{"id":28209,"date":"2021-11-26T11:36:36","date_gmt":"2021-11-26T15:36:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/?p=28209"},"modified":"2024-01-01T08:20:24","modified_gmt":"2024-01-01T12:20:24","slug":"whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2021\/11\/whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online\/","title":{"rendered":"What\u2019s the best length of a word online?"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>The <em>New York Times<\/em> averages 4.9 characters<\/h2>\n<p>An editor once counseled me to change all the instances of <em>employment<\/em> in an article to <em>jobs<\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_33232\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-33232\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"33232\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2021\/11\/whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online\/whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online.png\" data-orig-size=\"450,300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Short and sweet&lt;\/strong&gt; Why write &lt;em&gt;employment&lt;\/em&gt; when you can write &lt;em&gt;jobs&lt;\/em&gt;? Save your readers processing time by choosing short words. &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/london-uk-june-28th-2018-word-1122939719&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image by chrisdorney&lt;\/em&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online-300x200.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online.png\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online.png\" alt=\"Length of a word online\" title=\"Length of a word online\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-full wp-image-33232 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online.png 450w, https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online-300x200.png 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 450px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 450\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"33232\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2021\/11\/whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online\/whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online-2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online.png\" data-orig-size=\"450,300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Short and sweet&lt;\/strong&gt; Why write &lt;em&gt;employment&lt;\/em&gt; when you can write &lt;em&gt;jobs&lt;\/em&gt;? Save your readers processing time by choosing short words. &lt;a href=&quot;https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/london-uk-june-28th-2018-word-1122939719&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot; rel=&quot;noopener&quot;&gt;&lt;em&gt;Image by chrisdorney&lt;\/em&gt;&lt;\/a&gt;&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online-300x200.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online.png\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online.png\" alt=\"Length of a word online\" title=\"Length of a word online\" width=\"450\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-full wp-image-33232\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online.png 450w, https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online-300x200.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 450px) 100vw, 450px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-33232\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Short and sweet<\/strong> Why write <em>employment<\/em> when you can write <em>jobs<\/em>? Save your readers processing time by choosing short words. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shutterstock.com\/image-photo\/london-uk-june-28th-2018-word-1122939719\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Image by chrisdorney<\/em><\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Great advice. More than 80 years of readability research demonstrate that short, simple, familiar words are easiest to read and understand.<\/p>\n<p>So if short words are better, how long should your words be?<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re writing in English, keep them to five characters on average.<\/p>\n<p>This is important. Because short words are the No. 1 predictor of readability.<\/p>\n<h3>Write like <em>The Times<\/em>.<\/h3>\n<p>When I recommend to my clients that they limit their word length to five characters per word, they roll their eyes.<\/p>\n<p>But when I tell them I know they can do it, because <em>The New York Times<\/em> does it every day, they sit up and take note.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/revvingupreadership.com\/2021\/01\/benchmark-readability-against-the-new-york-times\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">We analyzed all stories in one edition of <em>The New York Times<\/em><\/a>. (We skipped the sports pages, thinking they might skew our results.) On that day, <em>Times<\/em> words:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Ranged from an average of 4 characters<\/strong> per word (\u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2014\/12\/16\/business\/seeing-the-world-through-its-barbecue-joints.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Seeing the World Through Its Barbecue Joints<\/a>\u201c) to an average of 5.6 characters (\u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com\/2014\/12\/15\/wright-architecture-school-sets-fund-raising-goal-for-independence\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wright Architecture School Sets Fund-raising Goal for Independence<\/a>\u201d).<\/li>\n<li><strong>Averaged 4.9 characters<\/strong> per word.<\/li>\n<li>Weighed in at a median of 4.9 characters per word.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>And, remember, the <em>Times<\/em> is covering topics ranging from rocket science and brain surgery.<\/p>\n<p>What\u2019s your average word length? Could you make big stories more accessible to more people if it were shorter?<\/p>\n<h3>Benchmark your word length against the best.<\/h3>\n<p>Need more evidence?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/revvingupreadership.com\/2021\/01\/benchmark-readability-against-the-wall-street-journal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong><em>The Wall Street Journal<\/em> averages 4.8 characters per word<\/strong><\/a>. And that\u2019s covering the most complex machinations of business.<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2021\/01\/benchmark-readability-against-the-bbc\/\"><strong>The BBC averages 4.7 characters per word<\/strong><\/a>. And <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/what-is-readability\/how-to-improve-readability\/new-york-times-readability\/\">that\u2019s covering global news. (Benchmark<\/a> your copy against telecomm and other trades.)<\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/wolfgarbe.medium.com\/the-average-word-length-in-english-language-is-4-7-35750344870f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>The average word in the English language is 4.7 characters<\/strong><\/a>. Can you keep your average word length to 4.7 characters?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Words of more than two syllables are hard words<\/strong>, according to the Gunning-Mueller Fog Index. The SMOG (Simple Measure of Gobbledygook) index agrees. Can you write, on average, in easy words?<\/li>\n<li><strong>Of the 235 words in the Gettysburg Address<\/strong> (that\u2019s fewer than the number on the back of a potato chip package today), 174 of them have only one syllable.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Winston Churchill <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2021\/12\/write-like-churchill-in-one-syllable-words\/\">entertained himself by writing essays of one-syllable words<\/a><\/strong>. (And he\u2019s the only person, as far as I know, who ever slayed Nazis with his words.) The man won a Nobel Laureate for literature for his writing.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Two syllables? One? 4.7 characters?<\/p>\n<p>Why so short?<\/p>\n<h3>Why so short?<\/h3>\n<p>The words we use most often in the English language are Anglo-Saxon. And most of those are single-syllable words: <em>the, of, and, to, a, in, that, it, is, was, I<\/em> and so <em>on<\/em>.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_28214\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-28214\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"28214\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2021\/11\/whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online\/wordcount\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/wordcount.png\" data-orig-size=\"600,300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"wordcount\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Short and sweet&lt;\/strong&gt; The words we use most often in the English language are one-syllable long.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/wordcount-300x150.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/wordcount.png\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/wordcount.png\" alt=\"Why so short?\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28214 lazyload\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/wordcount.png 600w, https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/wordcount-300x150.png 300w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 600px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 600\/300;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"28214\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/2021\/11\/whats-the-best-length-of-a-word-online\/wordcount\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/wordcount.png\" data-orig-size=\"600,300\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"wordcount\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Short and sweet&lt;\/strong&gt; The words we use most often in the English language are one-syllable long.&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/wordcount-300x150.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/wordcount.png\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/wordcount.png\" alt=\"Why so short?\" width=\"600\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-full wp-image-28214\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/wordcount.png 600w, https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/11\/wordcount-300x150.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\" \/><\/noscript><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-28214\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><strong>Short and sweet<\/strong> The words we use most often in the English language are one-syllable long.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>In fact, the 54 most-used words in the English language have just one syllable, according to WordCount, a website that chronicles how we use language. \u201cAbout\u201d comes in 55th, followed by even more one-syllable words. These super-short words make it possible to keep your overall average short.<\/p>\n<p>And short words serve you, your audience and your organization better. Why not use them?<\/p>\n<h3>How to keep words short.<\/h3>\n<p>How do you keep your words within these character limits? Open your Microsoft Word document, and start using the word count tool.<\/p>\n<p>Don\u2019t use Microsoft Word? An online character count tool or other character counter will work just as well to help you find your word and character count.<\/p>\n<p>At this point, you&#8217;re not worrying about keyword density, keeping your message under 280 characters or hitting any particular number of words in an article. You\u2019re not counting words, you\u2019re making sure the number of characters per word hits the target.<\/p>\n<p>Once your online word counter tool says you\u2019ve hit the mark, you can move onto online tools for SEO.<\/p>\n<p>Learn other ways to keep words short.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/writing-tips\/what-is-readability\/word-length\/\">Learn more about writing short words<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div id='MMC-Clear' class='widgets_on_page wop_tiny1  wop_small1  wop_medium1  wop_large1  wop_wide1'>\n\t\t\t<ul><li id=\"custom_html-81\" class=\"widget_text widget widget_custom_html\"><div class=\"textwidget custom-html-widget\"><a title=\"Clear-writing workshop, a mini master class\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/corporate-communications-training\/mini-master-classes-home\/clear-writing-course\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/clear-writing-training-mmc.png\" alt=\"Clear-writing workshop, a mini master class\" title=\"Clear-writing workshop, a mini master class\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\" border=\"0\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 250px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 250\/250;float:left; text-align:left; margin: 0 auto; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 10px; font-size: 18x; line-height: 22px; padding: 0px; color: #FFFFFF; max-width:100%; max-height:100%;\" class=\"img-max lazyload\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\"><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/clear-writing-training-mmc.png\" alt=\"Clear-writing workshop, a mini master class\" title=\"Clear-writing workshop, a mini master class\" width=\"auto\" height=\"auto\" border=\"0\" style=\"float:left; text-align:left; margin: 0 auto; margin-right: 10px; margin-top: 2px; margin-bottom: 10px; font-size: 18x; line-height: 22px; padding: 0px; color: #FFFFFF; max-width:100%; max-height:100%;\" class=\"img-max\"><\/noscript><\/a><h3>Reach more readers with tight writing<\/h3>\r\n\t\r\n<p>Would your piece be twice as good if it were half as long? Yes, say readability experts.<\/p>\r\n\t\r\n<p>So how long should your message be? Your paragraphs? Your sentences? Your words? What reading ease level should you hit?<\/p>\r\n\t\r\n<p>Learn how to write clearer, more concise messages at our <a title=\"Clear-writing workshop, a mini master class\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/corporate-communications-training\/mini-master-classes-home\/clear-writing-course\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>clear-writing course<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<div class=\"btn btn--depth\" style=\"text-align: center;  margin: 10px 0 20px; width:100%;\"><a id=\"btnTT\" style=\"\" title=\"BOOK NOW\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/corporate-communications-training\/mini-master-classes-home\/clear-writing-course\/\" target=\"\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-width=\"91\">BOOK NOW<\/a>\r\n<!-- [if mso]>\r\n<p style=\"line-height:0;margin:0;\"><v:roundrect xmlns:v=\"urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wyliecomm.com\/corporate-communications-training\/mini-master-classes-home\/clear-writing-course\/\" style=\"width:153px\" arcsize=\"8%\" strokecolor=\"#D96237\" filled=\"t\"><v:fill type=\"gradient\" angle=\"180\" color=\"#f16522\" color2=\"#f16522\"><\/v:fill><v:textbox style=\"mso-fit-shape-to-text:t\" inset=\"0px,11px,0px,11px\"><center style=\"font-size:16px;line-height:24px;color:#FFFFFF;font-family:sans-serif;font-weight:bold;mso-line-height-rule:exactly;mso-text-raise:4px\">BOOK NOW<\/center><\/v:textbox><\/v:roundrect><\/p>\r\n<![endif]--><\/div>\r\n<\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><!-- widgets_on_page -->\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The New York Times averages 4.9 characters<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":33232,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[294],"tags":[487,13025,96],"class_list":{"0":"post-28209","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-word-length","8":"tag-characters","9":"tag-new-york-times","10":"tag-readability","11":"entry"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v23.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What\u2019s the best length of a word online?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Short and sweet: Why write employment when you can write jobs? 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