improve keyboard typing speed

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How to Improve Typing Speed: Touch Typing, Ergonomics, & More

Quickly get to your WPM goal with these typing tips

Last Updated: June 24, 2024 Fact Checked

Keyboard Fundamentals

Typing basics, touch typing, practice typing, games & classes, typing tests, take breaks, find the best keyboard, try different layouts, consider mechanical keyboards.

This article was co-authored by Luigi Oppido and by wikiHow staff writer, Kyle Smith . Luigi Oppido is the Owner and Operator of Pleasure Point Computers in Santa Cruz, California. Luigi has over 25 years of experience in general computer repair, data recovery, virus removal, and upgrades. He is also the host of the Computer Man Show! broadcasted on KSQD covering central California for over two years. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 783,690 times.

Want to type faster without making mistakes? Typing is used in many career paths, and is an everyday necessity for a lot of people. Increasing your typing speed and accuracy is something that you can do on your own or with proper training. Whatever you decide, you must be committed to practicing often if you want to improve your typing skills. This wikiHow article will discuss easy 11 ways to improve typing speed and accuracy. We’ll talk about the basics, finding the right keyboard, and improving ergonomics.

Things You Should Know

• Get to know your keyboard! The better you know the layout and shortcuts, the faster you’ll be able to type.
• Practice touch typing, the art of using a keyboard without looking at the keyboard. This can markedly improve your typing speed.
• To improve ergonomics, support your back, relax your shoulders, keep your elbows close to your sides, and your feet flat on the floor or on a foot rest.

• Once you understand what all of the keys do, try to create a visual layout of the keyboard in your mind that you can call upon when you’re typing.
• Many keyboards are equipped with time-saving keys that provide shortcuts for common commands or keystrokes. Be sure to read up on your keyboard's shortcuts to help increase your speed.
• Check out our guide on using a computer keyboard for more information.

• The row with the “A,” “S,” “D,” “F,” “J,” “K,” “L,” and “;” keys is known as the home run because it’s the row that your fingers always start at and return to while you’re typing.
• When you arrange your fingers on the keyboard, curve them slightly, but keep your hands relaxed.
• Make sure that your keyboard is centered directly in front of your body.

• Strike the “1,” “2,” “Q,” and “Z” keys, in addition to the “A” key, with your left pinky.
• Strike the “3,” “W”, and “X” keys, in addition to the “S” key, with your left ring finger.
• Strike the “4,” “E”, and “C” keys, in addition to the “D” key, with your left middle finger.
• Strike the “5,” “6,” “R,” “T,” “G,” “V,” and “B” keys, in addition to the “F” key, with your left index finger.
• Strike the “7,” “Y,” “U,” “H,” “N,” and “M” keys, in addition to the “J” key, with your right index finger.
• Strike the “8,” “I,” and “,” keys, in addition to the “K” with your right middle finger.
• Strike the “9,” “O,” and “.” keys, in addition to the “L” key, with your right ring finger.
• Strike the “0,” “-,” “=,” “P,” “[,” “],” “‘,” and “/” keys, in addition to the “;” key, with your right pinky.
• Hit the “Shift” key with the pinky on the opposite hand from the finger that you’re using to strike the other key.
• Hit the spacebar with whichever thumb feels most comfortable to you.

• When learning how to type without looking at the keyboard, consider covering your hands with a cloth, piece of paper, or cardboard, so you're unable to see the keys even if you peek.
• While you should try to keep your gaze on the computer screen as much as possible, it’s okay to cheat occasionally and glance down at the keyboard to ensure that you know where the keys are.
• Read our article on learning to type extremely fast for additional tips on increasing speed.

• One of the best ways to practice is to repeatedly type sample passages over and over again. You can find plenty of passages online that are geared toward improving your typing accuracy and speed.
• When you're practicing, focus on accuracy first. Make sure that you're typing each word correctly and achieving proper spacing and punctuation. Once you feel like your typing has become accurate, you can work on improving your speed.
• Practice doesn’t just mean taking online typing tests. Writing emails to friends and family and posting on online forums can help sharpen your typing skills and increase your speed.

• While you can purchase touch typing software, there are also a variety of free programs, such as TypingClub, TypeRacer, Klavaro Touch Typing Tutor, and Rapid Typing.
• If you've already learned the touch typing basics, use free online typing games to help you improve your typing speed. Try some of the fun games at FreeTypingGame.net or WordGames.com. They're more enjoyable than practicing the same old passages, so you may find it easier to stay committed to improving your typing speed.

• If you don’t have a typing course available to you in your area, there are online programs that may help. You won’t have the opportunity for in-person assistance, but the instruction can still help you improve your typing speed.

• Some online typing tests that are available for free include https://www.typing.com/ and https://www.typingmaster.com/ .

• You may prefer reclining slightly in your chair to help take pressure off your back. However, keep in mind that typing in a reclined position may cause shoulder and neck strain. Moving your chair closer to the desk can help alleviate some of that stress.
• If your chair doesn’t have a built-in cushion for your lower back, you can place a small pillow between your back and the chair for additional support.
• Learn more in our guide to choosing an ergonomic office chair .

• If you’re not sure that your shoulders are relaxed, breathe in and out slowly. The position that your shoulders naturally fall in as you breathe out is usually relaxed.

• You don’t have to use your chair’s armrests if you don’t want to. Just make sure that your elbows remain close to your sides even without the added support.

• If your chair doesn’t have an adjustable seat, you may want to purchase an ergonomic footrest that makes it easier to keep your feet in a flat position.

• Some keyboard and keyboard trays are equipped with wrist pads, but they're not there for you to rest your wrists on as you type. They're only for brief breaks when you're not typing. If you must rest your hand on the wrist pad, try to place your palm on it rather than your wrist.
• If your chair has adjustable armrests, set them so that your forearms are parallel to the floor and your wrist is in a neutral position.

• You may want to invest in an adjustable keyboard and mouse tray that you can attach to your desk or work surface. That will allow you to position the keyboard at the most comfortable height.
• If you don't have a keyboard tray, try adjusting your chair's height to make your position more comfortable.

• To keep yourself from working too hard, set up a practice schedule by designating a certain amount of time each day to practice your typing. However, build breaks into your schedule to keep yourself fresh. For example, you might decide to type for 30 minutes each day, taking breaks every ten minutes or so.

• Keep the size of the keys in mind. The larger they are, the easier it will be to type. That means you may want to look for a keyboard where the keys that you use most often, such as the letters and numbers, are larger than other keys. [12] X Research source
• A keyboard with concave keys that fit the shape of your fingers is a good option if you're looking to eliminate errors in your typing as you try to increase your speed.
• It's best to choose a keyboard with keys that have strong tactile feedback, which means they offer enough resistance to alert you that the stroke has registered. The resistance also keeps you from accidentally hitting keys as you're typing, so you can type more quickly.

• 100% (104-key) Full Sized: Great for individuals that need a full set of keys. This includes a numbers key row and number pad, function keys, and arrow keys.
• 80% (87-key) Tenkeyless: A more compact layout with everything in 100% except for the Numpad. If you don’t use the Numpad often, this size lets you have more room for your mouse! (If you’re a right-side mouse user). You can always plug in a separate standalone Numpad if you end up needing one.
• 65% (68-key) Compact: This layout combines the number and function rows into one, similar to many laptop layouts. The action keys are often smaller and in a single column.

Community Q&A

Reader Videos

• If you decide to take advantage of chat sites, emails, and forums, make sure you don't fall into the trap of writing in the shorthand lingo as this will defeat the purpose of you improving your typing skills. Speed is nothing without accuracy. Thanks Helpful 79 Not Helpful 29

You Might Also Like

• ↑ Luigi Oppido. Computer & Tech Specialist. Expert Interview. 31 July 2019.
• ↑ https://www.rapidtyping.com/typing-instructions.html
• ↑ https://www.shoutmeloud.com/improve-typing-speed-accuracy.html
• ↑ https://myhealth.alberta.ca/Health/Pages/conditions.aspx?hwid=hw200906
• ↑ https://www.laptopmag.com/articles/how-to-pick-a-good-keyboard
• ↑ https://www.keychron.com/blogs/news/keyboard-size-layout-buying-guide

About This Article

To improve typing speed, take online typing tests that can be tailored to your level of experience and track your progress. Additionally, use online typing games that can provide helpful tips, exercises, and fun games to keep you motivated. You'll also want to work on looking at the screen instead of your fingers since this will make you a faster typist. Also, try to practice typing every day since regular practice will help you get faster in a shorter amount of time. To learn how to use proper posture to improve your typing speed, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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Online typing lessons

Click on a typing lesson on the list below. The exercise will begin as soon as you press the first key.

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Some of these exercises are not fully supported by your keyboard layout and may behave differently from what is expected by the exercise description.

First steps lessons ?

First and very easy typing lessons for learning all key positions. Suitable for beginners.

• Base position dynamic generic 7 signs
• Home row dynamic generic 9 signs
• Home row and top row dynamic generic 19 signs
• Home row and bottom row dynamic generic 16 signs
• All letters dynamic generic 26 signs
• All rows dynamic generic 36 signs

Warm-up exercises ?

Easy typing lessons for learning all key positions. Suitable for beginners.

• Top row dynamic generic 10 signs
• Bottom row dynamic generic 7 signs
• Number row dynamic generic 10 signs
• Home row and number row dynamic generic 19 signs

Learn exercises ?

First easy exercises to learn touch typing step by step.

• Base position [h4:h7] dynamic generic 2 signs
• Base position [h4:h7:h3:h8] dynamic generic 4 signs
• Base position [h4:h7:h3:h8:h2:h9] dynamic generic 6 signs
• Base position complete dynamic generic 8 signs
• Base position + [h5:h6] dynamic generic 10 signs
• Home row dynamic generic 11 signs
• Home row + [t3:b7] dynamic generic 13 signs
• Home row + [t3:b7:t8:t4] dynamic generic 15 signs
• Home row + [t3:b7:t8:t4:t5:t7] dynamic generic 17 signs
• Home row + [t3:b7:t8:t4:t5:t7:b4:b8] dynamic generic 19 signs
• Home row + [t3:b7:t8:t4:t5:t7:b4:b8:t9:b6] dynamic generic 21 signs
• Home row + [t3:b7:t8:t4:t5:t7:b4:b8:t9:b6:t1:t2:t10:b5] dynamic generic 25 signs
• Home row + [t3:b7:t8:t4:t5:t7:b4:b8:t9:b6:t1:t2:t10:b5:b3:b2:t6] dynamic generic 28 signs

Word exercises ?

Typing lessons with words that reveal more and more letters. Perfect to practice typing step by step.

• Home row dynamic 12 signs
• Home row + EN dynamic 12 signs
• Home row + ENIR dynamic 14 signs
• Home row + ENIRTU dynamic 18 signs
• Home row + ENIRTUCM dynamic 18 signs
• Home row + ENIRTUCMOB dynamic 20 signs
• Home row + ENIRTUCMOBWYP dynamic 29 signs
• Home row + ENIRTUCMOBWYPQVXZ dynamic 27 signs

Finger practice ?

Exercises with randomly placed letters. For users who wants to improve their finger skills.

• Home row and right top row dynamic generic 16 signs
• Home row and left top row dynamic generic 16 signs
• Home and top row dynamic generic 21 signs
• Home row and right bottom row dynamic generic 16 signs
• Home row and left bottom row dynamic generic 17 signs
• Home and bottom row dynamic generic 22 signs
• Home and right number row dynamic generic 17 signs
• Home and left number row dynamic generic 17 signs
• Home and number row dynamic generic 23 signs
• All letters dynamic generic 32 signs
• All rows dynamic generic 44 signs

Hand practice ?

Easy typing lessons for each hand separately. Suitable for users who wants to train one hand.

• Left hand - home row dynamic generic 5 signs
• Left hand - home and top row dynamic generic 10 signs
• Left hand - home and bottom row dynamic generic 11 signs
• Left hand - home and number row dynamic generic 11 signs
• Left hand - all letters dynamic generic 16 signs
• Left hand - all rows dynamic generic 22 signs
• Right hand - home row dynamic generic 6 signs
• Right hand - home and top row dynamic generic 11 signs
• Right hand - home and bottom row dynamic generic 11 signs
• Right hand - home and number row dynamic generic 11 signs
• Right hand - all letters dynamic generic 16 signs
• Right hand - all rows dynamic generic 21 signs

Practical exercises ?

Practice-oriented typing of the most common english words. Perfect to prepare for real life.

• Top 25 english words dynamic 18 signs
• Top 50 english words dynamic 23 signs
• Top 100 english words dynamic 24 signs
• Top 200 english words dynamic 26 signs
• Top 300 english words dynamic 29 signs
• Top 500 english words dynamic 34 signs
• Top 1000 english words dynamic 41 signs

Bonus lessons ?

More demanding exercises from all keyboard rows with special characters plus uppercase letters.

• Phonetic alphabet dynamic 49 signs
• Lorem ipsum dynamic 28 signs
• Capitals of Europe dynamic 36 signs
• Tongue twisters dynamic 29 signs
• Sayings dynamic 29 signs
• Written numbers dynamic 20 signs
• The complete alphabet dynamic 53 signs

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Create your own typing lessons

As a registered user you can create up to 10 own lessons and thereby practice your keyboarding skills even more targeted.

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More than just simple typing practice

The typing lessons in our typing tutor are not just static texts. They are recombined in each exercise and adapt to your typing habits:

Dynamic typing lessons

All typing lessons marked as dynamic are reassembled each time you start a exercise in our typing tutor . This not only makes the exercises extremely varied, but also ensures that you don't memorize them by repetition.

Intelligent error analysis

Thanks to the intelligent error analysis in our typing tutor words and strings in which you often make mistakes will be repeated more frequently during your practice. This means that your personal weaknesses are trained directly and without any action on your part.

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Training objective

10 Words / min.

10% Error rate

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At TypingAcademy you can easily learn how to type with ten fingers. Our free online typing tutor helps you to practice touch typing in such a way that you can improve your finger technique noticeably in the long term and type faster and more comfortable. Thanks to the various typing lessons, you can learn how to type like in a course at school or in a coaching. And since our typing tutor runs as a web service directly online in the browser, you can use it on every platform.

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Free Online Typing Tutor

How to learn to type:, no looking at your keyboard.

This is important - don't do it!

Touch typing is a skill that uses muscle memory to know where the keys are without the sense of sight. You can't learn to swim without getting wet; likewise, you can't learn to touch type by looking down at the keyboard. It might be hard at first but hang in there, and in no time it will become so natural you'll forget the keyboard is even there!

Technique and Accuracy First

Concentrate on correct form (using the right fingering, etc.) and accuracy above all else.

Typing Tutor Features

Multiple lesson formats.

Two different typing lesson formats give you more options to choose how you like to learn:

- Classic Lessons

There is a reason why these repetitive lessons are so common: they work really well for those just starting to learn touch-typing.

For those just starting to learn touch-typing try these - they work!

- Advanced Lessons

These lessons are for those who might already have a basic understanding of the keyboard and need a quicker refresher or maybe learn some of the rarer keys better.

Advanced lessons are designed to move quicker through learning the keys while also introducing words instead of random letters.

Try both types of lessons to find the one you like best. Or, for best results, complete both sets!

Multiple Lesson Lengths

The lesson length dropdown (under the method tabs in the left sidebar) allows you to customize the length of each lesson.

Set target speed and accuracy

Now you have the ability to set typing goals for your typing lessons! Simply set the typing speed and accuracy you would like to achieve and the typing tutor will track your progress, letting you know which lessons you have completed and which ones you should repeat to achieve your goals.

As you improve and increase your target speed and accuracy, the tutor will automatically suggest lessons you should work on next!

Custom Lessons

Sometimes there are just a few keys you can't seem to remember. Simply enter the characters you wish to practice more in the left toolbar and click "Go!" to create a custom lesson for these keys, generated into random "words."

Restart Typing Lesson Hotkey

Keep your hands on the keyboard - use keyboard shortcut "Shift-Return" to restart the typing lesson to help you concentrate and keep your hands in the home position where they belong.

Practice Frequently!

This free online typing tutor was designed to help you learn to type as fast and easy as possible. Try a few lessons a day and you'll start to notice your fingers naturally move to the right keys. Even if it seems at times that you are making no improvement, keep on working at it and you will learn to type without looking! Remember to take breaks often though - its good for the body and for the learning!

Classic Lessons

Advanced lessons, custom lesson.

Enter characters:

Learn Touch Typing Free.

What is TypingClub?

Typingclub is the most effective way to learn how to type..

It is web based and highly effective. TypingClub is (and will always be) free for both individuals and schools. There is an optional paid school edition.

How Does it Work?

Keep practicing each lesson until you get all five stars. It really doesn't take much to learn, a few minutes a day for one to two weeks and you will be a pro!

Do I need an account?

You do not need to create an account. However, as you go through the lessons, you can create an optional profile in order to save your progress.

Inside TypingClub

All the reasons to start learning how to type right now.

It's a game. An engaging and interactive experience while you are learning how to type.

Proper hand posture guide. Will show you the correct hand posture on every key as you type.

Levels, Badges and Stars. All the reasons to keep you going, and build your muscle memory.

Accessibility. TypingClub is the most accessible typing program available.

Interactive experience. A full range of experiences from games, videos and different typing challenges makes learning fun.

Voice over. Once you turn it on, every word is read out loud as you are typing each word.

Typing Playback. You can view your past performances and even play them back.

Google for Education Partner. TypingClub is a Google for Education Partner

100% Online. All you need is a keyboard and a web browser.

More Lesson Plans

Typing lesson plan for a standard Dvorak keyboard from beginner to advanced. Includes games, videos and other interactive lessons. Learn more.

Typing for Kids

Jungle Junior is a specialized lesson plan created with young learners in mind. Learn more.

Left and Right Hand

Typing lesson plan for learning how to type with the right and left hand on a QWERTY keyboard. Learn more.

Animated Story Typing Series

Lauren is nervous before her big flight test. Join her and her helpful friend on a journey to find the confidence she needs to go solo. Learn more.

Ava & the Rabbit

Travel with Ava on a magical adventure as she explores her mysterious friend's world, and learns more about her own in the process. Learn more.

Perfect Match

Join Alex on an out-of-this world journey as he helps his mysterious new friend get back home. Learn more.

Language Series

Students can learn touch typing with hundreds of lessons in Spanish, including games, videos and the entire student experience in Spanish. Learn more.

Students can learn touch typing with hundreds of lessons in French, including games, videos and the entire student experience in French. Learn more.

Students can learn touch typing with hundreds of lessons in German, including games, videos and the entire student experience in German. Learn more.

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Your hands spend way more time on your keyboard than you think. Learning how to type fast is a basic skill that almost everyone underestimates in this digital world. Today, we're going to teach you everything you need to know about typing faster.

The keyboard is the only thing between your thoughts and the computer that's in front of you. Being a fast typist means getting your ideas out quicker, being more efficient with your time on the computer, and eventually letting your eyes wander away from the keyboard while you type.

Now if you already know what your rate of words per minute WPM and want to improve, but don't know where to start, then keep reading.

There are five WPM levels and they all need different areas of training. Learning what to practice and how you can practice your typing will let you increase your WPM much quicker.

20 to 50 WPM

For reference, 40 WPM is the world's average typing speed. Anyone who's in this WPM threshold is most likely looking at their keyboard while they type and don't type with all of their fingers. To improve in this category, you'll want to master the keyboard layout and prioritize learning how to type without looking at the keyboard.

How to level up: No-look typing is an essential skill that you need to master before expecting to increase your WPM to the next level.

51 to 70 WPM

70 WPM is the average typing speed for professional typists. This WPM level is more about speed than accuracy. Now that you're familiar with the keyboard enough to type comfortably without looking, ramping up the speed is the next step. You can practice this by quickly typing out one word at a time.

How to level up: Don't think about typing a sentence, but think about typing one word as quickly as you can. Visualize the keyboard and train your fingers to immediately type out one letter after the other in quick succession. You can pause for a second between every word so that you can focus on the keys you're about to press quickly.

71 to 90 WPM

If you can type this fast, then congratulations on typing much faster than most people. To increase your typing speed at this level, you'll need to understand how to read and think differently when you practice typing. Normally, people read a word, type it out, and then continue. Typists who are nearing the 100 WPM holy grail read the next word while typing out the previous one.

How to level up: Essentially, you should be building the confidence to continue reading to the next word even though you're still typing out the previous word. This removes the subtle pause between words where your hands do nothing because your brain is still checking if you typed out the word correctly. At this level, you should already be reading the next word as you type, relying on your confidence that you'll get the word right.

91 to 110 WPM

For those of you who have already made it this far, you're in one of the highest tiers of typing speeds. Typists at this point are either fast but make mistakes, or are slower than they could yet remain accurate.

How to level up: You need to polish either your speed or accuracy to reach past 110 WPM. If you're a fast typist but still make mistakes as you type, try to type at a comfortable pace without any mistakes. Get a perfect score twice at your comfortable pace and then go for a quicker pace while maintaining accuracy on your third try.

On the other hand, if accuracy is your strong point, then you'll need to brute force your way to type faster. Don't be afraid to make mistakes. You'll settle into the pacing and speed without a hitch anyway.

Typists at this level are just monsters. If you're already hitting a steady 120 WPM, you should pat yourself on the back. Typists who still want to improve here can only do so through a couple of ways.

• Continue practicing more and increasing your speed slowly.
• Invest in a better keyboard.
• Make sure your typing posture and position is ideal.

Although a lot of typing enthusiasts will recommend that you type with your left hand on

and right hand on

(also called the "home row" keys)---it's not that simple.

If you're already a fast typist and just want to continue improving, you don't have to change your finger alignment. You can easily hit 100 to 120 WPM on non-conventional finger alignments, and even 130 to 140 WPM if you practice hard enough.

However, for those of you who are still slow and are struggling to hit 50 WPM, then learning the ropes to proper finger alignments will be good for you.

Just keep in mind that typing can be fun. Even if you aren't using the traditional home row, you can still type incredibly quickly. For reference, my left fingers are usually on the

keys and my right fingers stay at

and I type at a comfortable 130 WPM on the monkeytype keyboarding website.

Learning to type fast is a geeky skill that has prompted the online community to create several websites for practice. There are a lot of websites out there, and some differ in their approach to developing your skills. Here are the three main types of practice websites that you can use:

• Pure typing - doesn't require punctuations and capitalizations. You just type word after word in lowercase.
• Sentence typing - involves sentences from books, movies, and song lyrics. These are complete with punctuations and capitalizations.
• Corrective typing - lets you type out jumbled words that don't exist, helping you to correct your typing one letter at a time.

These three types of practice websites have their pros and cons, but it's ultimately up to you. Although learning to type faster is important, it's easier to practice when you think of typing as a game. It's all about pressing buttons accurately and quickly, then a score will show you how well you did at the end.

Here are three standard practice websites that you should try.

If you're a slow typist who looks at the keyboard while typing, then you should start with Keybr . This website offers c orrective typing and will familiarize you with the keyboard on a very basic level. You'll be given a mix of jumbled-up words to type out, emphasizing letters that you have a hard time typing out.

Monkeytype is my personal favorite website. This typing site primarily utilizes p ure typing , so you'll only be typing out lowercase letters without any punctuation and capitalization. The website lets you choose between typing for a set amount of time or a number of words. We recommend alternating between monkeytype and Keybr until you can type without looking at the keyboard---more on that later.

Finally, typeracer is a s entence typing website that not only lets you type out quotes from books, songs, or movies, but also lets you race with other typists. It's a fun website that lets you practice with other players who type at your speed. You can also practice by yourself or race your friends if that's your mojo.

If you're a Mac user, simply pressing Option+Backspace will completely erase an entire word. For you Windows users, the Ctrl+Backspace key combination is your friend.

Learning shortcuts like this will increase your WPM immediately even without practicing too much. Pressing the backspace multiple times just to delete a word takes an extra one or two seconds to do. While that might seem small, those seconds can add up pretty quickly.

Despite it sounding counterproductive to erase a whole word, it's often much quicker to type out a word from scratch than to try and fix it one letter at a time. You'll find these shortcuts extremely helpful the more you use them.

Never underestimate just how much strain your wrists go through when you're typing. For starters, the standard flat keyboard isn't ergonomic at all for your wrists since they have to bend outwards to fit on the keyboard. This is why there's a market for curved ergonomic keyboards that lets you type on a more neutral wrist position. You can find our recommendation for the best ergonomic keyboard in our keyboard buying guide .

However, some ergonomic keyboards can cost quite a bit. If you can't shell out some extra cash, doing a series of quick wrist stretches is more than enough to keep carpal tunnel syndrome at bay.

If you want to keep increasing your speed and efficiency with computers, you may consider taking advantage of the speed reading tools available to you on the internet.

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Graduate from hunt-and-peck to touch typing mastery with our complete course of free touch typing lessons.

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Typing Practice

Practice typing.

Practice is the key to developing excellent typing skills. Make it fun by typing great quotes from great books!

Typing Tests

Typing speed tests.

Evaluate your skills and measure your progress by taking a typing test.

How to Type: 5 Tips for Faster Typing

Learn to touch type..

If you don’t know how to touch type, this is where you need to start. Having the ability to type without looking at the keyboard is the most important factor in achieving a fast typing speed. Even if you have memorized many of the keys, unfamiliar keys will slow you down just like speed bumps on the freeway. Taking your eyes off the screen to peek at the keyboard disrupts your focus and costs you time. You want to be able to keep your eyes on the screen and your fingers moving to the correct keys without thinking. Achieving this kind of flow takes practice. The better you can do it, the faster you will be. Read on to learn how.

Aim for accuracy rather than speed.

It does not matter how fast you type if you have to go back and fix all your mistakes. Fixing mistakes takes more time than it does to just slow down and take the time you need to type accurately. Fast typing depends on developing precision muscle memory. Allowing yourself to type incorrectly will actually reinforce your bad habits and common mistakes! Slow your typing pace until you can attain 100% accuracy. If you come across a difficult word, slow down further to type it properly. Develop good habits and speed will be your reward.

Practice typing exercises regularly.

Mastering typing skills takes training and practice. Practice typing on a regular schedule, 10 minutes to an hour per session, depending on your energy and focus level. Practice won’t make perfect if it is half-hearted and full of mistakes, so is important that you practice your typing exercises at a time and place where you can maintain focus and accuracy. Eliminate any potential distractions. If you find yourself making lots of errors, slow down and find a way to regain your focus or call it a day. The goal of practicing is to build muscle memory. Be consistent and mindful in your practice and you will avoid bad habits and mistakes.

Minimize your physical effort.

The less work your fingers do to press the keys the faster you will be able to move them. Most keyboards require only a light touch to register a key stroke, so there is no need to mash the keys down. Type with the minimum force necessary. You will type faster, longer and with greater ease. Typing involves muscles not only in your fingers, but in your hands, arms, back, shoulders, neck and head.

Learn the entire keyboard.

You may have enough experience typing to know most of the common keys - the letters, the space bar, enter, and I’ll bet you know that backspace! But you might be uncomfortable with some of the keys you don’t use as frequently. Do you have to slow down and look at the keyboard to type a number or symbol? If you program or work with spreadsheets you will use the symbol keys frequently. If you are a gamer there are probably CTRL, ALT and function keys that you fumble for in the heat of the battle. In fact, most all programs can be used more productively with effectively use of key combo shortcuts. Hitting these awkward keys and combos accurately allows you to maintain focus on what you are doing, so make sure you include them in your typing practice.

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Test & Improve your Typing Speed with our free Typing Games

Typing test.

If you want a quick way to test your typing speed, try out our 1-minute free Typing test (available in over 40 languages). You can quickly see how fast you can type and compare your result with your friends.

One huge benefit: The more you use our typing game, the faster you will be able to type as the typing test uses the top 200 words of each language. If you are able to type the most frequent words faster, you will be able to type everything else faster as well!

Typing Competition

Ready to compete against the big guys? Then check out our typing competitions! Every competition is open for 24 hours, during this time you will have the opportunity to reach the first place. The competitions work in the same way as our Typing Test but instead of having a random list of words everytime you reload the test, the words will stay the same for each competition. If you have a friendly typing competition with just your buddies you should try out the "private competition"-option.

Text Practice Mode

The Typing Test is great if you want to practice the most common words of a language, but what if you want to practice more difficult words, punctuations, special characters or just a paragraph from a book?

In this case check out our Text Practice Mode! You can create your own text to practice or pick from a huge list of user generated practice texts. Just select one text from the top-list and you will be garantied to have a fun and challenging experience. Start now and improve your typing skills even further!

Typing Practice

If you want to steadily improve your typing speed or train some specific typing skills you should check out the typing practice page. Improve your typing speed with practicing the Top 1000 words of each language (while unlocking those sweet, sweet stars), or challenge your typing skills with a user-submitted text. The practice mode is currently under development, more features & modes will be added in the near future.

Mobile Typing App

How fast are your thumbs? Our mobile typing app will let you know! No matter if you use your mobile phone or your tablet (iPad, etc.) the mobile test will surely suit your needs, good luck climbing the highscore list

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• Submitting low quality quotes or misusing this form will cause you to lose access to this feature

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distribution of time 60 leaderboard results (wpm)

Monkeytype is a minimalistic and customizable typing test. It features many test modes, an account system to save your typing speed history, and user-configurable features such as themes, sounds, a smooth caret, and more. Monkeytype attempts to emulate the experience of natural keyboard typing during a typing test, by unobtrusively presenting the text prompts and displaying typed characters in-place, providing straightforward, real-time feedback on typos, speed, and accuracy. Test yourself in various modes, track your progress and improve your speed.

By default, this website uses the most common 200 words in the English language to generate its tests. You can change to an expanded set (1000 most common words) in the options, or change the language entirely.

You can use tab and enter (or just tab if you have quick tab mode enabled) to restart the typing test. Open the command line by pressing ctrl/cmd + shift + p or esc - there you can access all the functionality you need without touching your mouse

wpm - total number of characters in the correctly typed words (including spaces), divided by 5 and normalised to 60 seconds.

raw wpm - calculated just like wpm, but also includes incorrect words.

acc - percentage of correctly pressed keys.

char - correct characters / incorrect characters. Calculated after the test has ended.

consistency - based on the variance of your raw wpm. Closer to 100% is better. Calculated using the coefficient of variation of raw wpm and mapped onto a scale from 0 to 100.

After completing a test you will be able to see your wpm, raw wpm, accuracy, character stats, test length, leaderboards info and test info. (you can hover over some values to get floating point numbers). You can also see a graph of your wpm and raw over the duration of the test. Remember that the wpm line is a global average, while the raw wpm line is a local, momentary value. (meaning if you stop, the value is 0)

If you encounter a bug, or have a feature request - join the Discord server, send me an email, a direct message on Twitter or create an issue on GitHub.

Thanks to everyone who has supported this project. It would not be possible without you and your continued support.

If you encounter a bug, have a feature request or just want to say hi - here are the different ways you can contact me directly.

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Supporters who helped financially by donating, enabling optional ads or buying merch

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Train typing skills.

What if you could type as fluently as you speak? Typing Trainer web course will get you there!

Play Typing Games

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TypeTastic for Schools

Discover 700+ typing activities for all grade levels - and unleash the joy of typing in your school.

Typing Certificate Now Online

A certificate has been one of the most requested features, and we're happy to announce that a test with a printable certificate is now available! The certification test consists of 5 minutes of typing predefined source text in English. Read more..

Join the Worldwide Typing League

Compete against other talented typists around the globe and show where the best typists come from. Each country has its own league and you can advance higher in the rankings by completing races and collecting points. Start the Race!

Type Fu is an app that will teach you how to type fast. The right way. On Mac, Windows, Linux and Chrome OS.

Why learn to touch type.

Learning to be a fast typist can boost your work or school productivity like crazy. If you tend to "hunt-and-peck" keys then you most likely write no more than 30 words per minute. With touch typing you can double and even triple that which means you can complete a page of text in just 3 minutes instead of 10.

Be responsive

In an IM conversation you will be able to type as fast as you can talk — and even faster. The conversation will just flow naturally.

Type more accurately

Touch typing will help you make a lot less typos even if the keyboard is steaming under your fingers. Even if you make an occasional error, you will be able to immediately locate and fix it.

Focus on the task at hand

Nothing kills creativity as much as having to lose focus. Switching back and forth between keyboard and display is disruptive. With touch typing you will free your mind from the mechanics of pressing the keys and enjoy writing — just like it should be.

Avoid repetitive stress injury

Once you stop peering down at the keyboard every other second, you reduce neck and shoulder pain. Using all fingers for typing instead of just the index ones minimizes the amount of finger-reaching efforts and reduces fatigue.

Meet Type Fu

Type Fu Features

The app is suitable for all age groups and skill levels. You can be a beginner, intermediate or advanced typist. Even if you took typing classes before, but it never sank in, Type Fu will help you refresh your skills and take them to the next stage instantly.

Packed with engaging exercises

Type Fu is fun to use! Lessons vary from simple letters, numbers and words to proverbs and quotes of great thinkers of the past. Basic lessons (letters, numbers, words) are generated programatically so that you will never see the same exercise twice.

Multiple levels of difficulty

Should you start from the very beginning, or do you want to just polish your type-fu a tad? Figure out your initial skill level and start practicing right away, until your fingers are a blur!

Type Fu is smart: when you are making an outstanding progress, it can automatically increase the level of difficulty to keep you on your toes while improving the skill.

Visual and audio hints

Type Fu assists in a non-obtrusive way. Various indications of hitting or missing the right keys are helpful, pertinent, don't get in the way and can be disabled.

Easy progress tracking

Type Fu helps you perfecting the skill of touch typing by visualizing your progress. You will be able to easily tell from the pretty charts exactly how much better your typing speed and accuracy become, and which keys you miss most.

Multiple keyboard layouts

Type Fu can be easily configured for use with any European or American keyboard layout like Qwerty, Dvorak, Colemak, Workman, Qwertz or Azerty (including various regional variants).

Fully integrated with Chrome OS and Windows 10

Get the top-notch user experience, no matter which operating system you use. Type Fu supports Retina and HiDPI displays, works offline, and updates automatically.

Use for free, anytime and anywhere

The app does not require any payments and it does not show you annoying ads unlike most other typing tutors. It also does not require a constant network connection.

Testimonials

Don’t take our words for granted, read what users say about Type Fu. Here are some reviews picked from the Chrome Web Store :

An excellent, fully featured, polished and intuitive typing tutor. Appropriate and easy for all age groups - from my three year old to my grandmother enjoy this. Highly recommended. James Tryand

I wasn't able to touch type at all yesterday and now I'm up to 33 words per minute with about a 95% accuracy. Andy McElravy

Great app! Always had an odd way of typing and needed to learn the appropriate way. Went from 20 wpm to 45 wpm after a week of using this. Totaled 500 exercises of practice to get this improvement. Garland McNew

Indispensable tool for training myself to type properly. I spend 15 minutes every day. I am up from 10 WPM to 22 WPM with 100% accuracy. Without looking at the keyboard, I know I can reach 50 wpm. Arther Casillas

Brilliant. I have tried several other apps and this one is far more fun, addictive and easy to learn. Samuel Asamoah

Get Type Fu

Type Fu is now available as a Progressive Web App - a new kind of app which can be used either online like a regular web app or installed on your computer like a desktop app. You don't need to create any accounts - just click the button below to start using the app.

Privacy policy

Type Fu app keeps preferences, usage statistics, crash reports and other personally identifiable information on your device and DOES NOT share it with any remote servers.

Your operating system might be collecting and storing app preferences, usage statistics, crash reports on remote servers. For more details check macOS , Windows and Chrome OS privacy policy statements.

Requirements

To use Type Fu you need a latest version of a Chromium-based web browser such as Chrome , Vivaldi , Opera or Edge .

Firefox and Safari are not supported.

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WPM TEST - Word Per Minute Typing Test

Typing may not be that simple as it looks. In fact, for typing you do need typing speed specific skills. The person will have to practice consistently. To achieve your typing speed goal, you can take daily WPM test . By using this WPM typing test online tool, you can evaluate your typing skill level. WPM test not only calculates your typing speed per minute but also focuses on to the let you improve with the accuracy factor. You will know the number of words you typed in a minute with the accuracy percentile. The result of the test is based on two factors. The typing speed and the accuracy. You must know, the division of a long word is also counted.

Different Modes in WPM Typing Test

We came here with different modes of words per minute test. It's up to you how much time you have and how much dedication you show for improving your typing skills. If you are a guest user then you can freely choose between 1-min to 5-min typing modes. And yes! You can definitely take these tests with repetitive and unlimited access. The value of your achievement depends on the modes you choose. By the side experts also recommend users to improve their reading speed simultaneously with the typing speed.

Get and Share Your Typing Result

As soon as you complete your typing test, will get a pop-up window along with an option to get and share result. As you click on "TO SHARE", you can share your scoreboard among your friends to different social media like Facebook, Twitter, and Whatsapp. Thus, this can motivate your friends to take this test and check their typing ability.

The Typing Complexity

A user has the freedom to choose any mode of typing complexity. The user is free to use with unlimited access. Easy : Switching to this mode will help Beginners practice words per minute. It is a simple and easy typing mode for Beginners. Medium : This is one step more advanced mode from Easy typing mode. Users who crossed the learning phase can use this mode. Hard : This is the highest level to improve typing Score. This mode is for official working professionals.

Live Statistics

You can easily generate your statistics of your typing work. the average rating is 44WPM.

Test Hotkey

You can make use of the keyboard shortcut shift-return to restart the typing test.

Save & Download Report

After your typing speed test you can easily generate as well as download your word per minute test report.

Colemak is a keyboard layout for alphabets in Latin-script and created by Shai Colemak in 2006.

Error Detection

It is quite easy to detect your error while taking a typing test. Whenever your finger falls wrong.

Result Sharing

Once you complete the WPM test for the job, you can share your results on social media or with your friend .

How can you upgrade your typing speed?

When it comes to boosting up your job proficiency, you must come up with an idea to enhance your typing speed. But, the question is how you can do it?

To improve your typing skills, here are some 100% working tips you must follow:

Proper Typing Techniques: Using proper typing techniques will definitely help you in optimizing your typing speed. Many experts advise the touch typing method, where users need to memorize the keys with a proper hand posture on their keyboard.

Choosing The Best Keyboard: Experts also suggest using the best keyboard for typing jobs. The keyboard is the primary factor where you should be comfortable.

Who Invented the Qwerty Keyboard?

It is invented in 1868 by Christopher Latham Sholes. He also designed the first typewriter, which plays the most crucial role in the life of many reporters.

The reason behind the QWERT keyboard to be designed is that when the keyboard was in alphabetical letter sequence, the levers would have jam when you typed the two letters very quickly.

The jams occur most likely when the two keys are very close together on the keyboard. That's why he decided and came to the solution to rearrange the letters, which only can reduce the jam.

That is the main and quite relevant reason why the QWERT keyboard has invented!

Practice to Become Master of Typing

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Frequently Asked Questions

How to test your wpm.

You can test typing WPM by simply using certain tools available online for free. It is easy.

How do you practice the wpm test?

You can follow certain mentioned procedures to enhance typing speed. Regular practice on the keyboard by following certain guidelines of typing is a good option

Why is typing speed important to anyone?

The biggest thing that matters for growth and efficiency is time. Companies and other workplaces need typists with fast speed.

Is typing 40 WPM (words per minute) good enough?

Typing speed of 40WPM is considered below average. The average speed is 44WPM.

>How to improve my typing speed?

Practice regularly for 15 minutes rather than once a week for an hour.

How to get a good WPM score?

Good WPM score is based on typing quickness with fewer typing errors.

How fast can I type, or what's my wpm?

In this high-speed era, we are competing with many peoples in various senses. Thus, typing speed plays a very important role in your life. It doesn't matter if you are a coder, gamer, or data typist.

Your typing speed depends on how speedily you can type with a minimum percent of errors. You can improve your typing speed by just joining and doing daily practice at wpmtest.org. It also provides pro tips to become the fastest in typing, and it also helps you measure your wpm (word per minute) score or take the typing speed test.

How many words per minute is good?

The average person can type 35 to 40 words per minute. However, it is totally up to you how fast you can type! A good wpm is when your typing speed is faster than the average person.

Is typing 120 Wpm fast?

As per the google big data the 120 wpm is the faster wpm score. Because, the average person typing capacity is 30 to 40 word per minute.

How do I check my WPM speed?

The software tool you use or the website you use for the WPM test will display the result on the screen

What is the average WPM for 13 yr old?

It depends on the efficiency. Children are smart. They can even reach 100WPM.

Who is fastest 13 yr old typer?

Joshua Hu is the fastest and youngest typist in the world who hold the word record as an younger fastest typist.

What is the World Record for the fastest WPM?

360 WPM is the word record for the typing speed test as per the google big data.

How to crack the criteria of typing speed score for exams?

Practice with proper guidelines. The wpmtest.org is the only platform that not only let you test your typing speed test but also provide a guide to crack and hit the records.

Is typing test and wpm test the same?

It is not like these both have the same meaning, but they both have the same intention. The typing test measures the what is typing speed of a particular user? So, it can measure by calculating the word or character count that the user has typed.

The term wpm test falls-in, when the user intentionally wants to measure their typing speed only in terms of how many correct words they have typed!

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How to Improve Your Typing Speed

Take a deep breath, relax your fingers, and take it slow. You need to be focused and not annoyed when attempting the typing speed test. The best thing you can do to start typing faster is to type more. The more practice you get under your belt, the faster your ‘typing-fu’ will be. It’s all about developing muscle memory. Just make sure you are reinforcing good habits and not ones that will leave your fingers hurting after an intense typing session.

What Is the Best 10-Finger Typing Layout?

Of course, you should use ten fingers for typing, but you can start with a layout that’s the most comfortable for you. The small bumps on the F and J keys will help your fingers locate the correct position without looking. This setup should give you a full range of motion. The more you type, the faster you will get. There are a few alternative layouts that propose a more ergonomic approach to typing. You could also take the big leap and try out the Dvorak keyboard, but that’s a different story.

Who Invented the Qwerty Keyboard?

The QWERTY keyboard was invented in 1868 by Christopher Latham Sholes. He also designed the first successful typewriter. The order of the keys was decided by listing the most common letter combinations and making sure that they were not placed next to each other. He did this to avoid problems that often happened when two neighboring keys were pressed consecutively. The QWERTY keyboard is used to this day and is the most widely used keyboard available.

Word per Minute (WPM) Typing Test

What is the WPM typing test? There are different types of tests for typing. This one is a typing test that expresses your typing skills in words per minute. The more you practice typing, and the more you test your typing speed, the higher your WPM score will be. Some online typing tests and typing test games focus only on WPM typing. The disadvantage of the WPM typing test is that you are only learning how to type fast. WPM typing tests do not show your accuracy.

Is This Really a Free Typing Test You Can Use?

As the makers of LiveChat, customer service software for businesses, we wanted to provide the community of our customers and live chat agents with a free typing test. This way, they can consistently practice typing and improve their typing skills. We've also made this tool accessible to every visitor of our page. Our tool is a free typing speed test with a WPM score, but it can be also used as a typing speed test for kids.

How Can You Upgrade Your Typing Skills?

Practice typing as much as you can. Type a lot, type tests, and practice typing tests. Improve your words per minute typing results, and test your typing speed often. Our typing speed test will keep track of all typing tests that you’ve taken in the past so you will be able to see the improvements over time. You will be able to see how your speed typing has changed. If you can do a five-minute typing test every day, your typing skills will increase dramatically.

How Are the Words From the Test Chosen?

We’ve decided to use the 1,000 most common words in the English language. Additionally, we wanted to include words that you can find in our blog articles. You can think of it as a touch of LiveChat’s flavor to make the typing test a bit more interesting. This free typing speed test focuses on typing itself, so words appear randomly. Reading full sentences may influence your typing speed.

Why Have We Prepared This Typing Test?

We prepared this free typing test to give you a quick and easy way to test your typing speed. You can use it when practicing your typing skills to get an idea of how well you are progressing. Businesses can use this test to get an idea about the typing skills of potential hires or to help existing employees develop their typing speed. This typing speed test is one of our free tools, just like the UTM Builder or our Privacy Policy Generator.

Why Is Typing Speed Important to Everyone?

The faster you type, the faster you will be able to communicate with others. You will be able to save a ton of time on any kind of work that requires typing. At first, it will be a couple of extra minutes that you won’t really notice. Over time, the minutes will turn into hours of saved time that you can spend on other activities.

What Is the Average Typing Speed?

The average person types between 38 and 40 words per minute (WPM). That translates into between 190 and 200 characters per minute (CPM). However, professional typists type a lot faster, averaging between 65 and 75 WPM.

What Is CPM and How Can You Calculate It?

The CPM stands for the number of characters you type per minute, including all the mistakes. “Corrected” scores count only correctly typed words. WPM is just the corrected CPM divided by five. This is the de facto international standard.

How Many Words per Minute Is a Good Score?

An average professional typist usually types around 65 to 75 WPM. More advanced positions require 80 to 95 (this is typically the minimum required for dispatch positions and other time-sensitive typing jobs). There are also some advanced typists whose work requires speeds above 120 WPM.

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Microsoft 365 Life Hacks > Writing > What is touch typing (and why is it important)?

What is touch typing (and why is it important)?

When you’re typing on a computer, pay attention to how you use your hands: where they’re positioned on the keyboard and how many fingers you’re typing with. If you’re familiar with the term “home keys” and have a rough idea of how many words per minute you can type, you may have been taught to touch type in school. If this is new to you, or you need a refresher, learn what touch typing is and why it’s important to understand.

What is touch typing?

Touch typing is a technique that allows a person to use all ten fingers to type without having to look at the keyboard. If you’ve ever watched someone hunt for each key before tapping it, you can imagine how much faster touch typing is since muscle memory helps locate the correct keys.

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Why is touch typing important?

This method of typing has a range of benefits. If you’re a student or work at a computer entering data or writing, they may be especially relevant to you:

Accuracy and efficiency

If you’re comfortable touch typing, you’ll intuitively know where all the keys are and you’ll make less mistakes. If you’re hunting and pecking with two fingers, you’ll be looking at the keys rather than what you’re typing and are more likely to miss an error. Touch typists who are typing while looking at their screens will notice and correct mistakes in real-time. Since you won’t need to backtrack as much with touch typing, it can make you a more efficient typist.

If you’re utilizing the hunt-and-peck method of typing, you can probably only type about 27-37 words per minute (WPM), even if you’re very speedy. Touch typists who use all ten fingers have an average typing speed of between 40 and 60 WPM. This can be useful if you’re trying to finish a paper before a deadline or are applying for a job that requires a certain amount of data entry.

Health benefits

Learning to touch type has physical benefits too. It promotes a more ergonomic posture and reduces the strain on your hands, wrists, and shoulders, which can prevent repetitive strain injuries like carpal tunnel.

How to learn touch type

If you had typing classes in grade school, you probably already learned how to touch type. But if that doesn’t apply to you, or if you’d like a refresher, these steps can help you improve your skills with the keyboard:

Take stock of your current abilities

Do a quick search online for a typing speed test. You can choose how long the test is, but the goal is to check how quickly you can accurately replicate words in each amount of time. This will determine your baseline typing speed. You might be a lot faster than you think!

Consider your keyboard layout

Your keyboard likely has what’s called a QWERTY layout . This was originally designed for typewriters to keep commonly used keys from jamming up and made its way to computers. But there are other layouts too, like the Dvorak and Colemak layouts, both of which aim to lead to greater typing efficiency. No matter which layout you’re working with, familiarize yourself with the layout. You may want to do a simple search for a typing tutorial to learn the most efficient way to use your keyboard.

Muscle memory isn’t in your muscles. Instead, when you practice and repeat a task, you create neural pathways in your brain that help your muscles know what to do. By practicing typing, you’ll train your brain (and fingers) how to effectively touch type. Typing games are a great way to accomplish this. There are a range of free typing games online where you complete tasks by typing things quickly and accurately.

Re-test yourself

Once you’ve built up your skills, revisit the website where you first took your typing test and take it again to see how you’ve improved. This can be used to measure your progress until you’re a confident touch typist.

Teaching yourself to touch type may feel like a big undertaking, but it’s a great step to improving your overall writing since you’ll spend more time writing and less time looking for keys or correcting mistakes. For other keyboard tips, learn about the different types of dashes and punctuating bulleted lists .

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Learning and Development | 6 Min Read

Understanding typing speed and its importance for organizations

Table of contents, introduction.

With the evolution of technology, typing skills have become an essential requirement for all employees, regardless of their field or department. Organizations can use an online typing test to successfully determine if the typing speed of their employees and prospective hires is adequate for the job role or not.

Understanding typing speed

The standard unit of measurement for typing speed used in any online typing test is words per minute (WPM). WPM, as the name suggests, is a measurement of the total number of words an employee or candidate types in one minute.

However, measuring typing speed is not as simple as taking the total number of words written, divided by the number of minutes for which one has been typing. An employee writing a casual, internal email may use shorter words, while an employee writing a white paper will use more technical terms, taking more time to type than the other employee. This makes it important to standardize what counts as a single word.

The online typing test may specify a single word as a certain number of characters, which is generally five characters. These characters can be punctuation, spaces, keystrokes, and numbers. However, using the shift key, backspace, or the delete button will not count. The gross WPM is the total number of characters written by an employee, including spaces, divided by five and then divided by the total time they took (in minutes).

Typing fast is not proof of accuracy, which is why the net WPM must also be calculated. Net WPM is a measure of the speed as well as accuracy of an employee. An employee who may type fast but with multiple mistakes will have a lower WPM as compared to an employee who may have a low typing speed but has zero mistakes.

For organizations, net WPM is a better measure for testing employees and candidates as there are lower chances of senior employees having to edit the work of employees with higher net WPM.

To calculate net WPM, the gross WPM must be calculated first. Subtract the number of mistakes remaining in the document. The total number of mistakes made, including those that were corrected, can also be subtracted, but it is a better idea to encourage corrections. It is possible to reach a high net WPM while making corrections as well.

Good typing speed

The workplace has become much more advanced and tech-enabled, which has made good typing speed a necessity for all employees. On average, 40-60 WPM is considered to be a decent typing speed in the workplace. There may be certain job roles that only require employees to have a typing speed of 10-20 WPM, while others, such as those in transcription or data entry may require even more than 90 WPM.

A major factor that influences the typing speed and accuracy of an employee is their technique. Let’s explore some efficient typing techniques.

Typing techniques

Touch typing: This method involves using all ten fingers to type without looking at the keyboard. Touch typing requires employees to rely on their muscle memory to press the right keys. With an average typing speed of 40-60 WPM, touch typing helps reduce hand and wrist strain.

Hunt-and-peck: This method involves employees actively searching for every key using their eyes, and only using a few of their fingers to type. Hunt-and-peck typing is less accurate and slow, with average typing speeds of 20-30 WPM.

Hybrid typing: This typing technique is a combination of the hunt-and-peck and touch-typing techniques. It depends on the familiarity of the employee with the keyboard, where they use touch-typing for some parts of the keyboard and may resort to hunting for the keys that they are less familiar with. While hybrid typing is generally slower than touch typing, some employees may even manage up to 70 WPM.

Thumb typing: This technique is mostly used with smartphones, gaming consoles, tablets, and other smaller digital devices, where the candidate is required to use thumbs to enter text in the absence of physical keyboards. 36 WPM is the average typing speed with thumb typing.

The advantages of good typing speed

Productivity: One of the biggest reasons why an online typing test should be used is to gauge the productivity of existing employees or prospective hires. Knowing the typing speed and accuracy of employees and candidates can help understand how well they would complete tasks in different job roles.

Accuracy: An online typing speed test can also help measure the typing accuracy of candidates and employees. Individuals with higher net WPM are generally able to produce more accurate content. This translates into less time spent on hunting errors and editing the work.

Digital responsiveness: Speed and accuracy are pertinent in today’s digital world where customers don’t want to wait for answers. Digital communication is fast-paced and to remain relevant, organizations need to be alert, shooting off responses without delay.

What are the different typing speeds?

Average typing speed (40-60 wpm).

There are several job roles within an organization that do not involve a lot of typing, and employees may require only average typing speed. Positions in sales, analytics, customer service, or education are examples of job roles that may not require more than 40-60 WPM typing speed.

Moderate typing speed (60-80 WPM)

For job roles that involve moderate to high amounts of typing, employees should ideally have a higher typing speed of around 60-80 WPM. Journalism, administration, research, reporting, etc., are some of the examples of job roles that require higher typing speeds.

High typing speed (80+ WPM)

There are several job roles that focus first and foremost on typing, where employees may spend 90% of their time or more, typing on a keyboard. Positions that revolve around transcription, content creation, data entry, technical writing, programming, data entry, etc., are the job roles that require a high typing speed of 80+ WPM.

Eight tips to improve employees’ typing speed

1. find the best place.

Before beginning to type, it is important to be comfortable. Lack of comfort will affect the ability to focus, which will reduce interest in the task, and negatively impact the performance. Offering employees an ergonomic chair that is comfortable and supports the back is important for improving their typing speed.

2. Slow beginnings are okay

To enhance typing speed and accuracy, it is important to start ‘slow’. Rushed efforts are not always fruitful. The focus at first should be on understanding the basic concepts of typing, like hand positioning, practising basic words, etc. This will help employees get familiar with typing.

3. The hand placement is important

The left-hand fingers should be placed over the ‘A’, ‘S’, ‘D’, and ‘F’ keys, and the right-hand fingers over the ‘;’ ‘L’, ‘K’, and ‘J’ keys, with both thumbs over the spacebar. This positioning allows fingers to reach all keys with ease.

4. Prioritize accuracy

It is crucial to first ensure that employees are typing correctly. Typing quickly but with errors will make employees slower. So, focus on accuracy before trying to type faster.

5. Avoid looking at the keys

It may be difficult at first to not look down at the keys, but looking at the screen to identify typos and fix them without looking down will help enhance accuracy. Moreover, this will make it easier for employees to memorize key placements.

6. Mistakes are acceptable

It is okay to make mistakes when typing. But it is necessary to reduce and limit the number of mistakes made while typing over time. With time and practice, employees would be able to delete and re-type misspelt words immediately.

7. Set goals

It is not possible to track employee performance if there are no goals. To keep improving typing speed and accuracy, set goals for employees. Try to increase their speed to a certain WPM and use an online typing test to track their improvement.

8. Keep practicing

Keep working on typing skills to see actual improvement. Employees should be encouraged to practice every day.

Test typing speed with Mercer | Mettl

Mercer | Mettl offers scientifically validated online assessments that organizations can use to evaluate their employees and prospective hires. The online typing test by Mercer | Mettl can help assess an individual’s ability to accurately and quickly type while they work with text-based information. Including this online typing test in the recruitment process can help recruiters assess the typing speed and accuracy of candidates in an objective manner. Current employees can also benefit from this online typing test as the results can help identify areas of improvement and provide employees with constructive feedback and insights to help them improve.

The typing speed of the employees can significantly impact the productivity and efficiency of an organization. Different typing speeds and accuracy are required for different job roles; therefore, the online typing test should be customized accordingly.

What is a good typing speed for a job role?

Different job roles have different typing speed requirements, which may range from 20 WPM to 80+ WPM. On average, however, 40-60 WPM is considered a good typing speed for most job roles.

Is 30 WPM typing speed considered to be good?

For several job roles, like those of a receptionist or sales executive, that do not involve a lot of typing, 30 WPM is a decent typing speed. However, for most job roles 40-60 WPM is considered average.

How fast is a professional typist?

On average, professional typists may work with a typing speed of 50-80 WPM. Several job roles however may require higher speeds of around 80-95 WPM, while some advanced typists even work at 120 WPM.

Originally published July 5 2024, Updated July 5 2024

Vaishali Parnami

Vaishali has been working as a content creator at Mercer | Mettl since 2022. Her deep understanding and hands-on experience in curating content for education and B2B companies help her find innovative solutions for key business content requirements. She uses her expertise, creative writing style, and industry knowledge to improve brand communications.

About This Topic

Pre-Employment Test

Pre-employment tests, also known as pre-hiring tests, are online and offline assessments to ascertain candidate fitment for a particular job role. The assessments can be conducted to measure a candidate's technical skills, aptitude, personality traits or on-the-job behavior.

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# Quiet Keyboards: Boost Focus and Reduce Distractions

In the digital arena where each keystroke can be a symphony or a disturbance, the quest for the ideal typing companion often leads us to the doorstep of quiet keyboards. Whether you're a professional typist, a data enthusiast or someone who simply loves to optimize every facet of life, the equipment matters. As we dive deep into the universe of 'quiet keyboards', let’s decode how this seemingly simple choice can significantly elevate your typing test scores and overall productivity.

# The Unseen Benefits of Quieter Typing

# 1. enhanced concentration.

The constant clatter of keys can often be more of a distraction than a motivator. Quiet keyboards help in reducing this noise pollution significantly. Less auditory distractions mean higher concentration levels, allowing typists to maintain focus for longer periods. This is particularly beneficial during extended typing sessions, whether you're practicing for a type test or crunching numbers for a project.

# 2. Increased Typing Speed

When it comes to increasing your Words Per Minute (WPM), every little detail counts, including the noise your keyboard makes. Quieter keys often require less force and shorter travel distance, leading to faster typing speeds. With smooth and silent keys, your fingers glide more effortlessly, reducing the time it takes to register a keystroke. This efficiency can be a game changer in boosting your performance in any typing test.

# 3. Improved Accuracy

The tactile feedback from a quiet keyboard can also contribute to more accurate typing. When keys are less resistant and provide gentle feedback, it minimizes the chance of hitting the wrong keys. For those obsessed with statistics and data, improving accuracy is a vital step towards achieving typing perfection.

# 4. Comfort and Health Benefits

Typing is a physical activity that often leads to fatigue and strain, especially if the keyboard is less than ideal. Quiet keyboards are generally designed with better ergonomics to provide a comfortable typing experience. This can lead to longer, more productive typing sessions without the usual strain on your wrists and fingers.

# 5. Appeal to Audio-Sensitive Environments

Whether you’re in a crowded office or a shared living space, the sound of your typing can affect not just your concentration but that of others around you. A quieter keyboard means you can maintain a harmonious environment while still keeping up with your typing practices and tests.

# Choosing the Right Quiet Keyboard

When selecting a quiet keyboard, consider the following factors:

• Key Switches : Look for keyboards with mechanical switches labeled as ‘silent’ or rubber dome keyboards, which tendod to be quieter than their clicky counterparts.
• Build Quality : A solid build can reduce extra sound generated from typing. Heavier keyboards might also help dampen sound.
• Key Texture and Resistance : Keys that are too smooth or too hard to press can affect typing speed and accuracy. Choose one that feels right under your fingers.

# Conclusion

Upgrading to a quiet keyboard could very well be your next significant step in your journey toward typing excellence and zen-like work efficiency. With quieter keystrokes, you not only fine-tune your typing proficiency but also embrace an overall more sustainable work lifestyle. It’s not just about pressing keys; it’s about doing it right. For those who are deep into the nuances of typing tests, geeky statistics, and life optimizations, the quiet keyboard isn't just a tool, it's the pathway to a focused and refined typing mastery.

Are you ready to make the switch and transform your typing experience? Dive into the quiet zone and let your fingers feel the difference. Your type test scores—and your ears—will thank you.