The first thing you need to realise when designing either viewing platform, is that the properties of the computer screen and paper are completely different. Looking at a computer screen is like looking at a projectors, and as you would probably know, this gets very tiring on the eyes. This means contrast will be more prominent than reading off of a piece of paper, therefore if you design something that involves a florescent background, or something along those lines, the viewer will be more accepting of this as a printed version rather than onscreen. Although a florescent background on either platform probably wont win you to many points with your reader.
Online reading also means that the viewer cannot see the whole page they are looking at, as generally the screen will simply not allow it. This means it is harder to skim read an onscreen version than it is a printed document. Because of this, it is especially important to included headings, subheadings, page numbers, and headers and footers when designing for online viewing.
White space is a necessary part of any document, but particularly so if it is intended to be viewed online. This means you will need to be mindful of things like line length, line spacing, and paragraph spacing. This not only helps the reader out, it will allow you to draw more attention to things like headings.
As with both viewing types, there is a hierarchy used with typographic content:
- Titles should be larger and more noticeable than headlines.
- Headlines should be larger and more noticeable than subheadings.
- Level 1 subheadings should be larger and more noticeable than level 2 subheadings.
When picking a font for online viewing, you must consider the first point of this article, that reading on a computer screen is harder for your reader's eyes than reading on paper. Sans-serif are usually the fonts most legible online, and you should avoid fonts that have extreme variations in their stroke thickness.
Colour is good in small doses, but use it with restraint. Large areas of colours, especially bright colours, are hard to look at, so keep usage to a minimum. The best way to make a good impression is by using black and a couple other colours. Also effective is using different shades of the one colour to highlight different areas of the page.
Remember KISS (keep it simple silly) will be your best friend when designing your document, and go with your own instinct. If you think something doesn't look right, chances are your reader will think the same thing!
Source: Parker, RC 2003, Looking good in print: designing documents for web distribution, Paraglyph Press, Arizona.
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