A Case For Shorter Lines
Line length, in typography, refers to how many characters occupy a single line in a paragraph. Line length is also called column width, characters per line, measure, or even words per line.
Since most characters - letters, numbers, spaces, punctuation - vary in width, line length is usually thought of as a range.
For instance, right now (as of January 2007), this blog uses a line length of 90-105 characters per line. This is a result of a number of factors, the three most basic being:
- typeface - Some fonts are wider than others.
- font size - If we change our text size from 12px to 11px, we fit a more characters on each line.
- page size- Currently, the area allocated to this blog content is about 520px. If we expand that to 620px, the line length will increase.
However these factors are all interrelated. Using the numbers above, if we change our page size from 520px to 620px, but also increase our font size from 12px to 15px, the characters per line remains about the same.
Line Length on the Web
The following is a list of popular websites and how many characters per line they use.
What's the 'correct' line length?
Obviously, there's no 'correct' measure, but most people feel that 50 - 80 characters per line is good.
Here are what some others have to say on the topic of line length:
Elements of Typographic Style
By Robert Bringhurst
(from the section, "Choose a comfortable measure.")
Anything from 45 to 75 characters is widely regarded as a satisfactory length of line for a single-column page set in a serifed text face in a text size. The 66-character line (counting both letters and spaces) is widely regarded as ideal. For multiple column work, a better average is 40 to 50 characters.
Grid Systems in Graphic Design
By Josef Muller-Brockmann
(from the section, "Column Width")
The question of column width is not merely one of design or of format; the question of legibility is of equal importance.
According to a well-known empirical rule there should be 7 words per line for a text of any length. If we want to have 7-10 words per line, the length of the line can be readily calculated.
Every difficulty standing in the reader's way means loss of quality in communication and memorability. Just as overlong lines tire, so do overshot ones.
Overlong columns are wearying to the eye and also have an adverse psychological effect. Overshort columns can also be disturbing because they interrupt the flow of reading and ut the reader off by obliging the eye to change lines too rapidly.
Sufficient leading between the lines is of the first importance for easy reading. If the lines are too closely set the eye is forced to "take in" the neighboring lines while reading.
About Face - Reviving the rules of typography
By David Jury
(from the section, "Words per line")
The full width of a column or length of a single line of type is called the 'measure'.
For readability, the width of a line is less important than the number of characters it contains. Somewhere between 54 and 80 characters and spaces has been found to be the most conducive to efficient 'long distance' reading. At an average of five characters and one interword space per word in English, this means an approximate average of nine to twelve words per line.
The width of a measure might also reflect [...] the commitment expected of the reader. A wider measure [...] suggests an efficient use of the reader's energy appropriate for a longer read. Shorter measures offer a more staccato reading experience, providing a sense of urgency, enabling the reader to scan quickly down the page; an appropriate reading experience for newspapers.
The readability of a wider measure will be dramatically improved by the use of additional leading. It provides stronger definition to the line of text so helping to keep the reader's eye on the line and also enabling the reader to track back to the beginning of the next line of text.
Conclusion
Most websites could benefit from a few less characters on each line.
My favorite approach to specifying a line length is described on the companion site to Robert Bringhurst's book, Elements of Typographic Style Applied to the Web. On one of the examples there, page size (or column width) is referenced in em's. This is the easiest way to ensure a desired line length.
Since the average character is about .5em, specifying the column as 33em's means about 66 characters per line, no matter what font-size is specified.
I like that.
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Visitors
"Most websites could benefit from a few less characters on each line."
A lot fewer. Which I've been saying for years, and generally being ignored by web designers who don't actually have to read the sites they design. I think many mistakes in web design would not be made if their designers had to use their work.
(As a corollary, I can only assume that Steve Jobs has never had his iPod battery go dead on him in the middle of a favorite song.)