Justified Text Readability

Comments criticize the poor readability of justified text in web browsers due to inadequate hyphenation, primitive line-breaking algorithms, and uneven spacing, while suggesting fixes like CSS hyphenation, reader mode, or avoiding justification altogether.

📉 Falling 0.5x Web Development
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#6138
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Keywords

e.g US IMHO hyphenator.js OK spacing.html practicaltypography.com HN DMV ASCII text spacing justified line layout width breaking word words css

Sample Comments

bjourne Jul 16, 2023 View on HN

text-align: justify ruins the readability of the text. Won't ever work until browsers become much better at hyphenation.

Luc Sep 5, 2024 View on HN

Try Reader Mode, it fixes the awkward word and line spacing.

CharlesW Feb 23, 2013 View on HN

Only if you stop using fully-justified text first.

leephillips Dec 7, 2020 View on HN

It’s because the primitive line-breaking algorithm used by browers, combined with the lack of hypenation in most cases, leads to a poor result, especially in narrow columns. Look up “greedy line breaking”.

amelius Jan 26, 2022 View on HN

They could also change word-spacing and line breaks.

b0rsuk Apr 29, 2012 View on HN

(weasel word) people think manual line-breaking is the thing that needs fixing :-).

cubefox Sep 6, 2025 View on HN

Enabling automatic CSS hyphenation would reduce the often rather wide word gaps in justified text.

atrus Dec 17, 2025 View on HN

It's a cool idea, but the lack of a space between regular words and words wrapped in a is driving my typo-radar nuts

leephillips Jul 15, 2013 View on HN

Narrow column + no hyphenation + justified = typesetting disaster, especially with the crude type handling in web browsers.

danieka Sep 6, 2020 View on HN

Also the author hasn't turned on hyphenation. It's a "rule" that when you justify text you should use hyphenation. If not, the spacing between words will be very uneven as can be seen in the text.The author should try adding language to the HTML tag (``) and setting `hyphens: auto` in CSS. Still hyphenation in browser is of a lower quality than you will find in a book with good typesetting.I played around with the page and, to me, left-aligned tex