Readability test
From SiteRay wiki
| SiteRay Test | |
|---|---|
| First appeared: | Sitescore 1.0 |
| Applies to: | All versions |
| Type: | Individual test |
| Scored: | Sometimes |
What does it do?
Measure how easy the text in this website is to read.
Why is it important?
As a general principle, making text easier to read aids the usability of a website, which in turn makes it more likely to be used, and used successfully. Copywriting on websites is often sub-standard, and impenetrable marketing and technical jargon compromises the effectiveness of a website. One of the metrics tested (Flesch Kincaid) has become a US government standard. Many US agencies require documents or forms to meet specific readability levels; most states require insurance forms to score 40–50 on the test.
Example results
Note that in this example web addresses have been concealed.
How is it measured?
Sitescore uses two public standards to evaluate readability of English:
- Flesch Kincaid Reading Ease - Higher scores indicate material that is easier to read; lower numbers mark harder-to-read passages.
- Gunning Fog index - An indication of the number of years of formal education that a person requires in order to easily understand the text on the first reading. These two measures are also available in Microsoft Word.
Only portions of the site containing significant text are evaluated (for example, we ignore menus, footers and so forth). Pages with very small amounts of text are also ignored (typically these say things such as 'Please wait'). Pages which are hard or very hard to read deduct from the score. These pages have a Flesch Kincaid level of 50 (hard) or 30 (very difficult).
Technical explanation
Gunning Fog
See Wikipedia for details.
Flesch Kincaid
See Wikipedia for details.
Common problems
The test is impossible to run on non-English websites, as these metrics are specifically designed for the English language. We may eventually add comparable equivalents for other major languages. Some websites necessitate that text is more difficult to read than others (e.g. a legal paper versus a comic book). We intend to add user specified ‘ideal targets’ for readability over time.
See also Testing non-English websites.
How to improve this score
Review the worst performing (i.e. hardest to read) pages for this test, and wherever possible rewrite them to be easier to understand. As a general rule, avoid jargon, complex words (three or more syllables) and keep your sentences short. Use a professional copywriter, or review the guidelines on plain English.
How to use this test effectively
Use this test to ensure your writing is pitched at the right level for your audience. Compare what the score correlates to:
| Average Flesch Kincaid | |
|---|---|
| Reader's Digest | 65 |
| Time | 52 |
| Harvard Law Review | 30 |
| Average Gunning Fog | |
|---|---|
| TIME | 11 |
| Newsweek | 10 |
| Reader's Digest | 9 |
| Comic books | 6 |
Making text readable does not have to mean dumbing it down, but there are always going to be some cases where hard-to-read is necessary (such as for legal pages).
