WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

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Re: line length and myth of the fold

for

From: Moore, Michael
Date: Apr 18, 2008 8:20AM

Regarding the 80 character line count from the W3C's WCAG 2.0 Visual
Presentation:
Understanding SC 1.4.8 and the difficulty of ensuring that the text
width does not exceed 80 characters. The techniques section of the
article includes not interfering with reflow. Thus if a users display
device allows the text to extend beyond 80 characters that is not an
issue. The user can control the line length by adjusting the width of
the browser window, if that improves readability for them.

The idea behind many accessibility concepts is not to interfere with the
user's ability to transform content as needed so that he or she can
understand what is there. Just a few examples:

1. Text scaling allows users to increase text size to a comfortable
level.
2. Text alternatives allow users with screen readers to transform visual
elements into sound.
3. Overridable foreground and backgrounds on stylesheets allow users to
adjust color and contrast to meet their needs.
4. Reflowable content allows users adjust the line length of the text to
improve readability.

Some things that we do require the use of assistive technologies to
complete the transformation, but increasingly accommodation is available
through the browser itself. What many designers and "marketing
professionals" need to understand is that with the web, it is not even
possible to predict the environment in which the content will be viewed.
IMHO an effective web page will always emphasize substance over style.
Outright heresy in the marketing world.

Mike