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LibGuide Design: Best Practices and Guidelines

LibGuide Design

Best Practices for text

Avoiding small font sizes ensures usability of LibGuides. Use the following typeface and minimum text size: 

  • Typeface: Arial, or default text

  • Tabs text size- 16pt 

  • Body text size- 14pt 

Headings are a useful visual aid, allowing readers to quickly skim a page to identify the content they are looking for. This is also true for people using screen readers. 

  • Do not use headings to apply formatting to non-heading text. 
  • Use the correct heading level. Every page should have one and only one heading level one (h1). This heading should provide the title of the page.
  • Do not skip heading levels. For example, a heading level two (h2) should not be followed by a heading level five (h5). (It is fine to skip from a lower level back to a higher level, such as from h5 to h2, however).
  • Avoid changing the font size. If you need headers within a text box, use Heading 3 and Heading 4 in the rich text editor, or use <h3> and <h4> tags in the HTML.
  • Underlining text that is not a hyperlink is best avoided as it causes confusion.
  • Use bold or italics in the rich text editor (or <strong> or <em> tags in HTML) to indicate emphasis. Use these tags sparingly. When using HTML, avoid older-style bold <b> or italics <i> tags as they denote style rather than importance.