Readability
WebFX Readability Test Tool Review
When it comes to checking readability, the WebFX Readability Test Tool is one of many tools from WebFX designed to help professionals, marketers and content creators enhance their communications.
When it comes to checking readability, the WebFX Readability Test Tool is one of many tools from WebFX designed to help professionals, marketers and content creators enhance their communications. But how does its readability test tool compare to the competition and does it really give you an accurate representation of the readability of your content? We put it to the test and go in depth in this detailed WebFX Readability test tool review.
Like other readability checkers, the WebFX readability test tool helps writers, educators, marketers and others ensure that their content can be understood by their target audience. Readability tests do this by leveraging different formulas created by educators and professionals to assign a specific grade level or age range to the content. Some readability formulas are designed for children, but others are designed for all ages. The WebFX Readability Test brings the functionality of these formulas online.
The WebFX Readability tool offers a number of helpful features that make it an outstanding choice, including:
Multiple Readability Formulas - The readability checker pulls from several popular readability formulas including Flesch Kincaid Reading Ease, Flesch Kincaid Grade Level, Gunning Fog, SMOG, Coleman Liau Index and Automated Readability Index, giving you a larger picture of the readability of your document as opposed to using a single formula.
URL or Direct Text Input - You can add your URL or text directly and the readability tool will fetch the resulting content, making it easy to check your content even if it’s already online.
Instant Readability Check - You’ll get the results of your readability test almost instantly, with no need to wait for the tool to scan or analyze anything.
Explanation of Scores - WebFX provides a detailed explanation of what your scores mean if you’re unfamiliar with the different readability formulas or the metrics by which they are measured.
Free to Use - WebFX’s readability tool is free to use from any device with an internet connection.
Here’s how to use the WebFX readability checker step-by-step:
If you continue to scroll down, you’ll also see some basic statistics about your text such as the number of words, complex words, syllables and so on. You can also hover over the question mark beside each readability formula to learn more about what that formula actually looks for, and click the More Details link below your score on each one to see the mathematical formula behind it.
Keep in mind there is no right or wrong score. If you’re writing a piece that’s aimed at college-educated professionals (like this one), it’s normal that your text should score somewhere in that range and a more difficult reading score doesn’t necessarily mean that your writing is bad or somehow incorrect. It’s all about adapting your content to your target audience.
Like any readability testing tool, the WebFX tool has its pros and cons.
Check your readability using multiple formulas - See how the readability of your content is measured across a variety of scores and formulas, giving you a fuller picture of how understandable your text is.
Input your text your preferred way - Whether you want to add a URL or copy and paste your text directly, the WebFX readability test tool lets you enter your text your way.
Free and accessible - Unlike other readability checkers which are limited to a specific number of words or characters, the WebFX tool is free and accessible to all.
Doesn’t replace human judgment - Keep in mind that even the best readability checker can’t gauge things like tone, intent or context and can’t comprehend things like nuance and subtlety. Although it does give you a general score on how easy your writing is to understand, it doesn’t apply this within the broader picture of your target audience or their pre-existing knowledge about the topic.
Possible over-reliance on scores - It’s easy to get so caught up in aiming for the “perfect score” that you become too reliant on the numbers instead of the quality of text.
Limited to English only - The readability tool is limited to English-only texts which may limit it in terms of multilingual translations and readability.
Hemingway Editor - In addition to checking readability, Hemingway Editor offers suggestions on how to improve complex sentences, over-reliance on adverbs and passive voice, helping to make your writing more direct and clear, similar to the author for which the tool is named.
Readable - Readable checks the readability of your text, but also offers more detailed tools such as a keyword density checker, sentiment analysis and more, however the free tool is extremely limited.
Grammarly - One of the most well-known readability checkers and grammar tools, Grammarly offers suggestions on improving the readability of your text, adhering to a specific tone and enhancing the style of your writing.
Originality.AI - Using the latest in artificial intelligence, machine learning and natural language processing, Originality.AI’s free readability checker analyzes your content through the lens of eleven different readability formulas. It also offers an advanced plagiarism detector and AI writing detector.
Originality.AI is an online platform designed to help content creators, website owners and writers protect the authenticity of their content by checking for AI writing and plagiarism before publishing it. In addition to checking for plagiarism and AI writing, Originality also leverages the latest in AI technology to help web professionals check and verify the readability of their content.
Although WebFX offers a number of robust features and is free, Originality.AI goes a step beyond just checking readability and also offers users the ability to check for plagiarism and AI writing. In addition, Originality.AI’s free readability tool checks readability across several more formulas, including all of the formulas that the WebFX readability test tool uses and more, allowing content professionals far greater flexibility and freedom in terms of showing them the big picture of the readability of their content as well as the authenticity and “humanness” of their text.
Originality.AI isn’t a “single algorithm”, rather it’s a combination of several tools and technologies all woven together and consistently updated and developed to leverage the very latest in artificial intelligence to help content producers and website owners ensure the credibility, authenticity and originality of their work. This in turn, contributes to higher quality, more in-depth content that genuinely answers user’s questions instead of merely “scratching the surface” as AI-style responses tend to do.
The WebFX readability checker is a great tool if you need to quickly and easily check your content’s readability across a number of well-known and well-respected formulas. The fact that it’s free is also a huge help, as many readability checkers are only available if you upgrade to the premium version of their respective tools. However, if you’re looking for a tool that also gives you the option to check for plagiarism and AI detection, Originality.AI is a smarter choice. Most readability checkers don’t offer these enhanced features or charge an exorbitant price to access them.
The best part of Originality.AI is that you can check for plagiarism or AI writing on a case by case basis for as little as 1 cent per 100 words scanned, making it a cost effective way to ensure that your content is high quality, credible and authentically your own. Try Originality.AI now for yourself and get the full picture of the readability of your text, as well as an in-depth plagiarism and AI writing check for a fraction of the price of other services.
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It is a well known and almost universally accepted fact that Google will reward your content for something called “Readability”. As a result there have been many off the shelf content marketing tools ( think Grammarly, Hemingway readable.com etc) that have attempted to help people publish content with optimal Readability scores. The thought is that if content is published according to recommendations of these tools, they will be more likely to rank on Google Search Engines.
