Is your website easy to read?

IS YOUR SITE EASY TO READ?

The easier your site is to read, the higher your conversion rates will be. Users spend a great deal of time on screens every day — and we know that reading on a screen is far less comfortable than on paper.

By paying attention to a few key elements, you can easily make your site more pleasant to read and increase the time visitors spend on it.

THE BACKGROUND

The current trend is towards a light, airy background — and for good reason. It allows the eye to focus on the main element of your page: your content.

Too many sites use their background for advertising. While this may generate revenue, it unfortunately draws your visitors’ attention away from the content itself. In those conditions, it becomes very difficult to identify what is important.

If you use sliders (image carousels) or large images, make sure they genuinely reinforce your message. If you add text over them, ensure it is clearly legible.

CONTRAST

Pay careful attention to the contrast level between your background colour and your text colour. Your text must stand out and be easy to read.

Check your contrast level at contrast-ratio.com — a tool that lets you verify the contrast between two colours. Enter the background colour code on the left and your font colour code on the right. The ideal contrast score: between 9 and 15.

Contrast becomes even more important when you use images as backgrounds with text overlaid on them. Make sure that text remains clearly legible on your images.

FONTS

FONT CHOICE

You have a vast selection of fonts available. You may have found THE perfect font for your text — but have you checked that it is genuinely legible?

Script and handwriting-style fonts are often — if not always — difficult to read, particularly for body text. If you are set on using a script font, limit it to headings (which are larger than your paragraph text).

For your body text, favour a sans-serif font — your visitors will find your articles much easier to read.

SIZE

YOUR PARAGRAPHS

Trying to fit too much text on a page often leads to tiny font sizes. For good readability, use a minimum of 14 or 16 pixels for all your body text.

If your site targets an audience that reads little or is older, consider going up to 18 or even 20 pixels. Remember that some users do not know how to use the zoom or magnification feature on a page. Make reading easier for them — they will be delighted to explore your site.

YOUR HEADINGS

All your headings (h1, h2, etc.) must be larger than your body text to stand out clearly. They are important — make them visible! Top-level headings are typically between 30 and 40 pixels.

Note that perceived size varies by font — always check how your headings appear on screen.

LINE SPACING

Line spacing refers to the space between two lines of text. It is equally important that this spacing is generous enough to aid readability. This will depend on your font and layout. As a rule of thumb, a good line-height falls between 1.3 and 1.6.

IMAGES

“A picture is worth a thousand words.”

Including images in your content is important — they break up the text and give readers a visual pause.

But be careful: your images must support your message and be relevant. Do not insert images with no relation to your text. They must reinforce what you are saying.

FINALLY — TEST YOUR LAYOUTS

One last piece of advice: have your pages read by people around you, or ideally by a panel of your target audience, to check that they can read your content easily.

Making your content readable may not feel straightforward at first, but once you take the time to optimise your content, the benefits will be long-lasting.