Article legibility factors

The legibility of the articles you write on your website is just as important as the content you include in the articles. Having a work of literary art that is perhaps not only interesting but a brilliant resource will count for nothing if your readers can not read the information due to the font used or the size of text.

Font – Which is best serif or sans-serif?

You need to make your text easily readable. Most fonts can be broken down into two general categories – serif and sans serif. The difference between these is easily seen when compared. One has decorative small appendixes (feet) at the end of each letter and the other doesn’t. Sans (French for without) serif is of course the font without the feet. Whilst serif fonts are used in hard copy publications, most websites now use sans serif because it is easier to read. Good fonts to use for your website content are Arial and Verdana.

Size – Use 11 point minimum

Most web users can read text from about 10 point upwards but if you use 11 point most users won’t have to change the size of the text on the screen to make it easily readable. Changing the size of text is done differently in Internet Explorer and Firefox but a simple Ctrl and scroll with the mouse button will increase or decrease the size.

Capitalisation – DON’T SHOUT

Any text that is not standard is much harder to read. If you use capitals in your text people will either think that the capitals mean the text is a title or that you are shouting. Having a lot of text in capitals is also more difficult to read and your readers will soon get bored.

Underlining – Easily confused with links

Underlining text will make it stand out. But most text that is underlined on the internet is now a link, so your readers will be confused if they try to click on it and it doesn’t link them to another web page. Therefore it is always prudent to stay clear of any underlining when writing your article.

David Smith
Content Writer