Fonts used for web sites are limited to a small number of common fonts found on the majority of computers - fonts are not downloaded with a web pages, web pages use fonts on the visitors computer. While a specific font is not necessarily installed on every computer, even those using the same operating system, some fonts are so common that they are safer to use than others. The most common serif typefaces are Times and Times New Roman. The most common sans serif typefaces are Arial, Helvetica, and Verdana. A variety of size parameters can be used and colour can be specified
With the wide range of settings, screen sizes and differing equipment used to access web pages, there is no best font size. Therefore we should give the control to the website visitor rather than fix font sizes giving the visitor no option. So font sizes should be specified using relative units like percentage or ems, (in external CSS files) which allow the user to adjust font sizes up or down to suit their own requirements. So we should not fix fonts at 12 points for example, but use 80% or 0.8em.
In addition text should not be turned into a graphic to use an uncommon font or achieve a specific look as this locks the text size, and makes it impossible for users to change it.
Already many browsers provide the capability for website visitors to control the fonts and font sizes used on web pages they visit provided the web designer has not removed these abilities. With CSS, the web designer can set the default fonts to use (if they are available and if the user has not decided to override the suggestions). Usually a short list of fonts is suiggested.
The same font, at the same size on a Macintosh is smaller than on most Windows machines. Generally a Macintosh is uses 72dpi, while the Windows default is 96dpi. So very small text on a PC is even smaller on a Mac.
One of the most significant accessibility issues is font size. Small fonts are more difficult to read. For those of us with good eyesight, it can come as a shock that a significant percentage of the population has trouble reading anything below 14 point times on paper. Screens are less readable than paper, because of their lower resolution.
Does that mean the minimum point size we should use is 14 pts?
That doesn’t help those whose sight is even poorer. So what is the minimum point size we should use?
This allows visitors to choose the font size which suits them.
The same goes even for pixels. Because of logical resolution differences, a pixel on one platform is not a pixel on another.
CSS provides several ways of suggesting the size of text in such a way as to aid accessibility and general adaptibility to all internet enabled devices.
We can make headings and other elements stand out using font size by specifying that headings of level 1 (H1) should be say 50% larger than the body text, level 2 (H2) should be 30% larger, and so on. Now, regardless of the size that the user chooses for their main text, headings will be scaled to be proportionally bigger than the main text. Similarly text can be scaled to be smaller than the body text, however, this can give rise to situations where the text can be illegibly small, so use with caution.
We’ve done very little really, just avoided using absolute font sizes, and used proportional sizes for headings, and we’ve already made our pages much more adaptable and accessible.
Fonts used for web sites are limited to a small number of common fonts found on the majority of computers - fonts are not downloaded with a web pages, web pages use fonts on the visitors computer. While a specific font is not necessarily installed on every computer, even those using the same operating system, some fonts are so common that they are safer to use than others. The most common serif typefaces are Times and Times New Roman. The most common sans serif typefaces are Arial, Helvetica, and Verdana. A variety of size parameters can be used and colour can be specified
With the wide range of settings, screen sizes and differing equipment used to access web pages, there is no best font size. Therefore we should give the control to the website visitor rather than fix font sizes giving the visitor no option. So font sizes should be specified using relative units like percentage or ems, (in external CSS files) which allow the user to adjust font sizes up or down to suit their own requirements. So we should not fix fonts at 12 points for example, but use 80% or 0.8em.
In addition text should not be turned into a graphic to use an uncommon font or achieve a specific look as this locks the text size, and makes it impossible for users to change it.
Already many browsers provide the capability for website visitors to control the fonts and font sizes used on web pages they visit provided the web designer has not removed these abilities. With CSS, the web designer can set the default fonts to use (if they are available and if the user has not decided to override the suggestions). Usually a short list of fonts is suiggested.
The same font, at the same size on a Macintosh is smaller than on most Windows machines. Generally a Macintosh is uses 72dpi, while the Windows default is 96dpi. So very small text on a PC is even smaller on a Mac.
One of the most significant accessibility issues is font size. Small fonts are more difficult to read. For those of us with good eyesight, it can come as a shock that a significant percentage of the population has trouble reading anything below 14 point times on paper. Screens are less readable than paper, because of their lower resolution.
Does that mean the minimum point size we should use is 14 pts?
That doesn’t help those whose sight is even poorer. So what is the minimum point size we should use?
This allows visitors to choose the font size which suits them.
The same goes even for pixels. Because of logical resolution differences, a pixel on one platform is not a pixel on another.
CSS provides several ways of suggesting the size of text in such a way as to aid accessibility and general adaptibility to all internet enabled devices.
We can make headings and other elements stand out using font size by specifying that headings of level 1 (H1) should be say 50% larger than the body text, level 2 (H2) should be 30% larger, and so on. Now, regardless of the size that the user chooses for their main text, headings will be scaled to be proportionally bigger than the main text. Similarly text can be scaled to be smaller than the body text, however, this can give rise to situations where the text can be illegibly small, so use with caution.
We’ve done very little really, just avoided using absolute font sizes, and used proportional sizes for headings, and we’ve already made our pages much more adaptable and accessible.
Fonts used for web sites are limited to a small number of common fonts found on the majority of computers - fonts are not downloaded with a web pages, web pages use fonts on the visitors computer. While a specific font is not necessarily installed on every computer, even those using the same operating system, some fonts are so common that they are safer to use than others. The most common serif typefaces are Times and Times New Roman. The most common sans serif typefaces are Arial, Helvetica, and Verdana. A variety of size parameters can be used and colour can be specified
With the wide range of settings, screen sizes and differing equipment used to access web pages, there is no best font size. Therefore we should give the control to the website visitor rather than fix font sizes giving the visitor no option. So font sizes should be specified using relative units like percentage or ems, (in external CSS files) which allow the user to adjust font sizes up or down to suit their own requirements. So we should not fix fonts at 12 points for example, but use 80% or 0.8em.
In addition text should not be turned into a graphic to use an uncommon font or achieve a specific look as this locks the text size, and makes it impossible for users to change it.
Already many browsers provide the capability for website visitors to control the fonts and font sizes used on web pages they visit provided the web designer has not removed these abilities. With CSS, the web designer can set the default fonts to use (if they are available and if the user has not decided to override the suggestions). Usually a short list of fonts is suiggested.
The same font, at the same size on a Macintosh is smaller than on most Windows machines. Generally a Macintosh is uses 72dpi, while the Windows default is 96dpi. So very small text on a PC is even smaller on a Mac.
One of the most significant accessibility issues is font size. Small fonts are more difficult to read. For those of us with good eyesight, it can come as a shock that a significant percentage of the population has trouble reading anything below 14 point times on paper. Screens are less readable than paper, because of their lower resolution.
Does that mean the minimum point size we should use is 14 pts?
That doesn’t help those whose sight is even poorer. So what is the minimum point size we should use?
This allows visitors to choose the font size which suits them.
The same goes even for pixels. Because of logical resolution differences, a pixel on one platform is not a pixel on another.
CSS provides several ways of suggesting the size of text in such a way as to aid accessibility and general adaptibility to all internet enabled devices.
We can make headings and other elements stand out using font size by specifying that headings of level 1 (H1) should be say 50% larger than the body text, level 2 (H2) should be 30% larger, and so on. Now, regardless of the size that the user chooses for their main text, headings will be scaled to be proportionally bigger than the main text. Similarly text can be scaled to be smaller than the body text, however, this can give rise to situations where the text can be illegibly small, so use with caution.
We’ve done very little really, just avoided using absolute font sizes, and used proportional sizes for headings, and we’ve already made our pages much more adaptable and accessible.
Fonts used for web sites are limited to a small number of common fonts found on the majority of computers - fonts are not downloaded with a web pages, web pages use fonts on the visitors computer. While a specific font is not necessarily installed on every computer, even those using the same operating system, some fonts are so common that they are safer to use than others. The most common serif typefaces are Times and Times New Roman. The most common sans serif typefaces are Arial, Helvetica, and Verdana. A variety of size parameters can be used and colour can be specified
With the wide range of settings, screen sizes and differing equipment used to access web pages, there is no best font size. Therefore we should give the control to the website visitor rather than fix font sizes giving the visitor no option. So font sizes should be specified using relative units like percentage or ems, (in external CSS files) which allow the user to adjust font sizes up or down to suit their own requirements. So we should not fix fonts at 12 points for example, but use 80% or 0.8em.
In addition text should not be turned into a graphic to use an uncommon font or achieve a specific look as this locks the text size, and makes it impossible for users to change it.
Already many browsers provide the capability for website visitors to control the fonts and font sizes used on web pages they visit provided the web designer has not removed these abilities. With CSS, the web designer can set the default fonts to use (if they are available and if the user has not decided to override the suggestions). Usually a short list of fonts is suiggested.
The same font, at the same size on a Macintosh is smaller than on most Windows machines. Generally a Macintosh is uses 72dpi, while the Windows default is 96dpi. So very small text on a PC is even smaller on a Mac.
One of the most significant accessibility issues is font size. Small fonts are more difficult to read. For those of us with good eyesight, it can come as a shock that a significant percentage of the population has trouble reading anything below 14 point times on paper. Screens are less readable than paper, because of their lower resolution.
Does that mean the minimum point size we should use is 14 pts?
That doesn’t help those whose sight is even poorer. So what is the minimum point size we should use?
This allows visitors to choose the font size which suits them.
The same goes even for pixels. Because of logical resolution differences, a pixel on one platform is not a pixel on another.
CSS provides several ways of suggesting the size of text in such a way as to aid accessibility and general adaptibility to all internet enabled devices.
We can make headings and other elements stand out using font size by specifying that headings of level 1 (H1) should be say 50% larger than the body text, level 2 (H2) should be 30% larger, and so on. Now, regardless of the size that the user chooses for their main text, headings will be scaled to be proportionally bigger than the main text. Similarly text can be scaled to be smaller than the body text, however, this can give rise to situations where the text can be illegibly small, so use with caution.
We’ve done very little really, just avoided using absolute font sizes, and used proportional sizes for headings, and we’ve already made our pages much more adaptable and accessible.
Fonts used for web sites are limited to a small number of common fonts found on the majority of computers - fonts are not downloaded with a web pages, web pages use fonts on the visitors computer. While a specific font is not necessarily installed on every computer, even those using the same operating system, some fonts are so common that they are safer to use than others. The most common serif typefaces are Times and Times New Roman. The most common sans serif typefaces are Arial, Helvetica, and Verdana. A variety of size parameters can be used and colour can be specified
With the wide range of settings, screen sizes and differing equipment used to access web pages, there is no best font size. Therefore we should give the control to the website visitor rather than fix font sizes giving the visitor no option. So font sizes should be specified using relative units like percentage or ems, (in external CSS files) which allow the user to adjust font sizes up or down to suit their own requirements. So we should not fix fonts at 12 points for example, but use 80% or 0.8em.
In addition text should not be turned into a graphic to use an uncommon font or achieve a specific look as this locks the text size, and makes it impossible for users to change it.
Already many browsers provide the capability for website visitors to control the fonts and font sizes used on web pages they visit provided the web designer has not removed these abilities. With CSS, the web designer can set the default fonts to use (if they are available and if the user has not decided to override the suggestions). Usually a short list of fonts is suiggested.
The same font, at the same size on a Macintosh is smaller than on most Windows machines. Generally a Macintosh is uses 72dpi, while the Windows default is 96dpi. So very small text on a PC is even smaller on a Mac.
One of the most significant accessibility issues is font size. Small fonts are more difficult to read. For those of us with good eyesight, it can come as a shock that a significant percentage of the population has trouble reading anything below 14 point times on paper. Screens are less readable than paper, because of their lower resolution.
Does that mean the minimum point size we should use is 14 pts?
That doesn’t help those whose sight is even poorer. So what is the minimum point size we should use?
This allows visitors to choose the font size which suits them.
The same goes even for pixels. Because of logical resolution differences, a pixel on one platform is not a pixel on another.
CSS provides several ways of suggesting the size of text in such a way as to aid accessibility and general adaptibility to all internet enabled devices.
We can make headings and other elements stand out using font size by specifying that headings of level 1 (H1) should be say 50% larger than the body text, level 2 (H2) should be 30% larger, and so on. Now, regardless of the size that the user chooses for their main text, headings will be scaled to be proportionally bigger than the main text. Similarly text can be scaled to be smaller than the body text, however, this can give rise to situations where the text can be illegibly small, so use with caution.
We’ve done very little really, just avoided using absolute font sizes, and used proportional sizes for headings, and we’ve already made our pages much more adaptable and accessible.
Fonts used for web sites are limited to a small number of common fonts found on the majority of computers - fonts are not downloaded with a web pages, web pages use fonts on the visitors computer. While a specific font is not necessarily installed on every computer, even those using the same operating system, some fonts are so common that they are safer to use than others. The most common serif typefaces are Times and Times New Roman. The most common sans serif typefaces are Arial, Helvetica, and Verdana. A variety of size parameters can be used and colour can be specified
With the wide range of settings, screen sizes and differing equipment used to access web pages, there is no best font size. Therefore we should give the control to the website visitor rather than fix font sizes giving the visitor no option. So font sizes should be specified using relative units like percentage or ems, (in external CSS files) which allow the user to adjust font sizes up or down to suit their own requirements. So we should not fix fonts at 12 points for example, but use 80% or 0.8em.
In addition text should not be turned into a graphic to use an uncommon font or achieve a specific look as this locks the text size, and makes it impossible for users to change it.
Already many browsers provide the capability for website visitors to control the fonts and font sizes used on web pages they visit provided the web designer has not removed these abilities. With CSS, the web designer can set the default fonts to use (if they are available and if the user has not decided to override the suggestions). Usually a short list of fonts is suiggested.
The same font, at the same size on a Macintosh is smaller than on most Windows machines. Generally a Macintosh is uses 72dpi, while the Windows default is 96dpi. So very small text on a PC is even smaller on a Mac.
One of the most significant accessibility issues is font size. Small fonts are more difficult to read. For those of us with good eyesight, it can come as a shock that a significant percentage of the population has trouble reading anything below 14 point times on paper. Screens are less readable than paper, because of their lower resolution.
Does that mean the minimum point size we should use is 14 pts?
That doesn’t help those whose sight is even poorer. So what is the minimum point size we should use?
This allows visitors to choose the font size which suits them.
The same goes even for pixels. Because of logical resolution differences, a pixel on one platform is not a pixel on another.
CSS provides several ways of suggesting the size of text in such a way as to aid accessibility and general adaptibility to all internet enabled devices.
We can make headings and other elements stand out using font size by specifying that headings of level 1 (H1) should be say 50% larger than the body text, level 2 (H2) should be 30% larger, and so on. Now, regardless of the size that the user chooses for their main text, headings will be scaled to be proportionally bigger than the main text. Similarly text can be scaled to be smaller than the body text, however, this can give rise to situations where the text can be illegibly small, so use with caution.
We’ve done very little really, just avoided using absolute font sizes, and used proportional sizes for headings, and we’ve already made our pages much more adaptable and accessible.
Fonts used for web sites are limited to a small number of common fonts found on the majority of computers - fonts are not downloaded with a web pages, web pages use fonts on the visitors computer. While a specific font is not necessarily installed on every computer, even those using the same operating system, some fonts are so common that they are safer to use than others. The most common serif typefaces are Times and Times New Roman. The most common sans serif typefaces are Arial, Helvetica, and Verdana. A variety of size parameters can be used and colour can be specified
With the wide range of settings, screen sizes and differing equipment used to access web pages, there is no best font size. Therefore we should give the control to the website visitor rather than fix font sizes giving the visitor no option. So font sizes should be specified using relative units like percentage or ems, (in external CSS files) which allow the user to adjust font sizes up or down to suit their own requirements. So we should not fix fonts at 12 points for example, but use 80% or 0.8em.
In addition text should not be turned into a graphic to use an uncommon font or achieve a specific look as this locks the text size, and makes it impossible for users to change it.
Already many browsers provide the capability for website visitors to control the fonts and font sizes used on web pages they visit provided the web designer has not removed these abilities. With CSS, the web designer can set the default fonts to use (if they are available and if the user has not decided to override the suggestions). Usually a short list of fonts is suiggested.
The same font, at the same size on a Macintosh is smaller than on most Windows machines. Generally a Macintosh is uses 72dpi, while the Windows default is 96dpi. So very small text on a PC is even smaller on a Mac.
One of the most significant accessibility issues is font size. Small fonts are more difficult to read. For those of us with good eyesight, it can come as a shock that a significant percentage of the population has trouble reading anything below 14 point times on paper. Screens are less readable than paper, because of their lower resolution.
Does that mean the minimum point size we should use is 14 pts?
That doesn’t help those whose sight is even poorer. So what is the minimum point size we should use?
This allows visitors to choose the font size which suits them.
The same goes even for pixels. Because of logical resolution differences, a pixel on one platform is not a pixel on another.
CSS provides several ways of suggesting the size of text in such a way as to aid accessibility and general adaptibility to all internet enabled devices.
We can make headings and other elements stand out using font size by specifying that headings of level 1 (H1) should be say 50% larger than the body text, level 2 (H2) should be 30% larger, and so on. Now, regardless of the size that the user chooses for their main text, headings will be scaled to be proportionally bigger than the main text. Similarly text can be scaled to be smaller than the body text, however, this can give rise to situations where the text can be illegibly small, so use with caution.
We’ve done very little really, just avoided using absolute font sizes, and used proportional sizes for headings, and we’ve already made our pages much more adaptable and accessible.
Fonts used for web sites are limited to a small number of common fonts found on the majority of computers - fonts are not downloaded with a web pages, web pages use fonts on the visitors computer. While a specific font is not necessarily installed on every computer, even those using the same operating system, some fonts are so common that they are safer to use than others. The most common serif typefaces are Times and Times New Roman. The most common sans serif typefaces are Arial, Helvetica, and Verdana. A variety of size parameters can be used and colour can be specified
With the wide range of settings, screen sizes and differing equipment used to access web pages, there is no best font size. Therefore we should give the control to the website visitor rather than fix font sizes giving the visitor no option. So font sizes should be specified using relative units like percentage or ems, (in external CSS files) which allow the user to adjust font sizes up or down to suit their own requirements. So we should not fix fonts at 12 points for example, but use 80% or 0.8em.
In addition text should not be turned into a graphic to use an uncommon font or achieve a specific look as this locks the text size, and makes it impossible for users to change it.
Already many browsers provide the capability for website visitors to control the fonts and font sizes used on web pages they visit provided the web designer has not removed these abilities. With CSS, the web designer can set the default fonts to use (if they are available and if the user has not decided to override the suggestions). Usually a short list of fonts is suiggested.
The same font, at the same size on a Macintosh is smaller than on most Windows machines. Generally a Macintosh is uses 72dpi, while the Windows default is 96dpi. So very small text on a PC is even smaller on a Mac.
One of the most significant accessibility issues is font size. Small fonts are more difficult to read. For those of us with good eyesight, it can come as a shock that a significant percentage of the population has trouble reading anything below 14 point times on paper. Screens are less readable than paper, because of their lower resolution.
Does that mean the minimum point size we should use is 14 pts?
That doesn’t help those whose sight is even poorer. So what is the minimum point size we should use?
This allows visitors to choose the font size which suits them.
The same goes even for pixels. Because of logical resolution differences, a pixel on one platform is not a pixel on another.
CSS provides several ways of suggesting the size of text in such a way as to aid accessibility and general adaptibility to all internet enabled devices.
We can make headings and other elements stand out using font size by specifying that headings of level 1 (H1) should be say 50% larger than the body text, level 2 (H2) should be 30% larger, and so on. Now, regardless of the size that the user chooses for their main text, headings will be scaled to be proportionally bigger than the main text. Similarly text can be scaled to be smaller than the body text, however, this can give rise to situations where the text can be illegibly small, so use with caution.
We’ve done very little really, just avoided using absolute font sizes, and used proportional sizes for headings, and we’ve already made our pages much more adaptable and accessible.
Fonts used for web sites are limited to a small number of common fonts found on the majority of computers - fonts are not downloaded with a web pages, web pages use fonts on the visitors computer. While a specific font is not necessarily installed on every computer, even those using the same operating system, some fonts are so common that they are safer to use than others. The most common serif typefaces are Times and Times New Roman. The most common sans serif typefaces are Arial, Helvetica, and Verdana. A variety of size parameters can be used and colour can be specified
With the wide range of settings, screen sizes and differing equipment used to access web pages, there is no best font size. Therefore we should give the control to the website visitor rather than fix font sizes giving the visitor no option. So font sizes should be specified using relative units like percentage or ems, (in external CSS files) which allow the user to adjust font sizes up or down to suit their own requirements. So we should not fix fonts at 12 points for example, but use 80% or 0.8em.
In addition text should not be turned into a graphic to use an uncommon font or achieve a specific look as this locks the text size, and makes it impossible for users to change it.
Already many browsers provide the capability for website visitors to control the fonts and font sizes used on web pages they visit provided the web designer has not removed these abilities. With CSS, the web designer can set the default fonts to use (if they are available and if the user has not decided to override the suggestions). Usually a short list of fonts is suiggested.
The same font, at the same size on a Macintosh is smaller than on most Windows machines. Generally a Macintosh is uses 72dpi, while the Windows default is 96dpi. So very small text on a PC is even smaller on a Mac.
One of the most significant accessibility issues is font size. Small fonts are more difficult to read. For those of us with good eyesight, it can come as a shock that a significant percentage of the population has trouble reading anything below 14 point times on paper. Screens are less readable than paper, because of their lower resolution.
Does that mean the minimum point size we should use is 14 pts?
That doesn’t help those whose sight is even poorer. So what is the minimum point size we should use?
This allows visitors to choose the font size which suits them.
The same goes even for pixels. Because of logical resolution differences, a pixel on one platform is not a pixel on another.
CSS provides several ways of suggesting the size of text in such a way as to aid accessibility and general adaptibility to all internet enabled devices.
We can make headings and other elements stand out using font size by specifying that headings of level 1 (H1) should be say 50% larger than the body text, level 2 (H2) should be 30% larger, and so on. Now, regardless of the size that the user chooses for their main text, headings will be scaled to be proportionally bigger than the main text. Similarly text can be scaled to be smaller than the body text, however, this can give rise to situations where the text can be illegibly small, so use with caution.
We’ve done very little really, just avoided using absolute font sizes, and used proportional sizes for headings, and we’ve already made our pages much more adaptable and accessible.
Fonts used for web sites are limited to a small number of common fonts found on the majority of computers - fonts are not downloaded with a web pages, web pages use fonts on the visitors computer. While a specific font is not necessarily installed on every computer, even those using the same operating system, some fonts are so common that they are safer to use than others. The most common serif typefaces are Times and Times New Roman. The most common sans serif typefaces are Arial, Helvetica, and Verdana. A variety of size parameters can be used and colour can be specified
With the wide range of settings, screen sizes and differing equipment used to access web pages, there is no best font size. Therefore we should give the control to the website visitor rather than fix font sizes giving the visitor no option. So font sizes should be specified using relative units like percentage or ems, (in external CSS files) which allow the user to adjust font sizes up or down to suit their own requirements. So we should not fix fonts at 12 points for example, but use 80% or 0.8em.
In addition text should not be turned into a graphic to use an uncommon font or achieve a specific look as this locks the text size, and makes it impossible for users to change it.
Already many browsers provide the capability for website visitors to control the fonts and font sizes used on web pages they visit provided the web designer has not removed these abilities. With CSS, the web designer can set the default fonts to use (if they are available and if the user has not decided to override the suggestions). Usually a short list of fonts is suiggested.
The same font, at the same size on a Macintosh is smaller than on most Windows machines. Generally a Macintosh is uses 72dpi, while the Windows default is 96dpi. So very small text on a PC is even smaller on a Mac.
One of the most significant accessibility issues is font size. Small fonts are more difficult to read. For those of us with good eyesight, it can come as a shock that a significant percentage of the population has trouble reading anything below 14 point times on paper. Screens are less readable than paper, because of their lower resolution.
Does that mean the minimum point size we should use is 14 pts?
That doesn’t help those whose sight is even poorer. So what is the minimum point size we should use?
This allows visitors to choose the font size which suits them.
The same goes even for pixels. Because of logical resolution differences, a pixel on one platform is not a pixel on another.
CSS provides several ways of suggesting the size of text in such a way as to aid accessibility and general adaptibility to all internet enabled devices.
We can make headings and other elements stand out using font size by specifying that headings of level 1 (H1) should be say 50% larger than the body text, level 2 (H2) should be 30% larger, and so on. Now, regardless of the size that the user chooses for their main text, headings will be scaled to be proportionally bigger than the main text. Similarly text can be scaled to be smaller than the body text, however, this can give rise to situations where the text can be illegibly small, so use with caution.
We’ve done very little really, just avoided using absolute font sizes, and used proportional sizes for headings, and we’ve already made our pages much more adaptable and accessible.
Fonts used for web sites are limited to a small number of common fonts found on the majority of computers - fonts are not downloaded with a web pages, web pages use fonts on the visitors computer. While a specific font is not necessarily installed on every computer, even those using the same operating system, some fonts are so common that they are safer to use than others. The most common serif typefaces are Times and Times New Roman. The most common sans serif typefaces are Arial, Helvetica, and Verdana. A variety of size parameters can be used and colour can be specified
With the wide range of settings, screen sizes and differing equipment used to access web pages, there is no best font size. Therefore we should give the control to the website visitor rather than fix font sizes giving the visitor no option. So font sizes should be specified using relative units like percentage or ems, (in external CSS files) which allow the user to adjust font sizes up or down to suit their own requirements. So we should not fix fonts at 12 points for example, but use 80% or 0.8em.
In addition text should not be turned into a graphic to use an uncommon font or achieve a specific look as this locks the text size, and makes it impossible for users to change it.
Already many browsers provide the capability for website visitors to control the fonts and font sizes used on web pages they visit provided the web designer has not removed these abilities. With CSS, the web designer can set the default fonts to use (if they are available and if the user has not decided to override the suggestions). Usually a short list of fonts is suiggested.
The same font, at the same size on a Macintosh is smaller than on most Windows machines. Generally a Macintosh is uses 72dpi, while the Windows default is 96dpi. So very small text on a PC is even smaller on a Mac.
One of the most significant accessibility issues is font size. Small fonts are more difficult to read. For those of us with good eyesight, it can come as a shock that a significant percentage of the population has trouble reading anything below 14 point times on paper. Screens are less readable than paper, because of their lower resolution.
Does that mean the minimum point size we should use is 14 pts?
That doesn’t help those whose sight is even poorer. So what is the minimum point size we should use?
This allows visitors to choose the font size which suits them.
The same goes even for pixels. Because of logical resolution differences, a pixel on one platform is not a pixel on another.
CSS provides several ways of suggesting the size of text in such a way as to aid accessibility and general adaptibility to all internet enabled devices.
We can make headings and other elements stand out using font size by specifying that headings of level 1 (H1) should be say 50% larger than the body text, level 2 (H2) should be 30% larger, and so on. Now, regardless of the size that the user chooses for their main text, headings will be scaled to be proportionally bigger than the main text. Similarly text can be scaled to be smaller than the body text, however, this can give rise to situations where the text can be illegibly small, so use with caution.
We’ve done very little really, just avoided using absolute font sizes, and used proportional sizes for headings, and we’ve already made our pages much more adaptable and accessible.
Fonts used for web sites are limited to a small number of common fonts found on the majority of computers - fonts are not downloaded with a web pages, web pages use fonts on the visitors computer. While a specific font is not necessarily installed on every computer, even those using the same operating system, some fonts are so common that they are safer to use than others. The most common serif typefaces are Times and Times New Roman. The most common sans serif typefaces are Arial, Helvetica, and Verdana. A variety of size parameters can be used and colour can be specified
With the wide range of settings, screen sizes and differing equipment used to access web pages, there is no best font size. Therefore we should give the control to the website visitor rather than fix font sizes giving the visitor no option. So font sizes should be specified using relative units like percentage or ems, (in external CSS files) which allow the user to adjust font sizes up or down to suit their own requirements. So we should not fix fonts at 12 points for example, but use 80% or 0.8em.
In addition text should not be turned into a graphic to use an uncommon font or achieve a specific look as this locks the text size, and makes it impossible for users to change it.
Already many browsers provide the capability for website visitors to control the fonts and font sizes used on web pages they visit provided the web designer has not removed these abilities. With CSS, the web designer can set the default fonts to use (if they are available and if the user has not decided to override the suggestions). Usually a short list of fonts is suiggested.
The same font, at the same size on a Macintosh is smaller than on most Windows machines. Generally a Macintosh is uses 72dpi, while the Windows default is 96dpi. So very small text on a PC is even smaller on a Mac.
One of the most significant accessibility issues is font size. Small fonts are more difficult to read. For those of us with good eyesight, it can come as a shock that a significant percentage of the population has trouble reading anything below 14 point times on paper. Screens are less readable than paper, because of their lower resolution.
Does that mean the minimum point size we should use is 14 pts?
That doesn’t help those whose sight is even poorer. So what is the minimum point size we should use?
This allows visitors to choose the font size which suits them.
The same goes even for pixels. Because of logical resolution differences, a pixel on one platform is not a pixel on another.
CSS provides several ways of suggesting the size of text in such a way as to aid accessibility and general adaptibility to all internet enabled devices.
We can make headings and other elements stand out using font size by specifying that headings of level 1 (H1) should be say 50% larger than the body text, level 2 (H2) should be 30% larger, and so on. Now, regardless of the size that the user chooses for their main text, headings will be scaled to be proportionally bigger than the main text. Similarly text can be scaled to be smaller than the body text, however, this can give rise to situations where the text can be illegibly small, so use with caution.
We’ve done very little really, just avoided using absolute font sizes, and used proportional sizes for headings, and we’ve already made our pages much more adaptable and accessible.
Fonts used for web sites are limited to a small number of common fonts found on the majority of computers - fonts are not downloaded with a web pages, web pages use fonts on the visitors computer. While a specific font is not necessarily installed on every computer, even those using the same operating system, some fonts are so common that they are safer to use than others. The most common serif typefaces are Times and Times New Roman. The most common sans serif typefaces are Arial, Helvetica, and Verdana. A variety of size parameters can be used and colour can be specified
With the wide range of settings, screen sizes and differing equipment used to access web pages, there is no best font size. Therefore we should give the control to the website visitor rather than fix font sizes giving the visitor no option. So font sizes should be specified using relative units like percentage or ems, (in external CSS files) which allow the user to adjust font sizes up or down to suit their own requirements. So we should not fix fonts at 12 points for example, but use 80% or 0.8em.
In addition text should not be turned into a graphic to use an uncommon font or achieve a specific look as this locks the text size, and makes it impossible for users to change it.
Already many browsers provide the capability for website visitors to control the fonts and font sizes used on web pages they visit provided the web designer has not removed these abilities. With CSS, the web designer can set the default fonts to use (if they are available and if the user has not decided to override the suggestions). Usually a short list of fonts is suiggested.
The same font, at the same size on a Macintosh is smaller than on most Windows machines. Generally a Macintosh is uses 72dpi, while the Windows default is 96dpi. So very small text on a PC is even smaller on a Mac.
One of the most significant accessibility issues is font size. Small fonts are more difficult to read. For those of us with good eyesight, it can come as a shock that a significant percentage of the population has trouble reading anything below 14 point times on paper. Screens are less readable than paper, because of their lower resolution.
Does that mean the minimum point size we should use is 14 pts?
That doesn’t help those whose sight is even poorer. So what is the minimum point size we should use?
This allows visitors to choose the font size which suits them.
The same goes even for pixels. Because of logical resolution differences, a pixel on one platform is not a pixel on another.
CSS provides several ways of suggesting the size of text in such a way as to aid accessibility and general adaptibility to all internet enabled devices.
We can make headings and other elements stand out using font size by specifying that headings of level 1 (H1) should be say 50% larger than the body text, level 2 (H2) should be 30% larger, and so on. Now, regardless of the size that the user chooses for their main text, headings will be scaled to be proportionally bigger than the main text. Similarly text can be scaled to be smaller than the body text, however, this can give rise to situations where the text can be illegibly small, so use with caution.
We’ve done very little really, just avoided using absolute font sizes, and used proportional sizes for headings, and we’ve already made our pages much more adaptable and accessible.