The most important measurement of the stepped doorway with respect to the temple plan lies in its width. The distance between the faces of this pair of megaliths was to be the key measure for the planning and the layout of the internal parts of the temple. Here, this particular measure is referred to as the x-unit (Fig. 4).

 It was noted that in the later temples the x-unit became longer with the result that the stepped doorway was made wider. The reason may have been the need for more space inside the temple. Thus, it was observed that some temples have one-stepped doorways like in the case of Ta’ Hagrat, Skorba,  Hagar Qim, Ggantija North and Tarxien East. A slightly different method can be seen at Ggantija South. The one-stepped doorway was planned to be wider at the inner end than where it flanks the doorway.

 In temples that were constructed later, a thin megalith was inserted between the doorway and the megaliths of the stepped doorway thus forming a two-stepped doorway. This resulted in a wider space between the megaliths and consequently a longer x-unit. Such an arrangement can be noticed in the Mnajdra South, Tarxien South and Bugibba temples.

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