On 9 Dec 2004 08:23:37 -0800, "johnny" <mr********@yahoo.com> wrote:
I would like to know if the more and more websites offering the 3 font
sizes option by style switching are just following a trend
Just followng a trend. A trend for setting font sizes in pixels
because the page has been designed as if it was a piece of paper
(rather than designing with the flexibility of the www in mind) and
the tacking on a limited choice of pixel sizes as an attempt to
appease the evil, creativity stiffling accessibility lobby.
or have
chose the best solution by an accessibility/usability point of view.
Are three sizes more accessible than the many sizes possible via the
browser? Is a widget that's placed on a different page on every site,
and which needs to be set for every site more usable than setting
things once in the browser?
I have always read that one should design a website with relative font
unit ( % or em ) so any user would be able to choose in his browser the
most suitable font size for him.
Yes.
What is best ? offering a size option with javascript or server side
code or letting the user completely free to adjust the size to his
needs ?
The latter.
Maybe in some cases a user cannot change the browser otpions ? ( like
on web kiosk, internet cafe ? etc.)
When a browser is used by multiple people some compromises have to be
made. However, the screen size and resolution are known when the
browser is installed so a sensible default font size should have been
set by whoever installed the browser. After that the differences
between kiosks and internet cafes are quite large and make
generalisations difficult.
Steve
