Whether you're writing documentation, blog posts, or commit messages, word count affects readability and SEO. Here's what I've learned about optimal content length for different platforms.
When I started writing technical documentation, I thought quality was all that mattered. Length? That was for school essays. Then I noticed something: my longest, most detailed guides had the worst engagement. People weren't reading them.
The problem wasn't the content - it was the presentation. A 5,000-word guide without structure is intimidating. The same content broken into focused sections with clear word counts? Much more approachable. That's when I started using the Word Counter for everything I write.
Now I think about word count strategically. Not as a constraint, but as a tool for matching content to context. A tweet needs different treatment than a technical deep-dive.
There's a lot of bad advice about SEO and word count. 'Blog posts should be 2,000+ words!' I've tested this extensively on CodeUtil and my findings are different.
The truth is: content length should match search intent. Someone searching 'what is base64' wants a quick explanation, not a dissertation. Someone searching 'complete guide to API authentication' expects depth. Google rewards content that matches intent, not arbitrary length.
For CodeUtil's tool documentation, I aim for 800-1,200 words. Enough to cover the topic thoroughly, short enough to respect readers' time. My in-depth guides run 2,000-3,000 words, but only when the topic genuinely requires it.
Every platform has different limits, and they change occasionally. I keep a mental reference of the current ones because hitting a limit mid-post is frustrating.
The thing is, limits aren't just constraints - they're features. Twitter's 280 characters force conciseness. LinkedIn's longer limits allow for thought leadership posts. Instagram captions can be substantial but most people stop reading after a few lines.
I use the Word Counter to draft social posts before copying them to each platform. It shows both word and character counts, which saves me from discovering I'm over the limit after I've already formatted everything.
Adding reading time to articles isn't just a nice touch - it sets expectations. When I see '15 min read' on an article, I know to save it for later. '3 min read'? I'll check it out now.
The standard calculation is 200-250 words per minute for average adult reading speed. I use 238 words per minute as my baseline. Technical content might be slower (180-200 wpm) because readers pause to understand concepts.
The Word Counter calculates reading time automatically based on your word count. It's one of those features that seems minor until you're estimating timelines for a documentation sprint or planning a blog content calendar.
Developer documentation has its own word count considerations. Too short and you leave gaps. Too long and nobody reads it. I've found sweet spots for different documentation types.
READMEs should get someone started in under 2 minutes of reading. That's roughly 400-500 words. Quick start, installation, basic usage. Everything else goes in separate docs. The README is a landing page, not a manual.
API documentation needs to be thorough but scannable. Each endpoint description should be 100-200 words max, with clear examples. People don't read API docs linearly - they search for what they need. Dense prose makes that harder.
This might seem like overkill, but word count matters even for commit messages. I've seen commits with one-word messages and others with paragraphs. Both are usually wrong.
A good commit message subject line is under 50 characters - about 7-10 words. The body (if needed) should explain why, not what. The what is in the diff. Keep it to 2-3 sentences for most commits.
PR descriptions need more detail but shouldn't be essays. I aim for 100-300 words covering: what changed, why it changed, how to test it, and any breaking changes. Reviewers appreciate conciseness.
Here's how I actually use word count in my writing process. First draft: I ignore word count completely. Getting ideas down matters more than length. I'll end up with way too much content and that's fine.
Editing pass: Now I check word count. If a section is running long, I look for redundancy. Can I say this in fewer words? Is this tangent necessary? Usually, cutting 20-30% makes content better, not worse.
Final check: I verify total length matches the format. Blog post? Should be within my target range. Tweet? Better be under 280. The Word Counter gives me instant feedback so I can adjust before publishing.
Honestly, thinking about word count has made me a better writer. Not because of arbitrary limits, but because it forces me to evaluate: does every word earn its place?
There's no magic number - it depends on the topic. I've seen 600-word posts outrank 3,000-word guides because they better matched what searchers wanted. Focus on covering the topic completely without padding. For most topics, that's 1,000-1,500 words.
Divide word count by average reading speed (200-250 words per minute). For a 1,500-word article at 238 wpm, that's about 6.3 minutes - round up to 7 minutes. For technical content, use 180-200 wpm since readers process it more slowly.
For reading time estimation, I typically exclude large code blocks since people scan them differently than prose. For SEO purposes, code samples don't really count toward content length. The Word Counter shows character count which is more relevant for code.
Google typically displays 155-160 characters for meta descriptions on desktop. Mobile shows fewer. I aim for 150-155 characters to avoid truncation. Front-load the important information since the end might get cut off.
Google doesn't have a minimum word count penalty. It penalizes thin content that doesn't satisfy user intent. A 300-word article that perfectly answers a simple question will outrank a 2,000-word article that buries the answer in fluff.
Founder of CodeUtil. Web developer building tools I actually use. When I'm not coding, I experiment with productivity techniques (with mixed success).
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