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Is my font too small?

by GeorgR.
15 replies
This is an (old) example page on my blog:

Why Article Marketing is Better than Adwords

I just re-did the whole site, theme and everything. When i use FireFox it looks ok (i usually use Arial 12 on ALL sites). But in IE9 it is really hard to read (or is it just me?) on my 16:10 monitor at 1680 resolution.

My question is whether i need to use bigger fonts and/or if there are other issues with typography or readability on the site?
#font #small
  • Profile picture of the author auradev
    Maybe go one point larger.
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  • Profile picture of the author Mike Hlatky
    Looks fine to me on both Chrome and IE 8.
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  • Profile picture of the author clickstrength
    You know what they say: it's how you use it... oh, wait... you asked about your font?

    It's a little small. I find that 13px is pretty ideal for creating a more legible site without making it look too clunky. I used Firebug to boost your font to 13px in my browser and found it to be a better option.
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonmorgan
    I'm going larger on all of my new sites.

    Why, you ask.

    Because smart phones have tiny screens and most modern monitors have massive resolution settings which in both cases means the text is tiny.

    My biggest issue with your example site isn't the font size, it's the line height. Lines that are all scrunched together are harder to read. Give 'em some space and let your words breath. Personally, I found reading your text difficult.

    Try this in your css. body should be at the top so all you need to do is add this line.

    body {
    line-height: 1.6;
    }
    Word of note: what I suggested will set a new default line height for everything on your site so it's not always the best place to put it. Kinda depends on your html and css wizardry.

    An example from something I'm working on now. It's a little sloppy but it might give you some additional ideas.

    body {
    position: relative;
    font-size: 80%;
    font-family: Arial, Sans-Serif;
    color: #525252;
    background: #FFFFFF url('') top center;
    letter-spacing: 1px;
    line-height: 1.8;
    }
    I do modify the line height for different parts of the page but I like 1.8 as my default along with the letter spacing, it makes reading very easy.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      To me, (in Firefox), it looks just ok. Any smaller and I'd definitely say it was too small.

      This site's useful for seeing how your site looks in other browsers, if you ever want to test.
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      • Profile picture of the author GeorgR.
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        To me, (in Firefox), it looks just ok. Any smaller and I'd definitely say it was too small.

        This site's useful for seeing how your site looks in other browsers, if you ever want to test.
        Yeah i run it through there already - but i think its actually an issue with IE9 (i noticed that also with others sites) where its REALLY hard to read.
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      • Profile picture of the author Dennis Gaskill
        I can read it, but not comfortably. You might want to experiment with Verdana. I use it on all my sites. It was designed for the web and studies have shown it to be preferred by a majority of users.

        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post

        To me, (in Firefox), it looks just ok. Any smaller and I'd definitely say it was too small.

        This site's useful for seeing how your site looks in other browsers, if you ever want to test.
        ha ha, that's a handy site if you can get in. The last time I tried to use it (4-5 days ago) there were 800+ sites ahead of mine. Maybe they need to start charging a small fee.
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  • Profile picture of the author Ralph Moore
    Yes. It is a bit too small.
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  • Profile picture of the author GeorgR.
    thanks guys, will change.
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Oksa
    I think it looks fine, but my eyesight is pretty good.

    ~M~
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  • Profile picture of the author Don Schenk
    I am using a laptop set at 1280x800. I opened your site in IE8 and Firefox, put one above the other. They are identical.

    Now. that said, my eyes (with thier tri-focal glasses) would like to see it a little bit larger.

    Earlier today my wife sent an email with a Wall Street Journal link to an article. The font was sooooo small at the WSJ, I needed to copy/paste the article into Word so I could resize the type to something readable.

    Georg, at least your site is readable.

    :-Don
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  • Profile picture of the author bobsilber
    I wear reading glasses and don't have a problem with it because it is laid out nicely. However, others in this thread have stated it is too small and you want to please as many visitors as you can, so I would change it.
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  • Profile picture of the author jasonmorgan
    I find the font size to be quite alright
    Quite the active nonsense posting spammer tonight, are't we?
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  • Profile picture of the author JoshuaZamora
    Looks good to me. You can always try installing WP super Edit plugin which allows you to change the font sizes and font type a lot easier
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  • Profile picture of the author Ronny Kibet
    They look fine to me anyway. But you might want to just go one point ahead.
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