Readability is the ease with which a piece of writing can be understood by a particular audience. The difficulty of your writing is an important factor in its readability. If a sentence is difficult to understand, it will take more time for the reader to comprehend what the author is trying to communicate. So, rotated text does impact usability.
What makes your text readable also depends on the use of headings, paragraphs, sentences, and even on the style. There are a couple of tips that you can follow to help improve the flow and readability of your writing.
It’s now up to the reader to determine how much of an impact each factor has on the readability of a piece of writing. These variables can, however, be taken into consideration when writing a work that is more accessible to a wider audience.
Text in a user interface is built on four key elements:
- the fundamental message isn’t complicated
- the text is short and to the point
- it is helpful
- the writing is consistent
Readability in online content
It’s always important to write in a style that’s both engaging and easy to read. Online content, on the other hand, necessitates it even more. In part due to the fact that the internet is such an easily sidetracked medium.
We’ve become accustomed to having a wealth of information at our fingertips at all times. For one thing, it’s more difficult to keep concentrated while you’re reading from a computer screen.
Is clockwise or counter-clockwise rotated text easier to read?
There are no hard and fast standards regarding text direction. There are, of course, differing viewpoints.
Think of them in terms of tabs and use that mental picture as a guide (clockwise on the right, counter-clockwise on the left, upright on the bottom).
If you have tab-like elements in your design, follow the tabs’ rationale. A book-like aspect, such as a cover or spine, should be used as a guide when picking a direction (clockwise). You can use both mental models if you are using elements in various areas that use both mental models.
For example, Western book spines are different from Eastern European book spines, as are folder tabs. You’ll have to choose one of the most common mental models because there’s no way to match all of them.
Ultimately, you should determine which approach best serves your customer.
Text typically appears at the bottom of vertical signs and banners. The most logical explanation is that the vast majority of Westerners read from left to right. Humans naturally tend to focus on the first letter of the text on the left. In order to read, we would have to turn our heads 90 degrees.
Conclusion
It is common for us to overlook the usability of a website when we are creating one because we tend to focus solely on the visuals and the content. Even if your website is SEO-friendly, if visitors can’t read the material or find the information they’re looking for, all of your hard work will be in vain.
