Use emphasis judiciously: bold, italic, or CAPITALS are often used to bring attention to text. If overused they will lose their impact.
Do not use all caps.
Avoid italics, which are hard to read online. Use bold instead.
Minimize use of bolded text.
Do not underline text unless it is a hyperlink.
Do not center text: centered text is hard to read. Imagine having to read a book where all the text was centered.
Break up large paragraphs of text with headings and bulleted points.
Use Headers and Subheaders
Use Lists: Most web users don’t read, they skim. Lists stand out and are easy to read.
Do not use “Click Here” for hyperlinked language – use keywords and language that describes what will be found when clicking the link (Examples: “Read more about diabetes/Find out more about diabetes/Learn about diabetes”).
Look for opportunities to link to related content, especially using keywords – if the content is about the flu vaccine, link to the words “H1N1 Flu Vaccine.”
Copy the link URL directly from your Web browser and not from an email message in Outlook. This will lead to broken links.
Check URLs to make sure they are working after you publish your page.
We recommend the use of keywords separated by dashes (i.e., xyz-annual-report.html, new-east-river-virus.html). Do not use underscores (_).
Respect copyrights: Images cannot be used without permission of the copyright holder. An image pulled from a website without the rights to use it cannot be posted on your Web page.