Google Page Creator: Working with Text

One of the nice features of Google Page Creator -- although it can also be one of the drawbacks of the program -- is that once you select a layout for your site, all the necessary text boxes will automatically be included and formatted. All you have to do is add the text.

But what if you're not happy with the font or the size of the text? It's easy enough to change them. FIrst, highlight the text that you want to change. Then, from the toolbar above the text window, select the Font button or the Size button, as shown in Figure 1.

When you click one of these buttons, a drop-down menu appears. Select the change you would like to make from the menu, and the text you have highlighted changes according to your choice.

Like changing the layout of the page, however, this effective only on a single page. So, if you want to change all the text on every page of your site to a different font, you need to highlight and change the text in each text box on every page. It's a pain, but for consistency's sake, you should make sure that the text is consistent in appearance and size throughout your site.

Most documents have some type of text structure that aids in the reading of the text. This about a book, for example. When you pick up a book, you can tell immediately that chapter titles will be in a specific size and type of font throughout. Depending on the book, different types of text might mean different things -- italicized text may mean there's a quote you should pay special attention to, whereas bold, left-aligned text may identify sections and help you see quickly what the text following will be able.

This is all text structure, and just about every document has some kind of structure, even if it's not a good one. For it's part, Google Page Creator gives you some textual structure controls to help you create -- and readers to read -- the text for your site.

These controls are used for functions such as creating a heading, subheading, or minor heading, or for switching back to normal text after creating one of those other elements.

How you use the controls is entirely up to you. But remember that when creating a web site you should keep the end user in mind. Design your site in such a way that it's easy to read and is consistent throughout. You might want to take some time to surf around the Net and look at how sites similar to yours are designed.

Text can be an interesting and evena vital part of your web site. Keep in mind that some fonts are easier to read than others. The designers who created Google Page Creator templates have already set up a textual structure for you. Unless you really hate it, don't change it except to add things such as headings and subheadings to the text.

[This article is excerpted from Google Powered: Productivity with Online Tools by Jerri L. Ledford (ISBN: 978-0470109656, Wiley, Jan. 2007).]