Literate Web Pages

Introduction

"Literate" web pages show an understanding of the medium. They work with readers and their browsers instead of fighting against them.

The Problem

Many web pages are unusable when they appear on a reader's screen. For example:

• Text is unreadable small.
• The reader has to scroll horizontally because text and tables don't stretch and shrink to fit the reader's chosen browser window width.

The Cause

Evidently, many web design designers don't understand the medium, and design pages that defeat intended features of the web.

For example, a reader's browser is supposed to be able to lay out text and tables to fit that reader's preference (how wide that reader makes the browser window). However, many pages are set to a fixed width, preventing the browser from doing its job, and forcing readers to scroll horizontally.

Specifics

Literate web pages...:

• Understand the Medium
• Minimize Horizontal Scrolling
• Think Browser, Not Screen, Size

Literate Web Pages Don't...

Literate web pages...:

• Don't Reduce the Font Size
• Don't Assume a Full-Screen Browser Window
• Don't Use Fixed Page Widths
• Don't Break Lists Into Tiny Pages
• Don't Break the Browser
  • Don't Break the Back Button