The influence of font type and line length on visual search and information retrieval in web pages

Jonathan Ling, Paul Van Schaik

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

68 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Most web sites are heavily text-based. Previous research has indicated that the way in which this text is presented may have a significant impact on usability. This paper reports findings from two experiments that explored the influence of font type and line length on a range of performance and subjective measures. Experiment 1 used a visual search task and Experiment 2 examined information retrieval. Overall, there was little impact of font on task performance, although the effect of line length was significant, with longer line lengths facilitating better scanning (Experiment 1) and shorter line lengths leading to better subjective outcomes (Experiments 1 and 2). Implications of these results for the design of web pages are discussed and recommendations given.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)395-404
Number of pages10
JournalInternational Journal of Human Computer Studies
Volume64
Issue number5
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2006

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