Presenting Mathematical Concepts on the World Wide Web
Think Visually: Screen vs. Page Design

Here are a handful of guidelines for online displays:

• Keep it short.

• Keep it simple.

• Use a hierarchical structure.

• Use lists and categories, not paragraphs.

• Use separate pages rather than large data files.

• Consider offering an alternative format for print use.

• Link to existing information rather than repeating it.

• Keep top priority information accessible from the top pages.

• Use descriptive link names (not "here").

Here are a handful of interesting comparisons:

• Fonts:
  • Print: Readers are most familiar with serif fonts.
  • Online: Reading is easiest with sans-serif fonts.

• Density:
  • Print: Readers are most familiar with, and appreciative of, smooth-flowing prose.
  • Online: Readers are best able to process short, terse lists.

• White space:
  • Print: It's expensive.
  • Online: It's cheap, and helpful.

Finally, remember that experience is a great teacher.

• No matter how many "rules" you learn, as you write you will be making constant trade-offs.

• The best way to learn what works and what doesn't is to view lots of examples of good and bad work, and then to objectively apply the same criteria for judging your own pages as you did to the work of others.