Readability influences customer decisions because people only act on what they can quickly understand. If a page is hard to read, visitors do not struggle through it. They leave. Every barrier to understanding, whether small type, dense paragraphs or jargon, makes it less likely that a visitor will trust you, grasp your offer or get in touch.
Why readability affects behaviour
Reading on a screen is harder than reading on paper. Visitors skim, jump between sections and judge a page in seconds. When text is easy to process, it feels effortless, and that ease transfers to the business behind it. When it is difficult, visitors often assume the service will be just as awkward to deal with.
Readability also affects confidence. If customers cannot easily find your prices, process or guarantees, they are left guessing, and uncertain people rarely make inquiries.
Design for legibility
Legibility is about how easily individual characters and words can be seen.
Font size. Body text should generally be at least 16 pixels on screen. Small type frustrates all visitors and excludes many older ones.
Typeface. Choose a clean, widely used font and avoid decorative scripts for body text. Limit yourself to two typefaces at most.
Contrast. Dark text on a light background, or the reverse, is easiest to read. Avoid light grey text on white, pale text over busy images and low-contrast colour pairings. Aim for at least a 4.5 to 1 contrast ratio for body text, the common accessibility standard.
Line length and spacing. Lines of roughly 50 to 75 characters read comfortably. Line spacing of around 1.5 times the font size prevents text from feeling crowded.
Write for comprehension
Visual design only goes so far. The words themselves must be easy to take in.
- Use short sentences and everyday words. Replace “utilise” with “use” and “commence” with “start”.
- Keep paragraphs to two or three sentences.
- Lead with the main point, then add detail.
- Explain technical terms or avoid them.
- Speak directly to the reader with “you” and “your”.
- Remove filler that does not help a customer decide.
As a guide, aim for a reading level that a broad audience can follow without effort. Many writers target the level of a general newspaper article. Free tools can estimate readability scores for your content.
Make pages scannable
Most visitors scan before they read, so help them find what they need.
- Use clear, descriptive headings that tell the story on their own
- Break up text with bullet points and numbered steps
- Bold key phrases sparingly
- Add white space between sections
- Use tables for comparisons such as packages or prices
- Support text with images or icons where they genuinely clarify
A visitor who reads only your headings should still understand what you offer and how to proceed.
Check readability on mobile
On a phone, long paragraphs turn into walls of text. Check that line lengths, font sizes and spacing hold up on small screens, and that nothing needs zooming. Tap targets should be large enough, and text should not run beneath fixed menus or buttons.
Common readability mistakes
- Grey or pale text with low contrast
- Long, unbroken paragraphs
- Heavy jargon or insider terms
- Centre-aligned blocks of body text
- Text placed over busy photographs
- Headings that are clever but unclear
Test with real readers
Ask someone outside your business to read a page and explain what you offer. Where they hesitate or misunderstand, rewrite. Read your content aloud, since awkward sentences are easy to hear. Review analytics for pages with high exit rates, as poor readability is a frequent cause.
Customers decide quickly, and they favour what feels clear. Use legible type, plain language and scannable structure, and you make it easier for visitors to understand, trust and contact you.