QWERTY vs Dvorak vs Colemak: should you switch layouts?

QWERTY is the layout almost every keyboard ships with. Dvorak and Colemak are alternatives designed to put the most common letters under your strongest fingers. People who switch often report that typing feels more comfortable. Whether it makes you meaningfully faster is much less clear.

QWERTY

The default everywhere. Its main weakness is that several of the most common English letters are off the home row, so your fingers travel more than they need to. Its main strength is that it is everywhere: every computer, every phone, every shortcut is designed around it.

Dvorak

Designed in the 1930s. All the vowels sit under the left hand's home row and the most common consonants under the right, so far more typing happens without leaving the home row, and hands tend to alternate. It is a complete rearrangement — almost nothing is where QWERTY put it — which makes switching a real commitment. Common shortcuts like copy and paste move too.

Colemak

Released in 2006 as a compromise. It keeps many QWERTY keys in place, including Z, X, C and V, so the most-used shortcuts stay put, while moving the most common letters onto the home row. It is generally considered easier to switch to than Dvorak, and reduces finger travel by a similar amount.

Will switching make you faster?

Probably not by much, and not soon. The fastest typists in the world are found on every layout, including QWERTY. What alternative layouts reliably do is reduce how far your fingers move, which many people find more comfortable over a long day. Switching also means spending weeks — often months — below your old speed.

Who should consider switching

• You type for many hours a day and want less finger movement.
• You are learning to touch type anyway, so you have no speed to lose.
• You enjoy the process and are not in a hurry.

Who should not

• You regularly use other people's computers.
• You need your full typing speed for work right now.
• Your goal is only to be faster — touch typing properly on QWERTY will get you further, sooner.

Practising a new layout

Learning a new layout is learning to touch type again, and the same method works best: start with a few keys, add more only when the ones you have are automatic, and focus on your weakest keys. Keyshand supports QWERTY, Dvorak, Colemak, QWERTZ and AZERTY; the on-screen keyboard, the finger guide and the order letters are introduced in all follow whichever layout you choose. Start with the guide to touch typing if you are new to it.