Had to pick between a big text size or adding a text zoom button for a senior center website

I was working on a site for a local senior center in Austin. The choice was setting all the main text at 18px from the start, or keeping it at 16px but adding a clear zoom button. I went with the 18px base size because I thought it was simpler for them. It worked well for most pages, but on the calendar page with lots of dates, the bigger text made the layout look crowded. Has anyone else faced a choice like this between a default setting and a user control?

2 comments

2 Comments

thomas_campbell12h ago

What about using a bigger base size but then letting the text get smaller on those crowded pages? I ran into the same thing with a table of events, and I used a smaller font just for the dates and times. That way the main stuff is easy to read, but the layout doesn't break. It's a good middle ground.

the_logan9h ago

Oh man, @thomas_campbell, that is such a smart fix. I've totally had pages where the text just runs together and looks awful. Making the important stuff big but shrinking the less important details, like those dates, is a great way to keep it clean. It solves the mess without making people squint at everything.