Web Style Guide: TYPOGRAPHY - Sandhills Community College

Web Style Guide: TYPOGRAPHY
layout programs use a hyphenation dictionary to check for and apply hyphenation at each line's end and
then adjust word spacing throughout the line. But even with sophisticated page layout software, justified
text blocks often suffer from poor spacing and excessive hyphenation and require manual refinement.
This level of control is not even a remote possibility on Web pages. The most recent browser versions
(and CSS) support justified text, but it is achieved by crude adjustments to word spacing. Fine
adjustments are not possible on low-resolution computer displays and are impractical to implement in
today's Web browsers. Also, Web browsers are unlikely to offer automatic hyphenation any time soon,
another "must" for properly justified text. For the foreseeable future, the legibility of your Web
documents will suffer if you set your text in justified format.
Centered and right-justified text blocks
Centered and right-justified text blocks are difficult to read. We read from left to right, anchoring our
tracking across the page at the vertical line of the left margin. The ragged left margins produced by
centering or right-justifying text make that scanning much harder, because your eye needs to search for
the beginning of each new line.
Left-justified text
Left-justified text is the most legible option for Web pages because the left margin is even and
predictable and the right margin is irregular. Unlike justified text, left justification requires no
adjustment to word spacing; the inequities in spacing fall at the end of the lines. The resulting "ragged"
right margin adds variety and interest to the page without interfering with legibility.
http://webstyleguide.com/type/print/type.html (9 of 31)5/17/2005 5:18:39 PM