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Ask HN: Why do websites have small fonts?

5 pointsby narimiranabout 6 years ago
I haven&#x27;t done any scientific measurements, but my experience with the sites which I visit and which are usually shared here is something like this:<p>* 80% have painfully small font-size: I need to view the site at 120%-140% zoom to be easily readable<p>* 15% have ok font-size: I can read it at 100% zoom, unless I&#x27;m tired (then 120% zoom will usually do the trick)<p>* 5% have large enough font-size which I can read regardless of my tiredness<p>Ok, some sites haven&#x27;t changed their design in 10+ years, but I see the same when people here share posts from their personal sites, written recently. You would expect those people to &quot;keep up with the technology&quot; and care about readability.<p>How come the small font-sizes are so prevalent? Is there some reason I&#x27;m not aware of why people don&#x27;t use larger font-sizes?

4 comments

jstewartmobileabout 6 years ago
You are not alone:<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;eggplant.pro&#x2F;blog&#x2F;make-things-easier-to-read-with-accessibility-bookmarklets&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;eggplant.pro&#x2F;blog&#x2F;make-things-easier-to-read-with-ac...</a><p>The web is made by children hunched over macbooks in coffee shops and open offices.<p>If you can&#x27;t read 8pt Helvetica, maybe it&#x27;s time to give up the web and take up bridge.
cimmanomabout 6 years ago
I have that problem on desktop but not on mobile for some reason. That said, I generally use my browser’s reader mode in both contexts anyway because so many sites choose unergonomic font families.<p>Have you ever had a vision exam? My vision is good enough to get by without corrective lenses for almost any other activity, but they make a world of difference when reading on a screen all day, especially if you have even mild astigmatism.
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ChrisRRabout 6 years ago
My issue isn&#x27;t with font size, it&#x27;s with websites that are unnecessarily thin. For some reason, especially with blogs, there&#x27;s a habit of reducing the width of the text to a quarter of the screen width.
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timonokoabout 6 years ago
Isnt that issue totally fluid? I do not even know what zoom-level I am on.<p>&lt;pressing Control-+ , Oh it says +175% &gt;<p>There you have it. You have wrong browser if it does not allow zoomin in and out at will. This browser is Google Chrome.
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