Typography for Typists: How Font Choice Affects Your Reading Speed and Accuracy

The Science of Legibility

When you type, your eyes constantly move between the source text (what you're copying) and your own output. If the font is hard to read, your brain works harder. That mental effort slows your fingers.

The Best Fonts for Typing

1. Monospace fonts (Courier New, Consolas, Fira Code): Each character has the same width. Your brain can predict where the next letter will appear. Ideal for coding and typing tests.
2. Humanist sans-serifs (Open Sans, Roboto, Verdana): Designed for screen readability. The letter shapes are distinct (e.g., lowercase "l" looks different from uppercase "I").
3. Avoid: Decorative fonts (Comic Sans), ultra-thin fonts (Helvetica Thin), and serif fonts at small sizes (Times New Roman on a low-resolution screen).

How to Change Your Typing Test Font

On orangetype.in, you can customize the font in the settings. Try a week with Consolas, then a week with Open Sans. Track your accuracy. You might find a 5–10% improvement.

Designing Your Own Blog Posts

When you write on blogs.orangetype.in, use large body text (18px+), generous line height (1.5), and a clean sans-serif font. Your readers' eyes will thank you.