Design Like A Pro Tip #1: Format Text Boxes to Avoid “Orphans”

I’d love to see your amazing business create an equally amazing impression on potential clients. So I’m starting this series to help make your website and marketing graphics stand out and look professional.

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In the typography world, an “orphan” is a single word on the last line of a paragraph. The drastically different line length can feel a little awkward with one word hanging out all by itself. To fix this you can adjust the width of your text box, wider or more narrow. If you have a very narrow text box with only a few words across (oftentimes in a headline) you might not be able to avoid this and that’s okay!

Another solution could be to hit shift>return to put another word on that last line, but be careful with this on your website- the line breaks most likely aren’t the same on desktop and mobile and you’ll create a weird break on the other one.

For more design lessons and tips (plus web templates and 1:1 support) join the Fit-Pro Launch Lab!