Readability is a very important quality for any website. In order for the content and text of the site to have an impact on visitors, they must first be able to read it without trouble. Reading from a screen can be challenging in many situations, so this is not as small of an issue as it may seem.
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
Spacing is a big issue online. Many times too much text and too many images are crammed in to small areas, which makes it very difficult for the text to be read. When it comes to readability, less clutter equals more effective text.
Whitespace around blocks of text and images is key, as is line spacing. Give your text plenty of room to breathe and don't try to cram too much in to any area.
Font Size
Some of your visitors may have a hard time reading small text, or even normal sized text. They may need to increase the font size in order to be able to easily read it. If you are styling your text by using ems or percentages instead of pixels to determine the font size, all of your visitors will be able to adjust the size of the text.
Font size is also key for making important text stand out. However, use this technique sparingly as the less you use it the more 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
Modern websites are typically being design a good bit wider than they were just a few short years ago, due to the common widescreen monitors that so many interent users have.
Keep in mind when designing that very wide or long lines of text can be difficult to read, as can very short or narrow lines of text. Most content areas are not wider than 600-700 pixels, because anything can larger can get rather difficult to read.
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
Spacing is a big issue online. Many times too much text and too many images are crammed in to small areas, which makes it very difficult for the text to be read. When it comes to readability, less clutter equals more effective text.
Whitespace around blocks of text and images is key, as is line spacing. Give your text plenty of room to breathe and don't try to cram too much in to any area.
Font Size
Some of your visitors may have a hard time reading small text, or even normal sized text. They may need to increase the font size in order to be able to easily read it. If you are styling your text by using ems or percentages instead of pixels to determine the font size, all of your visitors will be able to adjust the size of the text.
Font size is also key for making important text stand out. However, use this technique sparingly as the less you use it the more 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
Modern websites are typically being design a good bit wider than they were just a few short years ago, due to the common widescreen monitors that so many interent users have.
Keep in mind when designing that very wide or long lines of text can be difficult to read, as can very short or narrow lines of text. Most content areas are not wider than 600-700 pixels, because anything can larger can get rather difficult to read.
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 free calligraphy style fonts and headline fonts.
