Be prepared 
An important aspect of successful brand communication lies in the consistent use of the company style. This goes for your web site as well so before you start making a style sheet, make sure you have a complete list of all the elements that contribute to your particular company style: the fonts and colours used, the shape and characteristics of special elements like bullets, and so on. When there is no official documentation of these items, approach your communications or marketing department for exact specifications. Whatever you do, don't start guessing.

Because the Internet is a specific medium with its own characteristics, it is important that you test all the elements that make up your company style on their 'Internet worthiness'. Some fonts for example simply don't work on a computer screen. Very important in this respect is that if you do intend to change something, make sure you test it and be consistent in the change. The best way to go about this is to make a big dummy page where you use all the different style elements in ever way you are going to use it on your site (titles, subtitles, logo, buttons, forms, tables, ...). That way you can immediately see if your specifications form a consistent and harmonious whole.

The making of 
As soon as you have a definitive list of all the elements you can put them in a style sheet. Again, don't do this randomly but make sure there is a certain logic in the order of the different classes. A good tip: write comments in the style sheet. (Note: These comments have to be placed between /* and */ and not <!-- and --> like on a web page).

The names you give to the different classes are very important for the manageability and readability of the site. Use simple, easy to understand names that say something about the use of the class. Because some browsers (like Netscape) are case sensitive when it comes to classes, we advise you don't use capitals. Important to know is that not all browsers are compatible with all characteristics and specifications of style sheets (see 'Master Grid').

A lot of web builders forget that a substantial percentage of the population suffers from a visual disability (colour-blindness, nearsightedness, …). Because many of these people choose to view a web site in a larger font than the standard one, it is important you use percentages instead of absolute font sizes in your style sheet. It is extremely frustrating for a visually disabled user when he cannot adapt the font size. Try to also make sure your site is still readable without the use of the style sheet: some users prefer to use their own choice of fonts and font sizes and disable the use of the style sheet.

The implementation 
We highly recommend to describe the use of a style sheet in a style guide. A style guide not only makes it easier for two or more people to work on a web site at the same time, it also makes future changes and adaptations a lot simpler. A style guide typically contains detailled information about which classes are used for which elements of a page layout and also how they are used. Although it may all seem very evident and logical the moment you are making it, using screenshots and HTML code as examples is not a luxury if you want to make a document that can be used for future reference.

Els Aerts & Karl Gilis

A more in depth version of this article has appeared in Tips & Advies Online Ondernemen, year 5, number 15 (Belgium and the Netherlands).