Website Font and Colour Research

I have been researching different fonts and colours recommended for websites. www.buildyourwebsite.co.uk suggests that there are two main things to consider when deciding on a suitable website font:- Font Typeface, and the Font Family. There is also Font Size but the website explains that the font choice is up to you as there is no perfect font size. The website says that fonts fall into one of two typeface categories; these are either serif or sans-serif. The website says that the ‘serif’ typefaces are easier to read on paper, and are used in newspapers and books, but the ‘sans-serif’ typefaces are easier to read on a computer screen. The website also explains that when building a website I need to remember that the computer displaying my web page must have the fonts installed in order to display the page correctly. So I need to be using a popular font like Arial, Times Roman, Verdana or Georgia which is installed on all computers so that everyone can read the content on my website. This is very useful information that I didn’t know before using this website. I will take this into consideration when building my website.
Here is a screen shot of the website I used with the relevant information :)

I used another website called 'www.newbiewebsitedesign.com' which discusses the best text/background colour combinations to use in websites in order to improve the usability and the overall design of the website. It advises that a website shouldn't have white or light text on a black or dark background. It also warns that the use of 2 colours with little contrast between them, such as two tones of blue, would be difficult to read against a background of a similar colour. Another choice which this website advises against is having black text on a yellow background as this can cause eye-strain; there is a useful example of black text on a yellow background on the website which proves this.

This is a screen shot of the second website I used.

All the information I have found will affect the way that I design my own website as it suggests a limit in the combinations of colours that I can use in terms of font and background colour. I think that it will be a good idea to use the same or complimentary colours for the font/background to the logo of my website in order to increase the effect of the branding and brand recognition in the website. However I’ll have to take into consideration the overall effect that these colours will have. I have decided to use Arial font as it is bold and clear for good usability. I have also decided to use bright colours against a black background. I like this as it produces an effect which makes the colours look almost like lights, or like fireworks in the night sky which most people find exceptionally eye catching. I find bright colours like lime green and bright pink create a fantastic contrast with a black background, it produces a funky modern feel which is what i wanted for my website. I will use this colour scheme for my logo so everything will link. I will also use this theme when producing my magazine advertisements, I think that if people get used to this colour scheme they are more likely to remember my website and TV channel.