Customizable text in websites and documents is an important part of universal design for the web. This article will outline how content creators can design websites and documents that people can customize to meet their individual needs.
Customizable Text in Websites and Documents
One principle of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) requires that web content must be perceivable. In other words, people with a variety of disabilities should be able to perceive web content that is presented audibly or visually. In addition, WCAG requires websites to be robust, to work with current and future assistive technologies.
Some people read websites or documents with screen magnification software, which enlarges text and images. People can use this software to magnify different parts of the screen, to focus on one part at a time. For instance, as people read, they can:
- Invert foreground and background colours (such as from black on white to white on black)
- Make other changes to foreground or background colours
- Change the appearance of the:
- Mouse pointer
- Cursor
- Focus indicator
However, with or without this software, people should be able to change the appearance of a website or document to meet their needs. For example, a person should be able to change a website’s:
- Font, such as from serif to sans serif
- Spacing
- Justification, such as left justified text instead of full justified text
Web designers should create sites that allow people to make all these changes to see each page clearly. Moreover, none of these customizations should impair a page’s function. For example, while someone zooms in on one part of a page, other parts may not be visible. As a result, pop-up notifications may be out of sight. Therefore, people should also be able to customize how they can receive alerts about these notifications, or where the notifications appear.