Itqualityassurance
Line length: A readable line length is between 50 and 75 characters per line, with 66 characters considered the ideal.
- What is the recommended line length?
- What is the effect of line length?
- What is the WCAG's recommended number of characters per line?
What is the recommended line length?
Ruder concluded that the optimal line length for body text is 50–60 characters per line, including spaces (“Typographie”, E. Ruder). Other sources suggest that up to 75 characters is acceptable.
What is the effect of line length?
Legibility research specific to digital text has shown that, like with printed text, line length can affect reading speed. If lines are too long it is difficult for the reader to quickly return to the start of the next line (saccade), whereas if lines are too short more scrolling or paging will be required.
What is the WCAG's recommended number of characters per line?
Lines should not exceed 80 characters or glyphs (40 if CJK), where glyphs are the element of writing in the writing system for the text.
