Touch targets

Are your touch targets large enough and easy to reach?

Why it’s important

Alan uses a smaller mobile phone to read the latest news on his morning commute on a busy train. Often whilst drinking coffee in his other hand.
Mary has giantism due to a benign tumor on her pituitary gland. She has large hands which makes small links, or links that are too close together difficult to tap on her phone.
As a new parent Sienna uses her smartphone as her primary computer. Taking notes, shopping online and tracking her child's eating happens all in one hand.

Can you reach all primary actions with either left or right thumbs, even on larger phones? Items on the bottom of the screen tend to be easier to reach.
Check all touch targets are at least 44px or 10mm. This will allow the average adult finger pad measuring 10mm to tap the target. The icons may be smaller and you can work with a developer to extend the padding past the icon. Pay particular attention to how line-height affects touch target size(this link opens an external website).
Check that the touch targets spacing is at least 8dp/16px to ensure touch accuracy. Make sure the user’s finger can be slightly off target and still be able to hit the button.

Last modified: 23 April 2021