#  ✎ Technique: Text spacing 

 



Being able to change not just a site's text size but also its text spacing can be helpful to people with different disabilities. People with a variety of print disabilities (including low vision, dyslexia, other cognitive disabilities) can benefit from being able to increase the spacing between lines, words, and/or letters on their own device. When spacing is increased, the content should not become less readable, or unreadable, due to content overlapping or being completely hidden.

## Examples

### ✗ Bad example: Non responsive interface.

The effect of changing the text spacing and line height on a non-responsive interface: some of the headline text of each item no longer displays

   ![News headlines with video thumbnails, the text has its default spacing.](/sites/g/files/omnuum12446/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/2024-06/text%20spacing%20bad%20example%201.png?itok=cREuslzN) 

 

   ![News headlines with video thumbnails, spacing between words is increased and the ends of headlines are cut off by the ones that follow.](/sites/g/files/omnuum12446/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/2024-06/text%20spacing%20bad%20example%202.png?itok=RzMJ1Evd) 

 

### ✓ Good example: Responsive interface.

The effect of changing the text spacing and line height on a responsive interface: the headline text of each item always displays.

   ![News headlines with video thumbnails, spacing between lines and words is increased and the headlines are still readable due to vertical space increasing to accommodate them.](/sites/g/files/omnuum12446/files/styles/hwp_1_1__720x720_scale/public/2024-06/text%20spacing%20good%20example%201.png?itok=PakojXvU) 

 

(Source: [Knowbility article on text spacing](https://knowbility.org/blog/2018/WCAG21-1412TextSpacing/))



 



 

 See also:- [ Text ](/accessibility-topics/text)
- [ Custom stylesheet ](/access-technologies/custom-stylesheet)
- [ Presentation - Developers ✎ ](/content/presentation-developers)
- [ Support flexibility and adaptation ✎ ](/content/support-flexibility-and-adaptation)
- [ Perceivable ](/principles/perceivable)
- [ Low vision ](/disabilities/low-vision)
- [ Cognitive ](/disabilities/cognitive)
- [ Dyslexia ](/disabilities/dyslexia)
- [ CSS ](/web-technologies/css)
- [ Techniques ](/page-categories/techniques)