Respect (and Sell To) Your Elders

* Use large, high-contrast type. The minimum size should be 12- to 14-point type, and it’s best to go with black type on a white background.

* Studies indicate somewhere between 60 percent to 75 percent of seniors use dial-up access to go online. This is a significant factor for your Web designers, who need to avoid using Flash, high-density images that can cause Web pages to load slowly. Most seniors don’t care about bells and whistles anyway; they’re more interested in the information. Your site’s design should focus on speed and content.