How Can I Create A More Dyslexia Friendly Website Experience?

Is it possible to create a dyslexia friendly website?

The internet is a valuable and vital resource for people from all walks of life. From news apps and press releases to educational materials and cat videos, it’s even fitted neatly in our pockets for over a decade now. It’s a great place to shop, stay in touch, and keep ourselves entertained.  

The ease with which we can get to what we need using the internet is why it’s become such a staple in our lives. These days we can work, order groceries, watch our favourite TV shows, and even do a little self-care shopping without taking off our slippers.  

However, there are ways in which the internet experience isn’t as easy for some. People with dyslexia and literacy difficulties often struggle with the wide range of web designs that make up our online spaces. Specific colour choices, fonts, and layouts can make reading harder and more stressful to people who require additional reading support. And in a world of ever-advancing technical capabilities and websites filled with banners and fast-moving video text, accessibility perhaps needs to be more of a consideration.  

The British Dyslexia Association recommends adhering to several basic guidelines when designing your text that will ensure people with dyslexia have the easiest reading experience: 

• Use sans-serif fonts. This means fonts without the projections — the ‘flicks’ that you see on letters — in Times New Roman and Georgia. Sans-serif fonts like Arial, Calibri, and Veranda are much easier for people with dyslexia to read. 
• Font size should be kept on the larger side — at least 12–14pt, although some people require bigger sizes. 
• Spacing is important. Larger character spacing, word spacing, and line spacing all improve the reading experience for people with dyslexia. It is worth noting that excessive spacing can make things harder to read, so a happy medium is key.  
• For headings and titles, use a font that’s at least 20% larger than the rest of your text. You can make this bold for more emphasis, but don’t italicise or underline it. These can make letters appear crowded or confused.  
• Use single colour backgrounds, although pure white backgrounds are to be avoided. Dark text on a pastel backdrop is best for most people.   
• Avoid layouts with multiple columns. Left aligned text that’s got about 60-70 characters to a line is much easier to read.  

And whilst many people with dyslexia still could find your online text challenging at times, little quality-of-life changes like these can make it much easier for some to read and enjoy. It's all about making the world more accessible one webpage at a time, and although some people may not find that these kinds of changes make that much difference, there are those who find them absolutely invaluable too. Dyslexia is spectrum, and something that works for one person might not work for another, but adhering to some general layout and text guidelines is something that we all can do to improve accessibility.

The BDA has plenty more information on making your text as readable for people with dyslexia and literacy difficulties. These can all be found on their webpage, Creating a Dyslexia-Friendly Workplace: The Dyslexia-Friendly Style Guide.

For a more detailed look at online accessibility, check out the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines from the Web Accessibility Initiative. These guidelines cover everything you need to do from a text and design perspective to make your site accessible for all users.