and seamless from start to end. We offer to build your business website for you, in four easy steps…
When July 2018 hits, Google Chrome will make sure a strong warning will pop up on any website that has not yet updated from “http” to “https”. The warning will include something along the lines of “Website Not Secure”. Here’s how to avoid it.
We are the DotGO: where everything is included and everything is managed for you, all at no extra cost.
We design websites to grow your business and wow your customers.
We are a UK company filled with passionate website designers and clever writers.
Friendly, professional and fast customer service is at the heart of everything we do. Our designers and unique technology make your website quick, responsive and secure, giving you the best chance of ranking well on Google.
If you need a shop, our own powerful ecommerce platform integrates beautifully. We train you to use our simple tools to update your website yourself. Our UK support team are on hand to provide sensible support and advice whenever you need it. We even power your professional email service, so you stay in contact with your customers by phone, tablet or computer.
Oh, and the best bit? It's cheaper than you may think, and we can get started right now.