Web Team: Contribute Resource Guide

Formatting Text

The CAES Web site and templates use system-wide standards for formatting text. In order for important accessibility features to work and to keep a consistent page design, the default font face, size, and color should not be manipulated.

Font

All template pages should use Verdana for primary text and headings.

Font Color

The font colors must not be changed. Multi-colored text is distracting and may cause certain users to miss important information.

Formatting Headings

• Headings organize content in order of importance.
• Headings provide your user with a means of scanning the page.
• Headings help your Web site be accessible to alternative browsers.
• Headings out of context should provide a basic outline of your page.

The following headings are used in the CAES templates:

• Heading 1 - for the basic page grouping, this should only be the very first line of text within your content
• Heading 2 - for page headings, this is immediately under the page grouping
• Heading 3 - for main subheadings within your content
• Heading 4 - for secondary subheadings within your content

To use these headings in Contribute, simply highlight the text and choose the appropriate heading (from Heading 1- Heading 5) from the Style drop-down menu.

Note: Heading 1 and Heading 2 should not be used for any subheadings on a Web page. These headings designate important elements on your page and should only be used once. In addition, no heading styles should be applied to paragraph or content text.

Aligning Text

The content area within the CAES templates is designed to be left-aligned.

Underline, Bold, and Italics

Do not underline text within your content for emphasis. On the Web, an underline must be reserved for linked text only. In addition, reserve the use of bold and italics for special emphasis on text. Large sections of text with bold or italics applied can be difficult to read.

Additional Text Styles

A number of additional styles are provided in the Contribute style menu. These are:

• newSection – use this to clear images or text from the line above. Use this to correct items that float or obscure content.
• head – use this to visually indicate headings in tables or use this with Heading 3 to create a shaded heading (figure b). This can be used to designate sections of a newsletter.
• listing – use this on text underneath “head”. This style indents paragraph text to align with text in a “head” heading (Figure 15). This can be used with “head” to format text in a newsletter.
• line – use this with Heading 3 to create a horizontal line underneath the heading.
• smallerText – use on text that you would like to make smaller than the content text. Most often, this would be applied to captions for images or figure descriptions.