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Why This is Important
People should be able to zoom in up to 200% in order to read larger text without losing any content or functionality. This is accessible to people with vision correction.
Blind and visually impaired people use screen readers to interact with websites and apps. A screen reader is a type of assistive tech that converts things on screen to audio and/or braille. It's important that things are understandable and interactive to screen readers.
Keyboard accessibility is essential for people who do not use a computer mouse (which might be because they have unpredictable or very specific movement due to a motor disability). Many Blind and visually impaired people also use keyboard interactions in order to use their screen reader.
Error support is accessible to people with a diversity of disabilities. A cognitive disability might affect how a person perceives and understands things. A physical disability might lead to unpredictable movement. Other factors such as environment, stress, and multi-tasking may also lead to errors.
In order to be accessible, gestures and interactions must account for people with physical and motor disabilities, who might have unpredictable or very specific movement.
Many people have some sort of vision correction. While they might not use a screen reader or screen magnifier, they might need large text in order to read more easily.
A user should be able to zoom in up to 200% without the assistance of a screen magnifier and without losing any content or functionality. The layout should remain intact, and there should not be any overlapping or strange-looking content as this could be confusing and difficult to read.
This references WCAG criterion 1.4.4 Resize text (Level A).
Level AAA compliance is considered more difficult to meet because it requires more resources to fulfill. It also might encompass conflicting access needs (meaning what is accessible to some might be inaccessible to others). Use your best judgment of your target audience and your team's capabilities to determine if this is a pragmatic goal to reach.
How to Implement This
Make sure that the layout is designed in such a way that people can zoom in and out without losing content or functionality.
Think about the presence of horizontal elements. If the text can grow to twice its size, will it overlap with other elements? Will the text area become so narrow that it’s nearly impossible to read?
For example, in the accessible version, the text wraps within the container and resizes without disrupting other elements. The icon buttons next to the title collapse into a hamburger menu that can be opened and closed. In the inaccessible version, the text overflows. The icon buttons remain where they are and overlap with the text. This is difficult to read and interact with.
How to Test This
- Zoom in to 200% and check that all the content is still available, easy to read, and easy to interact with. Make note of any content that overlaps or disappears.
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