Making Website Text Easy To Read – Font Size

Is the body text on your website too small? The trend over time has been to increase font size so visitors don’t have to squint to read.

Body text size should be at least 16px (pixels).

Compare text on the CNN website in 2004 with 2016:

Readability is not the only factor driving this increase in font size. A page with very small text looks crowded and, for many readers, daunting. Two pages could contain the same amount of text, but when it looks tight like the screenshot on the left, there’s both the impression of more text and being less inviting to read.

And it isn’t just font-size. Notice the spacing between the lines. The text on the right is easier to read because the lines aren’t jammed together.

So have a look at your website’s body font text size. If you’ve had the site built or redesigned in the last two or three years, it’s likely in good shape, but it’s still worth checking.