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FAQ - Why is the text so large?

The text size is not set by webtrees. It is set by your browser. webtrees uses the size you choose in your browser preferences. Many common browsers have a default of 16px (12pt).

A 2018 study1, found that over 3% of users change the text size. Almost all set it larger than 16px.

Web standards organisations recommend2 that websites respect the text size specified by the browser. Accessibility organisations recommend3 4 16px. User Experience experts recommend5 6 16px.

Respecting the user’s default setting is also important for some non-latin character sets. For example, Chinese characters are difficult to read at smaller text sizes.

Dyslexia affects approximately 10%7 of the population. Organisations representing people with Dyslexia recommend8 9 a text size of 16–19px with a line spacing of 1.5.

External references:

  1. https://medium.com/@vamptvo/pixels-vs-ems-users-do-change-font-size-5cfb20831773 ↩

  2. https://www.w3.org/QA/Tips/font-size ↩

  3. https://webaim.org/discussion/mail_thread?thread=7051 ↩

  4. https://accessibleweb.com/question-answer/minimum-font-size/ ↩

  5. https://www.smashingmagazine.com/2011/10/16-pixels-body-copy-anything-less-costly-mistake ↩

  6. https://www.nngroup.com/articles/let-users-control-font-size/ ↩

  7. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/dyslexia ↩

  8. https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/advice/employers/creating-a-dyslexia-friendly-workplace/dyslexia-friendly-style-guide ↩

  9. https://www.dyslexia.ie/information/computers-and-technology/making-information-accessible-dyslexia-friendly-style-guide/ ↩

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