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A very important but often underplayed element in website design is web typography. Typography itself is as old as the earliest writing systems and has since
developed into a very specialised field.
Typography originated after the invention of printing from movable type in the mid 15th century and has come along way since then. Today we find a large number of
typefaces on the web.
How you approach typeface in your design, will either enhance or diminish the visual impact of your website. Function and aesthetics are intrinsic in web design and
how well your design works is just as important as how it looks.
New liberty in Web Design: sIFR Text
Creative uses for typeface in web design were limited until recently. Today's new operating systems have made it possible for website designers to move away from the
limitations of using standard system fonts.
Scalable Inman Flash Replacement, better known as sIFR text are giving many website designers creative leeway. In simple terms, sIFR text is a flash rendering
technique whereby designers can replace on-screen text elements with flash equivalents. In order to display correctly on someone's web browser, sIFR requires the
following: JavaScript and a Flash plug-in.
sIFR allows website headings, pull-quotes and other elements to be styled in whatever font the designer chooses. It is Search engine friendly and will display the
website content as text and not an image.
Important Typeface Tips:
The web is saturated with tips on website design and typography. Here are a few tips that can help you with the choice and placement of your typeface in web design.
Space:
Take note of the line spacing/ leading that you give your text. The space between your words will impact the readability of your copy.
Colour
Consider the colour of your design and choose the colour of your text accordingly. The colour of your text should neither overpower your design nor be consumed by it.
Font Size:
Consider the theme and style of your web design and choose the font size accordingly. Certain typefaces have been designed as small fonts and will therefore not have
the same effect if it is too big.
Take into account that your text size should be readable to different users who are making using different browsers and technologies. Don't make your text too small or
too large.
Legibility
Take your user into account. The emphasis in web design today is on user-centric design. Remember that your website is there to communicate information. The objective
is to encourage people to read the information on your site.
Too many fonts
Don't use too many fonts throughout your website, rather make small adjustments to the existing font. This will help you to maintain a sense of continuity throughout
your design. We suggest you use two types of font at most.
Font-smoothing
Any windows operating system lower than vista, does not apply "font-smoothing" as a default setting. This could radically change how the viewers see your text.
The acceptance of website templates as an alternative to website designing can be attributed to the ability of templates in improving the work efficiency of the
webmaster. Of course, they also reduce the costs involved in setting up a website.
Website templates have evolved over the years from simple HTML web page templates to the Flash template designs that allow for dynamic and customized websites. Getting
a website designed from scratch is an expensive and time-consuming process. Moreover, it is not easy to get the right web designer, very often projects get delayed
because of difference in opinion between the web designer and the webmaster and delay usually implies escalating costs. Website templates help to solve this problem by
offering a selection of web page designs at a fraction of the cost of a professionally designed web page.
Multimedia Flash and other professionally designed templates enable webmasters to select from millions of permutations and combinations without having to approach a
web designer. Inexperienced webmasters benefit more from using website templates as it frees their time and allows them to concentrate on other issues regarding the
development of their website. There are many websites that offer templates that can easily be customized to a webmaster's requirements.
Arriving at the right website design can speed up the website development process as after freezing the design, adding content to the website is not very time
consuming and can be accomplished relatively easily. Website templates allow webmasters to pay more attention to this critical aspect of website development, and thus
are more likely to receive traffic from search engines.
As website templates provide a readymade and consistent design for each page; they help in binding a website together, giving it uniformity and coherence, and in
facilitating smooth browsing. Templates are available with editable and uneditable regions so chances of content getting erased are reduced. An important advantage
that website templates offer is the ease with which they can be modified, the HTML and CSS components are not very difficult to master and once the basic website is in
place and online, a webmaster can crystallize his concepts and customize the website to suit his business needs by fine tuning the content or adding JavaScript, if
required.
Thus, website templates, that cost round $50 - $200, are of great help to webmasters in running the website more efficiently. They also allow the site to generate
revenue quickly by allowing the webmaster to sooner focus on producing content, and implementing marketing activities such as web page optimization and competitor
analysis.
