QA Standards

• Paragraphs over 5 lines should not be centered unless specifically requested in the DCT

• There should be a clear distinction in a two column paragraph layout from where the text begins and where the text ends
• All paragraph text should be aligned vertically 
• Body text should align with the other body text (not aligned above or with the heading)

Example:

• In this example, the height variation between the two columns makes it difficult to distinguish where to begin reading

• When the line height is too tight, it undermines the horizontal reading flow and increases doubling. 
• When the line height is too loose, lines of text visually float away from each other.
• A good guideline for line height is 1.8 em, however this will vary depending on the font chosen

• If text is arranged in a two column layout, it must not exceed the height of the screen. In other words, if you have to scroll back up to read the second column, the height of the text column is too great. The goal is to no format websites like a magazine or newspaper.

Example: Acceptable Layout

• Text in two columns that does not exceed the height of the screen view, and does not require the user to scroll up and down, is acceptable.

Example(s): Unacceptable Layouts

• Long blocks of excessive text that requires the user to scroll up and down, is not acceptable.
  (the screen is zoomed out so you can see how much text is present)

• Overall text line length should not be too short or too long.
  • Generally, text line length should be between 50-75 characters to avoid readability issues.

• Text content meant to be together should be formatted as such. Unnecessary line breaks or widows and orphans can cause readability issues.

Example:

• In this instance, line breaks were used inappropriately and spacing between words were not consistently used.

Example:

• In this instance, there was not a line break included between paragraphs

• Paragraph text should be written in sentence casing unless otherwise specified in the DCT

Headings are an important element of any website, as they structure content and text in a meaningful and hierarchical way. Thereby they significantly improve the readability of content for visitors of a site. When users visit a web page, they often scan the text on this page using headings to get an idea of the content and relevance of the page.

This works similarly with search engines. The headings of a page help Google get an overview of the page content and subtopics. Thus headings contribute to search engines’ better understanding of complex documents.

In the example below, there is no clear heading structure.

In this case “Practitioner” should have been the h2, and “Dr. Karuna Peravali” should have been the h3, and styled more appropriately. Then the “Education and Training Excellence”, “Rich Clinical Experience and Expertise”, “Treatment Philosophy and Patient-Centric Approach”, and “Awards, Honors, and Professional Memberships” would be h4’s. When it goes back to another Doctor, “Dr. Ted Ling, it would then need to be an h3 again, and flow in the same way the first section did. The below is not user friendly or follow the appropriate heading structure.