37. When specifying placement, space between lines, font size, etc., make it easy to read.

Small characters and lines of text which have only a small gap between lines and/or characters are difficult for many people to read. Specify character sizes and gaps between lines which make for easy reading, and also allow the user to change these to his or her own liking.

Example and Implementation

• Character size by using style sheets
  
  • Specify by using style sheets
  • Set relative values that enables the size to be changed in the browser.
• Space between lines
  
  • Specify using style sheets
  • Line-height should be between 160 and 250% in English.

38. Do not use words which are not commonly known: foreign language, technical, acronyms, company-internal, etc.

Foreign language words, technical terms, acronyms and company-specific words are only understood by a select few. Either replace them with general terms or add some notes or comments.

Example and Implementation

• Do not misuse.
• When the technical term first appears, provide an explanation, using brackets.

Bad example: only displaying the acronym

Good example: displaying the full official name in brackets