Line length and readability

We’ve always been told that lines of text should not be longer than 55 - 65 characters or thereabouts. Well, guess what – longer lines may not be that bad for on-screen readability after all:

Posted on September 23, 2005 in Quicklinks, Typography, Usability

Comments

  1. I’m not at all suprised by these findings. I think there is difference between line readability in print, and line readability on the screen. Size and choice of typeface seem far more important metrics.

  2. “longer lines may not be that bad for on-screen readability after all”

    Yeah, but they still look like arse.

  3. September 26, 2005 by A Research Professional

    How can a study that measures only 20 students of a particular university be considered a vaild analysis of the total population of internet users?

    I highly recommend that anyone taking this information seriously should review “20 Questions Journalists Should Ask About Poll Results”

    http://www.publicagenda.org/polling/polling_20q.cfm

    As well as Robert Niles’ “Statistics Every Writer Should Know”

    http://www.robertniles.com/stats/

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