Dakota State University Web Style Guide

Body Text

The body area for text and images must have a white (or light-colored) background with black text in Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif font. If is is not feasible to have a white background, a light colored background that contrasts with the DSU logo and/or text is required. Reverse text (dark background with light colored text) is not an acceptable option for the body area. This formatting technique causes eye strain and is very difficult to read on some computer monitors, particularly older models.

Custom fonts are discouraged. When site visitors encounter a custom font on a website, the client browser determines which font to use. If custom fonts are inserted into a website, and that particular font does not appear in the client's font library, web browsers insert the most appropriate font as a replacement. This technique will cause pages to appear distinctly different from the intended format. Acceptable fonts are sans serif fonts such as Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif. For web use, these fonts portray a crisp clean look. When designing documents meant for printing, Times New Roman is recommended.

The size of the text is based upon other elements in the page. This page is coded in size 2 (10pt) and works well for items that contain a copious amount of text. Text used for description or labeling is typically larger. Use discretion when placing text. View published pages in as many browsers as possible and at differing screen resolutions. The most common browsers suitable for testing are listed below

Firefox
Mozilla
Internet Explorer
Opera
Safari

Hyperlinks should be underlined and colored the standard blue hyperlink color. Non-hyperlink text should NOT be underlined. Underlining text that is not a hyperlink may cause confusion. Hyperlinks are typically underlined in web navigation styles. Use bold or italics to provide emphasis in writing styles.