“font size widgets” are dumb. trust me.

I'm talking about sites with those little 'a' 'A' buttons... Like this one: http://www.webcredible.co.uk/

Want to know why they're dumb? I'll tell ya...

1. If you 'need' it to use the site, there's already a problem - you're probably some knobby graphic designer and think it's 'cool' to have the typography small, but ironically you haven't read any text since you first discovered Lorem Ipsum.
   
2. So that the widget doesn't dominate the content, they normally small on-screen, use various bespoke iconographies and are placed in out-the-way places. Um, is that not defeating the flimsy purpose you thought the widget was made for? Yup.
   
3. Dude, where's my standard? Why would someone expect one on your site and not on others. Do you really think a user want's to 'learn' how to use each site they visit? Nope. Um, hello, they're there for the content, you numbnuts.
   
4. Really... Who wants to spend time adjusting the settings for every different site you visit. Same goes for 'style-switchers' too... it's just CSS geeks flexing for their mates.
5. And lets not kid ourselves. There's no real advantage toward accessibility concerns. Users that are low-vision, tend to increase the default text size for their whole computer - not just one website or even just their web-browser. PS > You aint gettin' no AAA DDA compliance with them a widget like this. Not here. No way.
   
6. If the site caters to normal users that just prefer bigger type sizes (eg. 'silver surfers'), then make the text bigger. Simple, init?!
   
7. Technophobia! What about people with JS and/or cookies disabled? Mostly the widgets use javascript to alter the size (ie switch stylesheet) and store a client-side cookie to remember the setting across pages, yet we know that JS cannot be relied on if we want our sites to be DDA compliant.
   
8. Other widgets use a server-side technology like PHP, but fonts are a component of the browser and shouldn't really be controlled server-side - not to mention they shouldn't change the semantics, or include URL flags in the GET string to remember the user's choice.
   

My recommendations:

• Keep it simple, destroy the font size and stylesheet switcher widgets. Kill 'em all!
  
• Make sites properly, with relative font sizes and let people control font sizes through the standards provided by their browsers.
• Establish more strict guidelines and establish a validator to check compliance. For example:

• base font size = 12px
• h1 = 1.6em
• h2 = 1.5em
• h3 = 1.4em
• h4 = 1.2em
• h5 = 1.1em
• h6 = 1.1em
• p = 1em