Font sizes: Fixed or flexible…?

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which creates the coding standards for the Internet, recommends the use of proportional font sizing as the best way of achieving universal accessibility. The W3C promotes proportional font sizing as a way to put text size control back in the hands of the Web site visitor.

On HP.com we have defined proportional font sizes this way. So you can go from the default which looks like this:

to this:

So for all the people who want to adjust their fonts, you can use your browser settings to increase the size proportionally.

Some websites have <larger text> as a link on their pages to change their one fixed font to a fixed larger font. There are typically only two settings. When you try to use your browser settings to change the font it has no effect on the page. Here is what one user had to say about that:

“I am so sick and tired of websites that don't allow the browser "Change Font Size" feature to work that I just HAVE TO tell you: THANK YOU! for allowing your site to operate the "old-fashioned way"! Absolute point sizes for text in CSS may make websites "pretty" (as well as allowing the designer to be LAZY and not take time to make sure different font sizes work for the layout!) but it's the worst of the worst for those of us who just "need a little help" but not a full-blown screen reader solution. I only need help once in a while, but when I need it and I'm prevented from using the easy FREE feature available to everyone, it's annoying. I hope you never switch!”

That said, there is always opportunity for looking at the default size of the font that you use in a proportional font system. We could go larger but that might results in important content sometimes falling below the fold resulting in scrolling…always the need for balance.