A printed page consists of a text block and margins. Above the text block is the header; below is the footer. The inner margins are rarely used, but the outer margins may contain page numbers, small diagrams, cautions, hints and so on.
Book designers typically choose a text block width and font size to give about 65–70 characters per line. Longer lines can make it hard for the reader to find the right line when they finish a line and skip back to the start of the next.
Pages are thought of in pairs – each pair is made up of a left-hand (verso) page and a right-hand (recto) page, and is called a spread.
Headers and footers
Headers appear at the top of the page and footers at the bottom, separated from the text by a space or a rule. Generally, the document title or part title is shown on the left-hand page (verso) page, and the chapter or section title on the right-hand (recto) page, in either the header or the footer.
Text in headers and footers is usually centred, or aligned by inner or outer margins – that is, so the pages look like mirrors of each other.
Ensure that the font and format of headers and footers are not overpowering (e.g. use a smaller point size or paler font than the main text). Omit headers and footers from the first page of a section or chapter that begins on a new page, and from blank pages and title pages.
Page numbers
Every page has a number, but they are not always shown. When they are shown, they are called folios.
Positioning of page numbers can vary depending on whether you are preparing a document for print or a PDF that will be published online.
If including the page count in the citation of the document on the imprint page, include blank pages, except those that have been included at the end of the document to provide the correct number of pages for printing.
Printed documents
In printed documents, right-hand (recto) pages take odd numbers and left-hand (verso) pages take even numbers. Do not place numbers on:
- the title page or reverse title page
- the part title page or its verso
- any other blank pages in the document (e.g. ends of chapters).
Traditionally, the table of contents and each new section or chapter started on a right-hand page; use an odd-page section break to do this. However, you might choose to start each section on the next page (whether right or left), depending on the publication.
If you start each section in the body of the document on a right-hand page, do the same for each appendix.
Often the preliminary pages (e.g. foreword, contents, executive summary) are numbered using lower-case roman numerals. Count page numbers from the title page (or from the half-title page if there is one). The first page with a folio (printed number) is the foreword; this will be iii if the document has only a title page and a reverse title (imprint or copyright) page preceding it. Arabic numbers, starting at 1, begin on the first page of the main text, often the introduction, which is always a right-hand page.
Some documents may use arabic numbers (i.e. without using roman numerals) throughout the preliminary pages and the main text. This especially applies to shorter documents and documents that will only be published online, rather than being printed.
The positioning of folios can affect that of headers and footers, and vice versa. On the first page of a section or chapter that begins on a new page, the folios may be omitted or repositioned.
Online PDFs
For documents published only online, for online viewing, use arabic numbers throughout. Count the cover as page 1, because this will allow the reader to skip to a correct page when they enter a page number in the PDF reader (i.e. the number they enter in the PDF reader will match the number on the page).
Position page numbers in the centre of the footer.
Because right and left pages are not relevant, start each section on the next page (i.e. do not use odd-page section breaks), so a reader scrolling through the PDF does not see blank pages.