Text is the primary content for most websites. Web designers do not typically write the text themselves, but rather receive it from the client organization. This text comes from sources like brochures, press releases, and internal documents. The designer's job is to prepare the text for the web by editing it in a word processor. This involves removing unnecessary formatting and features that do not translate well to the web, as well as proofreading for spelling and grammar errors. Permission must be obtained to use any text that the designer did not author themselves.

1. Preparing the Elements: Text Gathering and PreparingText, Numbers and Images Linda C. Morosko, 2008 The Web Wizard’s Guide to Web Design, James G. Lengel

2. Preparing the Elements: Text Primary source of content in most sites…TEXT Style and display are important The user needs to be comfortable Linda C. Morosko, 2008 The Web Wizard’s Guide to Web Design, James G. Lengel

3. Sources for Text Web designers don’t compose text The organization will supply the text for the site Usually from their communications, public relations or marketing departments These folks are professional writers! The text, is often called copy You may need to provide guidance on what text works best on Web pages Linda C. Morosko, 2008 The Web Wizard’s Guide to Web Design, James G. Lengel

4. Sources for Text Text may come from: Brochures Flyers Internal documents Press releases Annual reports Linda C. Morosko, 2008 The Web Wizard’s Guide to Web Design, James G. Lengel

5. Sources for Text If the document is in printed format You may need to scan it or retype it in order to retrieve the text Most scanners come with OCR (optical character recognition)software OmniPage or TextBridge It would be preferable to request the text in an electronic format Generally as a word processing file If the text exists on the Web: Copy and paste it from the screen Linda C. Morosko, 2008 The Web Wizard’s Guide to Web Design, James G. Lengel

6. Sources for Text You could also interview folks and write the content yourself. Be sure they proof and approve the content before the site is published Warning: If you didn’t write it, you don’t own it. It belongs to the person, company or organization Whether or not a site has a copyright notice, the content belongs to the author You must request permission to use Linda C. Morosko, 2008 The Web Wizard’s Guide to Web Design, James G. Lengel

7. Tools for Editing Text The text won’t come in Web-ready format They are often too long Written in the wrong style for Web communication Use a word processing software to edit the text. Linda C. Morosko, 2008 The Web Wizard’s Guide to Web Design, James G. Lengel

8. Tools for Editing Text Word processing formats differ from Web formats You will need to edit the text to remove the items which don’t work on the Web Linda C. Morosko, 2008 The Web Wizard’s Guide to Web Design, James G. Lengel

9. Tools for Editing Text Turn on the Show/Hide button of the software Remove: Paragraph returns (only one return after each paragraph) Any extra line spacing Tabs Columns Indents Justifications Remove most of the formatting Check spelling and grammar!!!! Linda C. Morosko, 2008 The Web Wizard’s Guide to Web Design, James G. Lengel