Text, Fonts, and Colors
Summary
- Choose fonts that are easy to read for users with low vision.
- Don't rely on color alone to convey information.
- Create text based upon function, not presentation.
- Be clear with your content.
Guidelines
- Divide large blocks of information into more manageable groups where natural and appropriate.
- When possible, text should use sans-serif fonts, such as Verdana and Arial. These are easier to read on a computer screen than fonts with serifs.
- All information that is conveyed with color should also be available without color.
- Choose colors that can be distinguished by people who are colorblind. When choosing backgrounds and colors, make sure that color combinations are effective.
- Ensure that foreground and background color combinations provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having color deficits or when viewed on a black and white screen.
- Don't use background images that blend in with overlaid text. It may not be noticeable to users with good eyesight, but this can make your web page hard to read for users with low vision.
- Mark up lists and list items properly.
- Mark up quotations. Do not use quotation markup for formatting effects such as indentation.
Tools
- Juicy Studio Colour Contrast Analyser
- Allows you to check the contrast of two colors using the W3C's color contrast algorithm by specifying the colors directly.
- Colorblind Web Page Filter
- to see how your web page appears to users with colorblindness.
See Also
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