How do you create a web page for reader mode?

Question

What do I do to take advantage of Reader Mode in browsers to present a simplified, cleaner version of a web page?

I've used Google looking for information on how a page is coded or otherwise set up for reader mode and I have not found anything. Is there a document or web page somewhere that explains reader mode and how to set up a page which can take advantage of it?

Answer 1

There are no standards for how reading mode works, and it works quite different from browser to browser. You can help ensure reading mode works well with your sites by sticking to conventions for your document title, and providing certain metadata elements. I’ve documented this in detail here.

Answer 2

In theory: Do nothing.

Site authors generally don't like Reader mode - it hides their adverts, and throws away the design. It is designed to work in spite of sites and not require specific effort on their parts.

That said, it is more likely to work well when given high quality, well-structured markup.

Write valid HTML. Make use of semantic elements such as <main>, <nav>, <header>, <footer>, <h1-6> and so on.