Perfect Body Text for Your Website
TL;DR:
- Body text quality affects your entire site's readability and user experience
- Test your text on different devices and screen sizes regularly
- Keep line lengths between 50-75 characters for comfortable reading
- Use proper contrast and avoid over-styling your text
- Start with 16px font size and adjust based on your audience's needs
Your website's body text does the heavy lifting. It's not the flashy hero section or the eye-catching buttons, but it's what keeps people reading and engaging with your content. Get it wrong, and visitors will leave before they've given your site a proper chance.
Why Body Text Matters More Than You Think
Body text is your website's foundation. If people can't read your content comfortably, nothing else matters. Good body text keeps visitors on your site longer, helps them understand your message, and makes the entire experience feel professional.
Poor body text creates immediate friction. Visitors have to work harder to read, which means they're more likely to bounce. Even if everything else about your site is perfect, difficult-to-read text will undermine your efforts.
Testing Your Text Across Devices
Your body text needs to work everywhere your visitors might find it. That means testing on phones, tablets, desktops, and everything in between.
What looks perfect on your large monitor might be unreadable on a phone screen. Font sizes that work well on desktop often need adjusting for mobile devices. Some fonts that look crisp on high-resolution displays can appear fuzzy on older screens.
Make it part of your routine to check how your text appears on different devices. Look for issues like text that's too small, lines that are too long, or contrast problems that only show up on certain screens.
Getting Line Length Right
The sweet spot for line length is 50-75 characters per line. This isn't arbitrary – it's based on how our eyes naturally track text.
Lines that are too long make it hard to find the beginning of the next line. Your eyes have to travel too far, which creates fatigue. Lines that are too short break up the reading flow and make text feel choppy.
Count characters in a typical line of your body text. If you're consistently over 75 characters, consider narrowing your text columns or increasing your font size. If you're under 50, you might have room to widen things out.
Contrast and Styling Guidelines
Your text needs enough contrast to be readable, but you don't want it so stark that it's harsh on the eyes. Pure black text on pure white backgrounds can actually be harder to read than slightly softer combinations.
Keep styling minimal. Resist the urge to make text bold, italic, or colored unless it serves a specific purpose. Every styling choice should have a reason beyond "it looks nice."
Font Size Starting Points
16px is a good baseline for body text, but don't treat it as gospel. Some fonts look larger or smaller than others at the same pixel size. Some audiences prefer larger text.
Test your chosen font size with real content, not just placeholder text. Lorem ipsum doesn't give you a true sense of how readable your actual content will be.
Consider your audience too. If you're writing for an older demographic, err on the side of larger text. If your content is highly technical, you might need more white space and larger fonts to help with comprehension.
FAQs
How can I test if my body text is readable on different devices?
Check your site on actual devices when possible, not just browser developer tools. Ask friends or colleagues to look at your site on their phones. Pay attention to any comments about text being hard to read.
What's the ideal line length for body text?
Aim for 50-75 characters per line. You can count characters in a typical line to check, or use browser developer tools to measure the width of your text containers.
Should I use a specific font size for body text?
Start with 16px as your baseline, but adjust based on your font choice and audience needs. Some fonts appear larger or smaller than others at the same pixel size.
How do I know if my text contrast is good enough?
Your text should be easily readable in various lighting conditions. If you're squinting or having to focus hard to read it, your contrast probably needs work.
Jargon Buster
Body Font: The main typeface used for regular content text on your website, as opposed to headings or decorative text.
Line Length: The number of characters that fit on a single line of text, measured in characters including spaces.
Contrast: The difference in brightness or color between your text and its background, affecting how easy the text is to read.
Legibility: How easily individual letters and words can be distinguished and read.
Styling: Visual modifications applied to text like bold, italic, color changes, or underlining.
Wrap-up
Getting your body text right isn't glamorous work, but it's essential. Visitors who can't read your content comfortably won't stick around long enough to see what you're offering. Take the time to test your text across devices, check your line lengths, and ensure your contrast is spot-on. Your visitors will thank you by actually reading what you've written.
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