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Beginners · 8 min read

A beginner's guide to touch typing

Touch typing means typing with all ten fingers without looking at the keys. Each finger has a home position and a set of keys it's responsible for. Once learned, it's faster, more accurate and less tiring than looking for keys — and it frees your attention for what you're actually writing.

Step 1: Set up comfortably

  • Sit with feet flat, back supported, and the screen roughly at eye level.
  • Elbows near your sides, about level with the keyboard.
  • Wrists straight and floating slightly; fingers gently curved.

Step 2: Learn the home row

Left fingers on A S D F, right fingers on J K L ;, thumbs on the space bar. Find F and J by their bumps. This is your base, and every finger returns here after each key. The home row keys guide shows which keys each finger reaches.

Practise with the Home row lesson until you can type it slowly without looking.

Step 3: Add the other rows gradually

Add keys from the top row one or two at a time, then the bottom row. For each new key, practise the reach up or down from home and the return. The Short words lesson is a good next step once a few top- and bottom-row keys feel familiar.

Step 4: Keep your eyes on the screen

This is the hardest part and the most important. It'll feel slow and you'll make mistakes — that's how your hands learn. See how to stop looking at the keyboard for practical tricks.

Step 5: Accuracy before speed

Type only as fast as you can while staying mostly accurate. Fast, sloppy practice teaches the wrong movements. Read typing speed vs. accuracy for why this order works.

Step 6: Practise common words

A small group of words makes up a big share of everyday writing. Once those are automatic, real typing speeds up noticeably. Use the Common words lesson.

Step 7: Add capitals and punctuation

Use the little finger of the opposite hand for Shift. Commas and full stops are reached by the right middle and ring fingers. The Sentences & punctuation lesson covers these.

Step 8: Measure and keep going

Take a 60-second typing test once a week to see progress. Your results are saved on this device and shown on My Progress.

Make practice something you look forward to

Consistency matters more than intensity, so mix lessons with games:

A first-week plan

  1. Days 1–2: setup and home row, 10 minutes.
  2. Days 3–4: home row words plus two new top-row keys.
  3. Days 5–6: short words lesson and one Orchard Edge round.
  4. Day 7: a 30-second typing test to set your baseline.

For more drill ideas, see the best typing exercises for beginners. For a sense of the full journey, read how long it takes to learn touch typing. Or follow the guided Start Here path.

Frequently asked questions

What is touch typing?

Touch typing means typing using all ten fingers without looking at the keyboard, with each finger responsible for a set group of keys.

Is touch typing worth learning if I already type with two fingers?

For most people, yes. It feels slower for a few weeks, but it usually leads to faster, more accurate and less tiring typing over time.

Do I need special software?

No. A regular keyboard and short, regular practice are enough. Keybound's lessons, test and games run in the browser for free.

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