Best Strength

Having a website is only effective if the content of the site is easily readable for visitors. Otherwise, even great content will not be able to do its job. While this may sound very basic, readability is a major issue that a high percentage of websites struggle with. Reading from a screen can be difficult, so readability should be a primary concern during design.

Here we will discuss some of the most important factors that will determine the level of readability for websites.

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.

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.

Size of Text

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.

Line Width

As modern desktops and laptops are coming with higher-resolution displays, and widescreen monitors are very common, websites are often being designed with more width than they were just a few years ago.

Even on wider websites, text should not stretch the full width of the page. In general, about 600 to 700 pixels in width is the maximum that will still allow for good readability. However, very narrow columns can also cause readability issues.

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

If you want the text of your website to be highly effective, make it the focal piece and minimize distractions. Putting too much on the site will cause a lessened impact for everything. Keep the text emphasized by using less elements in the design that could be a distraction.

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 style fonts and headline fonts.

categories: web typography,readability,usability,usability testing,web design,website design,typography,fonts,web development,design,graphic design,websites

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