1.4.8 Visual Presentation

For people with dyslexia, cognitive disabilities, or visual impairments, the ability to control text presentation can make the difference between being able to read content and not. Specific fonts, colours, line lengths, and spacing significantly affect readability.

This Level AAA criterion requires that text blocks can be configured by the user: foreground and background colour, line width (no more than 80 characters), line spacing (at least 1.5 times the font size), paragraph spacing, and text alignment (not justified).

Do not use fully justified text. Left-aligned text creates consistent word spacing which is much easier to read, particularly for people with dyslexia.

Keep line length to around 66 to 80 characters for body text. Very wide text is harder to track from line to line.

Use sufficient line height. A minimum of 1.5 times the font size is recommended.

Support user stylesheets by not overriding colour preferences with !important declarations.

• Fully justified body text that creates uneven word spacing
• Very long lines of text with no maximum width set
• CSS that prevents users from overriding text colours