Make Your Website's Legal Text Readable
TL;DR:
- Keep footer and legal text font sizes at 12px or larger for good readability
- Some fonts work better at smaller sizes than others, so choose carefully
- Test your small text on different devices and screen sizes
- Readable legal text builds trust and looks more professional
- User testing helps you spot readability problems before they affect visitors
Your website's legal text matters more than you might think. Sure, most visitors won't read every word of your privacy policy, but when they do look for it, they need to be able to read it easily.
Small, cramped text in footers and disclaimers makes your site look unprofessional. Worse, it can frustrate users who actually need to find important information. Getting this right is straightforward once you know what to look for.
Why Small Text Readability Matters
When someone can't read your legal text, they notice. It creates doubt about your attention to detail and can make your whole site feel less trustworthy.
Think about it from a user's perspective. If they're trying to understand your terms of service or find your contact details in the footer, struggling to read tiny text is annoying. They might give up entirely or assume you're trying to hide something.
Getting Font Size Right
The 12px rule works well as a starting point for small text. Going smaller than this usually causes problems, especially on mobile devices where people might be reading in bright sunlight or poor lighting conditions.
But font size isn't everything. The font you choose makes a huge difference to how readable your text is at smaller sizes. Some fonts stay crisp and clear at 12px, while others start to blur together.
Choosing Fonts for Small Text
Not every font handles small sizes well. Fonts with thin strokes or decorative elements often become hard to read when scaled down. Stick to fonts designed for body text rather than display fonts when you need good readability.
Sans-serif fonts usually work better for small text on screens. They have cleaner lines that stay sharp at smaller sizes. If you're using a serif font for your main content, consider switching to a clean sans-serif for your footer and legal text.
Testing Your Text
Here's where most people skip a crucial step. You need to check how your small text looks on actual devices, not just your computer screen.
Pull up your site on your phone, tablet, and different computers. Ask other people to look at it too. What seems readable to you might be a strain for someone else, especially if they're using an older device or have vision difficulties.
Check your text in different lighting conditions. What looks fine on your bright office monitor might be unreadable on a phone screen outdoors.
Making Quick Improvements
If you find your legal text is hard to read, you have several options:
Increase the font size to 13px or 14px. The difference is small but the readability improvement is significant.
Add more line spacing. Cramped lines are harder to read than well-spaced ones.
Increase contrast between your text and background. Light grey text on white backgrounds causes problems for many people.
Consider breaking up long legal text into sections with headings. This makes it easier to scan and find specific information.
FAQs
What's the absolute minimum font size I should use for legal text?
12px is the practical minimum for most fonts, but 13px or 14px often works better. The key is testing it on real devices to make sure it's actually readable.
Should I use the same font for legal text as my main content?
You can, but make sure it works well at smaller sizes. If your main font doesn't look good when scaled down, switch to a cleaner font for your legal text.
How do I know if my small text is readable enough?
Test it on different devices and ask other people to read it. If anyone struggles or complains about eye strain, your text needs to be larger or clearer.
Does readable legal text affect SEO?
Google considers user experience factors, and readable text is part of that. More importantly, readable legal text builds trust with visitors, which helps with conversions.
Jargon Buster
Font size: Measured in pixels (px), this determines how large your text appears on screen. 12px is small, 16px is standard body text size.
Sans-serif: Fonts without the small decorative strokes (serifs) on letters. Examples include Arial and Helvetica.
Line spacing: The vertical space between lines of text. More spacing usually improves readability.
Contrast: The difference between your text colour and background colour. Higher contrast makes text easier to read.
Wrap-up
Readable legal text is a small detail that makes a big difference to how professional your site looks. Stick to 12px or larger for font sizes, choose fonts that work well at smaller sizes, and always test on real devices.
The goal isn't to make your legal text prominent, but to make sure it's there when people need it and readable when they find it. Get this right and you'll avoid frustrating your visitors while building more trust in your site.
Ready to improve your website's readability and user experience? Join Pixelhaze Academy for more practical web design tips and tutorials.