5 Text Based Mistakes

It seems to be coming 'de rigueur' to have some sort of a list on your blog. So here is my list of the top five website text errors.

1. Lack of white space. White space breaks up the page and makes it easier to read.
2. Centered text. I know it is hard to believe but there are millions of lines of centered text. Centered text is OK for titles and headings. And, even there it should b used sparingly. English text is either left justified or fully justified text.
3. Columns that are too wide. Did you ever see a newspaper where the text was the full width of the page? Most magazines use two or more columns. Only books use the full page width. The width of the column is determined by the font size. A 'rule of thumb' is making the column between 40 and 50 characters wide. Also, don't write to the edge of the page - allow a 5 character wide gutter.
4. Font that is too small. OK - the users can alway override your font settings. But why should they have to bother. Having the user reset the font size is going to screw up that nice layout.
5. Dark on dark or light on light font colours. Unless the purpose of the page is to cloak the text from the user, use standard colours for your text and background.