Every foot is different, which can sometimes make buying comfortable shoes seem impossible. Some feet are wider than others, meaning they won't fit comfortably into regular-fit shoes. Measuring your feet before shoe shopping will help you determine whether you need to buy wide-width shoes. Measuring your feet and converting the measurement for width, which is determined by letter rather than number, is easy and will ensure that you find a comfortable fit.

Slip into a pair of medium-thickness socks. The thickness of your socks will effect the comfort of your shoes, so it is important that you measure with socks on unless you are buying sandals.

Lay your foot on top of a piece of paper and trace the outline of your foot.

Measure the outline of your foot with a tape measure or ruler at the widest spot to get your width in inches.

Compare your measurement to size chart and convert the inches to the the appropriate letter to determine your shoe width. Foot width between 4 7/8 inches to 5 5/8 inches are wide-width measurement 2E. Double wide-width is labeled 4E and fits foot width 5 1/4 inches to 6 inches. Six-E shoes are for triple wide feet that measure between 5 5/8 and 6 3/4 inches. The longer your feet are, the wider width shoe you will require.

Check wide-width shoe boxes while trying on shoes for the correct letter correspondence for your foot width to ensure maximum comfort.