Increase and Decrease Text Size functions on Websites and Accessibility

I often get asked to include the functions such as "increase and decrease text size" and "print page" on website interfaces, particularly by corporate clients.  While the intentions are sometimes good, (frequently for "accessibility reasons") I tend to go a bit blue in the face trying to tell people why it is in actual fact misguided.  So I thought I'd briefly explain that  your website doesn't have to scream accessible to be accessible.  In fact, often it can be the reverse. 

But it is very hard to tell people that, particularly when some of the most important sites on the web are set the wrong example and people are blindly following.

One of the biggest culprits of this is the "Increase / Decrease text size" (or font size) function on websites.  Another is the "Print Page" link.

I can think of at least a dozen sites that do it, often in combination.  The Commonwealth Bank is one of them pictured below:

 

They were particularly fashionable a few years ago and we've done a few ourselves in the past.   Unfortunately because a few big sites still use it, most people tend to thing its a great idea.

Back a few years ago, some web browsers wouldn't let you adjust the size at all.  Now a web browser is simply not satsifactory without it and the latest standards dictate its inclusion such that it is very unlikely that you will find anyone using a browser that doesn't support it.  The same goes with printing the page.   It is about as redundant as the fashion of putting the clock on your webpage, which is always displayed at the bottom right hand of your computer screen anyway (although unlike the others, clocks and the date can be effective on news sites).

However all of these functions require technologies that can be in fact anti-accessible.  You see, both of these functions require javascript(a language that runs on your web browser) to function.  The Print function typically launches a little dialog box which is the same as going File > Print in your browser.  But the way thisis read is not consistent across all browsers and sometimes has compatibility problems.  If the text size remains the same on your next visit, then it may also use cookies, another browser add-on technology.  If these things are turned off for security reasons, then you're actually creating problems. 

In fact both the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) on Web Accessibility (WAI) lists instructions on their website on how this works in all the major browsers and insists that it is not an accessibility requirement.  Vision Australia also list instructions on how to list and reference it as well as an example of how to change it without Javascript but with cookies.

Then there is a second issue.  It is not simply a matter of your clever little web designer implementing a little script.  The key to accessibility in the first place is to use a variable font size when designing the site.  Selection of the base point size for your fonts is paramount to its successful accessibility.  Many websites, in fact, implement fixed font sizes so they look good on print and screen.  This is a bad idea for accessibility and pretty much renders your little interface tool even more useless.  The same goes for the Print function.  A proper ane well thought out print stylesheet needs to be present.  Getting these right are the hardest bit, but the most rewarding for people who require accessible websites.  Otherwise both functions are as useful as a wheelchair with broken wheels.  By offering these tools, you're not doing your web visitors any favours as you are basically teaching them bad Internet navigation habits.

What I am trying to say is that there is much more to Internet accessibility than simply whacking some gimmicks on your website interface.  For instance, shortcut keys are often overlooked but critical accessibility and usability element that you can't really see by looking at a design.  However many people tend to forget that in their rush to make things superficially accessible.

So unless you want your website to look sophisticated (the "bells and whistles" could fool some people), there is no reason to add these features for the sake of it.  Even when subdued in a design, they introduce unnecessary clutter.