Web Accessibility Perspectives: Customizable Text

Introduction

Web accessibility is essential for people with disabilities and useful for all. Learn about the impact of accessibility and the benefits for everyone in a variety of situations.

Video on Customizable Text

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What is "Customizable Text"?

Some users need to be able to change the way text is displayed so that they can read the text. This includes changing the size, spacing, font, color, and other text properties. When users change these properties, no information or functionality should be lost, and the text should re-flow so users don't have to scroll horizontally to read sentences. Text customization is more than the zoom functionality, which only changes the text size.

Who depends on this feature?

People with low vision who are not using screen magnification software.
People with some forms of dyslexia and other cognitive and learning disabilities who need a particular presentation of text to read it.

What are the additional benefits?

Content is more adaptable to smaller and larger screen sizes.
Content is more adaptable to personal preferences and comfort.
Content is more adaptable when translated, since words and sentences are different lengths in different languages.

What needs to happen for this to work?

Content must be properly designed and coded so that it can adapt to different customization settings. This includes using relative rather than absolute units for the size of fonts, controls, and other objects. Applications should use the operating system and web browser text settings. Websites and applications could also provide information to help users change their settings. Web browsers and other web tools need to provide users with text customization functionality.