This style is used for the opening paragraph on all pages of the Lake Forest site. It should summarize what the page’s content is all about, in straightforward and friendly language. Opening paragraphs shouldn’t be more than a couple of sentences long.
At a glance, any visitor should be able to quickly absorb the most important information on the page to determine whether they need to take the time to read the entire page or zero in on the information they need. The following represent a basic guide for creating your species page. While you can always add more, the five main headings below are a must. Make use of meaningful subheadings and formatting to guide a reader through the page content.
Physical characteristics
This section Provides the reader with detailed information to identify the species.
Leaf: Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer nec odio. Praesent libero. Sed cursus ante dapibus diam. Sed nisi. Nulla quis sem at nibh elementum imperdiet. Duis sagittis ipsum. Praesent mauris. Fusce nec tellus sed augue semper porta. Mauris massa. Vestibulum lacinia arcu eget nulla. 
Flower | Seeds: Class aptent taciti sociosqu ad litora torquent per conubia nostra, per inceptos himenaeos. Curabitur sodales ligula in libero. Sed dignissim lacinia nunc.
Trunk | Bark: Nulla quis sem at nibh elementum imperdiet. Duis sagittis ipsum. Praesent mauris. Fusce nec tellus sed augue semper porta. Mauris massa. Vestibulum lacinia arcu eget nulla.
Life span: Fusce nec tellus sed augue semper porta. Mauris massa. Vestibulum lacinia arcu eget nulla.
Ecological characteristics
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer nec odio. Praesent libero. Sed cursus ante dapibus diam. Sed nisi. Nulla quis sem at nibh elementum imperdiet. Duis sagittis ipsum. Praesent mauris. Fusce nec tellus sed augue semper porta. Mauris massa. Vestibulum lacinia arcu eget nulla.
Distribution range (maps are key!!!)
Importance to the ecosystem
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer nec odio. Praesent libero. Sed cursus ante dapibus diam. Sed nisi. Nulla quis sem at nibh elementum imperdiet. Duis sagittis ipsum. Praesent mauris. Fusce nec tellus sed augue semper porta. Mauris massa. Vestibulum lacinia arcu eget nulla.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Integer nec odio. Praesent libero. Sed cursus ante dapibus diam. Sed nisi. Nulla quis sem at nibh elementum imperdiet. Duis sagittis ipsum. Praesent mauris. Fusce nec tellus sed augue semper porta. Mauris massa. Vestibulum lacinia arcu eget nulla.
Relationship with other species
Non-human: Nulla quis sem at nibh elementum imperdiet. Duis sagittis ipsum. Praesent mauris. Fusce nec tellus sed augue semper porta. Mauris massa.
Humans: Nulla quis sem at nibh elementum imperdiet. Duis sagittis ipsum. Praesent mauris. Fusce nec tellus sed augue semper porta. Mauris massa.
Pests: Nulla quis sem at nibh elementum imperdiet. Duis sagittis ipsum. Praesent mauris. Fusce nec tellus sed augue semper porta. Mauris massa.
Other interesting facts
Depending on the amount of content and/or what you choose to highlight, interesting facts also works well in the right side bar.
Use bulleted lists to quickly convey information, but don’t overuse them - as this detracts from their effectiveness.
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In general, there shouldn’t be more than one or two bulleted or numbered lists on a page. If you have a page that is burdened with lots of lists, you may want to consider alternative ways of presenting that content.
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One of the best ways to check the style of Web writing is to read it to yourself out loud. If it sounds natural, it’s likely to be good.
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Along with short paragraphs, breaking up a page with subheadings allows a Web reader to quickly determine what information is most important for her needs.
Click here to go back to ES 204 Home Page.
Right Sidebar
Sidebars should be used for content such as…
- Highlighting detais from the main section of the page
- Additional related details
- Add Images that illustrate the page’s subject
- “Did you know?” or “Fun Facts” style blurbs
- Links to more information
- Eastern Cottonwood Example
ES 203: SPRING FLORA OF THE GREAT LAKES
You can highlight additional information here or add more related links.
• You can link to other LFC.com pages
• You can link to an outside url
• You can link to a files such as a pdf