Readability Test
Quick and easy way to test the readability of your work.
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The Readability Test Tool provides a quick and easy way to test the readability of your work. It is the most flexible readability software for assessing readability formulas.
You can test all, or part of a web page, or simply type in your text. Link directly from your page - it will compute the results for the referring page.
Who is it for
Whether you're a developer, copywriter, marketer, usability assessor or SEO expert, chances are you already have plenty on your mind. The Readability Test Tool saves you the hassle and will help streamline your workflow. Thanks to The Readability Test Tool's simple interface, novices and experts alike will enjoy using it.
What It Does
The Readability Test Tool takes the text on your web page and gives a score for the most used readability indicators.
- Flesch Kincaid Reading Ease
- Flesch Kincaid Grade Level
- Gunning Fog Score
- Coleman Liau Index
- Automated Readability Index (ARI)
- SMOG Index
Why is readability important?
Did you know that the average American adult reads at a 7th to 9th grade level? Keeping your content within that range is a great way to maximize your readership, and our readability tool is here to help.
It doesn’t matter what you’re saying if no one can comprehend it. Understanding your audience and their readability expectations is one of the most important parts of writing. It can be marketing, teaching, or working on a novel. No matter the medium, your content has to be accessible in order for it to succeed.
That’s not all, though: If you’re writing for something like a medical publication, you don’t want to write at a 3rd grade level. So not only should your content be accessible, it needs to be demographically appropriate as well.
If your audience expects a specific type of writing, failure to meet that expectation can be jarring. They may become preoccupied with the style of your writing, which causes your content to lose much of its value. Just think of how often you’ve heard people complain about the writing in a novel like Moby-Dick, even though it’s long been a household name. The conversation becomes about the writing itself, rather than the content.
It can be hard to write consistently at a certain grade level, especially if doing so is contrary to your usual writing style. Our tool lets you check your content as you create it, so you can fine-tune your writing during the process instead of afterwards.
Use this tool to measure the readability of your content and you’ll end up with a masterpiece tailor-made for your audience. Don’t shoot yourself in the foot with poor readability – what you say is often less important than how you say it.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the different ways that I can test the readability of my content with this tool?
Who can use the readability test tool?
What does the readability test tool do?
What other info will I get when I run the readability test tool?
Besides a number score in each of the areas we mentioned in the last answer, you’ll also be able to see how many sentences your content has, number of words, number of complex words, percentage of complex words, average words per sentence and average syllables per word. After you run the readability test on your content, you’ll also be able to see a breakdown of each of the readability tests we use!
What is readability score?
Readability score algorithms roughly estimate the level of education someone would need in order to read a passage of text easily.
There are several algorithms available for gauging readability score, and they use factors such as sentence length, syllable count, and the percentage of multi-syllable words in order to determine readability score.
Most readability scores are comprised of two factors. The first factor relates to sentence structure, and typically measures the average number of words per sentence. Readability indices also take into account word structure and are generally based on the average number of syllables per word or the proportion of easy words determined by referencing a word list.
For the general public, your text should reflect a readability of about 8th grade.
How can I improve my readability score?
Now that you understand the importance of readability, we’ll take a look at a checklist for improving the readability of your content.The next time you add a new page to your website, consider these tips:
Limit the length of your sentences and paragraphsMost times, readers want to be able to easily skim over the information contained on websites and pick out the main points.
In order for them to be able to do this, you need to keep your sentences and paragraphs relatively short. For the web, optimal line length is between 50-60 characters. And you should generally limit paragraphs to around three sentences.
This will help you to hold the attention of readers and keep them engaged in your content.
Be conciseKeep your writing concise and avoid flowery language that adds unnecessary bulk to your writing.
Readers don’t want to sort through a mountain of unnecessary text. Instead, they should be able to easily pick up on the main points of your writing.
By eliminating redundancy and getting right to the point, you can improve the readability of your writing.
Avoid technical languageUnless you’re writing to a niche group, avoid using jargon in your content.
This can confuse writers, and they will likely navigate away from your website and search for information that is easier to understand.
Though you want to position yourself as a leader in your field, you don’t need to use fancy terminology. In fact, people will respect you more if you present information in a way that is easy for them to digest and understand.
Use listsBulleted lists are a great way to present information in a way that is easy to understand. They also make the information stand out on a page and help readers grasp what you’re trying to convey. Lists can help people stay focused on your writing by highlighting important information in a way that is easy for them to comprehend.
Where has the readability test tool been featured?
The Readability Test Tool is used by schools, universities and web content editors all over the world.
Selected users: