Determining the Right Font
Size for Your Written Content
When creating content for
your website, you might feel confused over which
font size to use. After all, font size HTML
settings often don't look the same on every
computer. The lettering and text size can
look very different when compared using large
screen versus small screen PCs, or even on laptops,
iPads and mobile devices! Let's explore how HTML
font sizes work and what the most popular trends
are regarding this function in web
page design.
Heading
Sizes
When creating headings, use
the "header" tags when possible. These are the H1
(for main heading), H2, H3 and so on. These tags
let the search engines know that the wording within
these tags is very important and relevant to your
web page. Your main keywords should also be
included in these headings for SEO purposes. You'll
also want your headings to be bold, but not
necessarily all caps.
Main Text
Sizing
Some webmasters make the
mistake of adding unreasonably small text to their
web pages - they feel it gives a more sleek,
professional look. But unfortunately, it might be
way too small for most web users to read! Just
think...most home Internet users are surfing on
their phones, iPads and laptop PCs - not the big
screens! So for these users, a small "professional"
looking font might look even smaller!
So use sizing wisely for your
main text. This is the presentation you want others
to read...make it easy but still presentable. On
the flip side, don't make the text SO BIG that it
shouts at people or looks like a child designed the
page. You can easily find middle ground when it
comes to font size; HTML
allows for many variations and styles to achieve
the right look for any web page. Keep in mind that
Arial font looks slightly larger than the same size
of the Times New Roman font, so use various styles
and sizes to find what fits.
Varying the Font Size for
Emphasis
Go ahead and make the font
size a little bigger when you need to emphasize a
word or phrase, or even a link. If using a web
sales page, you'll likely emphasize many areas of
the presentation to attract attention to your BUZZ
words. There are several ways to create emphasis
without overdoing it in font size. HTML attributes
such as bold print, dark bright colors (red, blue,
green, etc.), underlines and strikethroughs can all
attract the eyes. You can even make certain words
ALL CAPS to draw attention.
Images
If you want to use large size
fonts to create a "special offer" section on your
page, consider placing the text in an image (such
as .gif or .jpg). You can create banners or images
that appear as text, and then use sizing and other
emphasizing features to make your offer more
noticeable. With an image, you'll have more
flexibility as to where you can insert it on the
page, using text wraparound features so it will
blend with your other reading content.
Specifying Font Size in
HTML
HTML allows for several
methods of sizing your text. You can specific font
sizes in points, such as 2 pt, 4 pt, etc. Or use
basic lettering sizes, such as 10, 11, 12, 14, 16,
etc. For headings, you can simply select H1, H2,
etc. In some WYSIWYG design programs, a + and - are
provided so you can PLUS to make it bigger or Minus
to make the text smaller. In CSS, you can specific
sizing for all your menus in one location to make
editing your site a cinch.
Here's the basic font tag
with a "size" attribute:
<font
size="4">This is Font Size 4 for my
text.</font>
In conclusion, the font size
HTML code you use will ultimately depend on where
on the page the content is located and how you plan
to use the text. If it's your main content, you'll
want to keep it looking as uniform and readable as
possible, with a little emphasis on certain words
here and there. If it's a heading or special link
that you need to draw attention to, then choose the
font size html code accordingly.
Use these ideas to create an
easy-to-read web page that calls your readers to
action every time!
