Measuring your feet is incredibly helpful when shopping for shoes online. The last thing you want is to be sending back lots of parcels. Whilst measuring your feet won’t prevent returns completely, it will make them less likely.

Read on to find out more.

Always measure your feet before every new purchase – feet can change size and shape over time!

Remember to measure your feet at the end of the day – they are slightly smaller in the morning, and sometimes even a few millimetres can make a difference to the fit of a shoe.

Ideally it’s best to get someone else to measure your feet for you as it’s easier to get an accurate result – bending over to measure around your foot changes the shape of your foot and it’s also hard to keep the pencil at 90° to the floor when you go around your heel.

Foot Tracing Procedure:

1. Get two pieces of plain paper, pencil and ruler or tape measure (must have millimetres on it).
2. Put on whatever socks you plan to wear with the shoes you’re buying (so likely no socks for sandals, but thick socks for winter boots).
3. Put one foot on the paper and stand in a normal, relaxed position.
4. Draw with the pencil around your foot, ensuring to keep the pencil vertical (it’s easy to let it slant to the side as you move around the foot).
5. Put the other foot onto the other piece of paper and repeat.
6. Take one tracing at a time and draw a horizontal line at the top of the longest toe, and another at the bottom of the heel.
7. Measure the distance between the two lines. This is the length of your foot.
8. Then draw a vertical line either side of your foot tracing, at the outermost point of the foot on either side (ensure that the lines are level with the edges of the page).
9. Measure the distance between the two lines. This is the width of your foot.

Be aware that the foot tracing method of measuring your feet can add up to 5mm to your foot size, so even though your foot may measure (for example) 10cm width, you may be able to wear shoes of 9.5cm width.

Wall Method

1. Place a plain piece of paper up against the wall.
2. Stand on the paper with your heel right up against the wall.
3. Place a book in front of your foot, just touching the end of your longest toe.
4. With a pencil, make a mark at the edge of the book at the level that it meets your longest toe.
5. Measure the distance from the wall to the pencil mark and that is the length of your foot.
6. Next place your foot back on the paper with the outside of your foot lined up against the wall.
7. Place the book against the other side of your foot and again mark at the level that it meets the side of your foot. This is the width of your foot.
8. Repeat the procedure for the other foot.

The wall method is often slightly more accurate than the tracing method.

For more information on how to avoid returns by finding shoes to fit your foot shape, see this post – What Shape is My Foot?

And for more tips on how to shop for barefoot shoes online, check out our Barefoot Shoe Shopping Guide.