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One of the most important characteristics of any website or online material is it's readability. In order for the content to be effective and to do its job, people must be able to easily read it. It sounds simple, but with the amount of distractions that are online and the difficulty that some people have with reading from a screen, it's not uncommon for a site to suffer from poor readability.
In this article we'll look at six keys to designing for readability. Keep these points in mind and your content will be much more effective.
Spacing
Many websites have problems with spacing, especially content-heavy sites. Trying to fit huge amounts of content into small areas of above the fold will make it very hard for visitors to read the text as it will all be crammed together.
Use plenty of whitespace around text and columns to keep things from being crammed together. This makes it much easier on the eyes and readers will thank you for it.
Text Size
Because each visitor will have their own unique preferences, it is important to allow text to be re-sized by the user. By using CSS to set text sizes with ems or percentages, you will allow visitors to increase or decrease the size of the text in their browser.
In addition to giving flexibility, you can also use font sizes to make certain text stand out. Increasing the size of text will generally make it more noticeable, but keep in mind that the more you use large text the less impact it will have.
Font Selection
When working to make a site readable, it is best to stick to web-safe fonts like Arial and Georgia. Other fonts may look nice, but you will not have control over which visitors are able to view it in your favorite font. Newer technologies like sIFR do make it possible to use a much wider variety of fonts.
You can easily damage the readability of a site by using too many different fonts. No more than two or three fonts should be used on a page in oder to have some consistency.
Width of Text Lines
Even though a high percentage of internet users are using widescreen displays with high resolution, lines of text that are too wide can have negative impacts on readability.
Generally speaking, text columns should not be wider than about 700 pixels, otherwise than can get very difficult to read. Likewise, very narrow lines and columns can also cause poor readability.
Font Weight
It is a known fact that bold text stands out when compared to text with a normal weight. Use bold to make an impact when needed, but don't use too much bold or it will have no impact and make it hard to read.
Distractions
Websites that feature excellent readability allow the text to be the focal point of the design. Having too many other bells and whistles for the sake of looking impressive can actually do more harm than good as it will take away from the emphasis on the text.
In this article we'll look at six keys to designing for readability. Keep these points in mind and your content will be much more effective.
Spacing
Many websites have problems with spacing, especially content-heavy sites. Trying to fit huge amounts of content into small areas of above the fold will make it very hard for visitors to read the text as it will all be crammed together.
Use plenty of whitespace around text and columns to keep things from being crammed together. This makes it much easier on the eyes and readers will thank you for it.
Text Size
Because each visitor will have their own unique preferences, it is important to allow text to be re-sized by the user. By using CSS to set text sizes with ems or percentages, you will allow visitors to increase or decrease the size of the text in their browser.
In addition to giving flexibility, you can also use font sizes to make certain text stand out. Increasing the size of text will generally make it more noticeable, but keep in mind that the more you use large text the less impact it will have.
Font Selection
When working to make a site readable, it is best to stick to web-safe fonts like Arial and Georgia. Other fonts may look nice, but you will not have control over which visitors are able to view it in your favorite font. Newer technologies like sIFR do make it possible to use a much wider variety of fonts.
You can easily damage the readability of a site by using too many different fonts. No more than two or three fonts should be used on a page in oder to have some consistency.
Width of Text Lines
Even though a high percentage of internet users are using widescreen displays with high resolution, lines of text that are too wide can have negative impacts on readability.
Generally speaking, text columns should not be wider than about 700 pixels, otherwise than can get very difficult to read. Likewise, very narrow lines and columns can also cause poor readability.
Font Weight
It is a known fact that bold text stands out when compared to text with a normal weight. Use bold to make an impact when needed, but don't use too much bold or it will have no impact and make it hard to read.
Distractions
Websites that feature excellent readability allow the text to be the focal point of the design. Having too many other bells and whistles for the sake of looking impressive can actually do more harm than good as it will take away from the emphasis on the text.
About the Author:
Steven Snell is a web designer and blogger from New Jersey. He maintains a design blog called DesignM.ag. If you'd like to see more about text and fonts you can find collections at his blog of calligraphy fonts and big, bold fonts.
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