What is readability and why it is important

What is the readability checker tool?

It is a specialized readability calculator that identifies how easy to read your text is. Such software is assessing the “reading age”, a conditional parameter that defines how clearly your writing is on a first reading. As a fact, an average adult person reads at a 7th- to 9th-grade level. So it is necessary to keep your content writing between this range. Using our free tool to measure the readability of your website content easily so your audience will be satisfied.

Most web designers suggest using easy-to-read fonts to optimize website content. Ideally, such fonts should not even have serifs, small strokes at the ends of the letters. That is why experienced designers advise improving text readability using such popular fonts as Tahoma, Verdana, and Arial.

There are several formulas based on sentence length, number of syllables per words, number of passive sentences are involved to calculate the readability score:

Flesch Reading Ease

The Flesch-Kincaid reading ease score is the most popular among readability test tools. This reading level calculator was invented to determine how difficult a certain text is. By analyzing text, you will have a score between 1 and 100, and there is a table that will enable you to interpret the value.

This test was first invented to help educators choose levels that are adequate for students’ academic level. But later on, it became widely used in other sectors. A text that scores 70% to 80% is appropriate for year 7 students. A professional text that is intended for marketing purposes, for example, shouldn’t score less than that. A text that scores less is more difficult to understand.

The formula is: 206.835 – 1.015 (total words/total sentences) – 84.6 (total syllables/ total words)

Flesch–Kincaid Grade

This is another readability level score used for deciding on the level of education required to understand a certain piece of writing. It is first invented by the US Navy for evaluating the complexity level of technical texts. Today, educators, parents, librarians, and students use it for educational purposes.

The formula is: 0.39 (total words/total sentences) +11.8 (total syllables/ total words) + 15.59

There is no upper bound for this score as it corresponds to the actual number of years of education needed for understanding a certain essay or paper.

Gunning Fog Index Score

This readability system is based on the number of years of formal education needed to understand a certain essay. The test depends on comparing syllables and sentences.

The formula is: 0.4 [(words/sentences) +100 (complex words/words)]

Some of the complex words are not that difficult to understand but would still affect the readability level of your text. A text that scores 5 is very readable, while one that scores 20 seems rather difficult.

How automated readability score checker works

There are two options are available to check readability of your text online: