One of the first things I commonly see in an entry-level designer is enthusiasm for crazy fonts, color combinations, and overly busy backgrounds. If a 20/20 vision reader has to slowly scan or squint to read your work, how accessible must that page be for those with poorer vision, or partial color-blindness?

With that said stick to your san-serif fonts for web materials. Times types (anything with “tails” in their typeface) were originally derived from print, and they are best used for just that. Studies show that fonts like Helvetica, Arial, Verdena etc. communicate a professional and credible tone to a reader. With that said, unless you’re trying to pull off the newspaper/magazine feel on the web, stick to san-serif fonts.

A large trend in the Web 2.0 boom is to use shades of grey for font color instead of black. I’m no exception as your reading a shade of grey right now. Make sure you don’t make your grays too light! Going back to the vision analogy, not everyone can see perfectly! When in doubt bring in someone with less than perfect vision for some trial under fire, I’m sure your dad won’t mind critiquing you next time he visits anyway!

Also, unless you’re really set of using a black background, use a white or cream background with a black/grey typeface. It’s just easier to read as the amount of contrast isn’t as dramatic and stressful on the eyes. You’ll be hard pressed finding a credible online publication that requires a lot of reading that uses a white font color on a black background, there’s a reason for that! Any and all contrast on a website or publication should be used strategically.