Supportsoft Glossary

Leading and Line Spacing

Leading refers to the vertical space between lines of type. Proper leading prevents text from feeling cramped or disjointed, ensuring a comfortable reading rhythm. 

Leading (pronounced led-ding, like the metal) is just a fancy word for line spacing. Historically, typesetters used strips of actual lead to space out rows of metal letters. Today, it’s mostly handled as line-height in CSS, but the concept is the same: it’s the breathing room for your text.

If the leading is too tight, the lines crash into each other, making the text block look dark and intimidating. If it's too loose, the lines float away, and your eye gets lost trying to scan back to the left. For our web content, we aim for a line height of about 1.5x the font size. It’s a generous spacing that helps with accessibility and comprehension.