Sample One- complete Web site edit

I was recently retained to edit a genealogy Web site, the goal being to render the site more legible, while bringing it up to XHTML-Transitional standards. Please click on the pictures to see an original and updated page sample:

Original Updated

Beneficial changes:

No Document Type Declaration (DTD) in original Web page- Using an incomplete or outdated DTD, or no DTD at all, will force a browser into a "Quirks" mode, whereby it will treat the old-fashioned, invalid mark-up and code as per the non-existent industry norms of the late 1990s. The browser will attempt to analyze the pages in backward-compatible fashion, rendering the page as it might have looked in earlier browser versions. Clearly, this is not what one would want, but it is often what will be produced. Image size specifications- The pixel (px) dimensions of images were added to improve the page's loading time. Without such specifications, the browser must calculate these dimensions, causing increased loading time. Typeface- The previous typeface (font) was not only difficult to read but may not have been available on all client or non-client computers. Instead, an industry-wide standard typeface, Verdana, was implemented. Page width- The original text was too wide (vitually no white space). Large distances between the end of one line and the begining of the next, caused the reader to lose track of where he or she was, resulting in loss of comprehension, and reader fatigue. The page (and resultant text) was made narrower to correct the problem.

Sample Two- medical research paper edit

I was commissioned to convert raw medical research data into a publisher-ready format for a medical journal. Please click on the .pdf files to see a sampling of the original and edited versions:

Original research paper

Edited research paper

Beneficial changes:

Color headings- Although not always necessary, a color scheme was added to the document headings as a way of highlighting them, making it easier for those who wished to scan the document for specific content. Spacing improvements- The space between all headings and their associated text was made less than the distance between the same heading and the preceding paragraph. The "connecting" of headings and associated text increased readability. Typeface changes- The original document used the same typeface (font) for headings and text. Headings were replaced with a sans-serif typeface, while body text retained a serif typeface. Word style application- Most people use the "Enter" and "Tab" keys to create appropriate spacing in a document. This is an outdated technique from the days of the typewriter. Modern day word processors utilize "styles" as a way of creating consistent spacing, colors, and typefaces. A custom style was created as a way of maintaining consistency.

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Web site designed by Lee Batchelor