Supportsoft Glossary

Ensuring Text Legibility

Legibility is about distinguishing individual letters; readability is about consuming blocks of text comfortably. Both are essential for user experience. 

People mix these up all the time, but they are different.

• Legibility is a micro-quality. It asks: Can I tell an "l" apart from a "1" or an "I"? It’s about the design of the typeface itself.
• Readability is a macro-quality. It asks: Do I want to read this whole paragraph? This is influenced by layout, contrast, size, and spacing.

For Supportsoft, legibility is non-negotiable. If a user is reading an error code, they need to know exactly what characters to type. We pick fonts with open shapes and distinct characters to reduce cognitive load.