Preparing a Document for the World Wide Web

Style Tags

Writing HTML documents takes some planning, but the results are worthwhile. Try to keep your Web documents simple and short--not more than a few screens each. You can link lots of information together, so don't worry about not being able to cover everything you want to say in a few screens.

When you plan your document, remember that readers can jump into it from anywhere. For this reason, try not to use phrases like "as we said earlier." Readers might not have been there earlier!

Line breaks

Dr. Schmidlap
123 Loveless Street
Wilmington, DE 19806

Ordered lists

  1. List item 1
  2. List item 2
  3. List item 3

Unordered lists

Definition lists

Definition term
Definition
Definition term
Definition

Ordered list with lowercase letters

  1. List item 1
  2. List item 2
  3. List item 3

Unordered lists with circles

Preformatted text

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe.
She had so many children, she didn't know what to do.
She gave them some broth without any bread.
She spanked them all soundly and put them to bed.

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children, she didn't know what to do. She gave them some broth without any bread. She spanked them all soundly and put them to bed.

Long quotations

Mary had a little lamb, whose fleece was white as snow. And everywhere that Mary went, the lamb was sure to go. It followed her to school one day, which was against the rule. It made the children laugh and sing, to see a lamb at school.

There was an old woman who lived in a shoe. She had so many children, she didn't know what to do. She gave them some broth without any bread. She spanked them all soundly and put them to bed.
Hey, Diddle, Diddle, the cat and the fiddle. The cow jumped over the moon. The little dog laughed to see such fun and the dish ran away with the spoon.

Spinning a Document for the World Wide Web

Spinning a Document for the World Wide Web

Spinning a Document for the World Wide Web

Avoid the "click here" trap

Better to use a link to the Parking Services at the University of Delaware, than to click here for the Parking Services at the University of Delaware.

"Postage stamp" images

HTML features

Following are some HTML features to help you convey your message.

Design aids for HTML

  1. Formatting tags
  2. Style tags
  3. Special characters
The World Wide Web FAQ answers a variety of questions dealing with HTML and the Web. There is plenty of information available to help you become an expert spinner of Web documents.
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Last updated on June 15, 1999.
Copright (c) 1999 University of Delaware
Comments, suggestions, or questions may be sent to www@udel.edu.