I think the discussion on type font size is good. Keep in mind, web design is different than designing for print. Most (not all) people with vision impairment already know how to adjust the font size on web sites. Internet Explorer has options to set the default to larger font size. 

Another thing to think about is programming different font size choices right into your web site design. You've probably seen that on some web pages. It might be a series of A's near the top of the page, each one getting proportionately larger to signify increasing font size.  Or it may be like the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute web site that uses "S, M, L" --  see http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/ (upper right corner of the page).

So how do you do this on your own web pages? There are a number of ways it can be done, some require more coding than others. Here's a few options:

http://www.dyn-web.com/code/fontsizer/

http://labnol.blogspot.com/2006/12/allow-site-visitors-to-change-font.html

http://www.dynamicdrive.com/dynamicindex9/textsizer.htm

This is something Marshfield Clinic does not have on their public web site... yet. But I believe it's on the web team's "to do list."

Giving viewers of your web site the option to increase the font size puts them in control (as long as the font increase buttons are clearly labeled and easy to find). It also avoids the issue someone mentioned earlier... of making web sites look "too childish" by using oversized fonts. If you do that, you'll need more room for your text and that means more scrolling for viewers (which is often annoying!). 

Using dynamic coding to give viewers the option to increase/decrease fonts as a matter of usability or personal preference seems like a win-win, provided you can figure out how to code it. Once you do figure it out, I believe you can make it part of your cascading style sheet (CSS) so that the code is replicated on all of your pages.


Doug Seubert
Quality Improvement & Care Management
Family Health Center/Community Heath Access

Marshfield Clinic
1000 N Oak Avenue
Marshfield, WI 54449
www.marshfieldclinic.org/quality

(715) 387-5096 (1-800-782-8581 ext. 75096)
seubert.douglas at marshfieldclinic.org


------Original Message------
From:	"Laurie Anson" <ansons at epix.net>
Date:	Wed Jun 25, 2008 -- 09:38:19 AM
To:	healthliteracy at nifl.gov
Subject:	[HealthLiteracy 2094] Re: New Health Literacy Website

Matt -

I like the font size - for elders in particular and for those whose  
reading difficulties have to do with eyesight, your font size seems  
about right. It is for me, at any rate - at my advanced age!

Also, our medical facility recommends a sans-serif font for its  
publications, as the serifs occasionally "blur" the image of the words  
and make the text appear too dense.

Laurie Anson, RN
Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center


On Jun 23, 2008, at 2:43 PM, Matt Gayer wrote:


> Colleagues,

>   We just developed a health literacy portion on our website for the  

> Jefferson County Health Department.  This is one of the first steps  

> in the first effort to improve health literacy in our county, and to  

> serve as positive models and resources for other counties to follow.  

> I would greatly appreciate it if you could take the time to view the  

> health literacy portion that I just developed and provide any and  

> all positive or negative feedback concerning the site.  The link  

> will take you to the health literacy homepage of our website, with  

> links on the left to our health literacy page for patients,  

> providers, and public health professionals, as well as a resource  

> page.  I hope this site can serve as a resource to you and I look  

> forward to hearing your comments regarding the health literacy  

> site.  The website is:

> http://www.jeffcohealth.org/healthed/healthed_healthliteracy.aspx

>

>

> Thank you,

> Matt

>

>

> Matt Gayer

> Community Health Intern

> Jefferson County Health Department

> 1818 Lonedell Drive

> Arnold, Missouri, 63010

> Work Phone 636-282-1010

> Cell Phone  

> 636-232-4703----------------------------------------------------

> National Institute for Literacy

> Health and Literacy mailing list

> HealthLiteracy at nifl.gov

> To unsubscribe or change your subscription settings, please go to http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/healthliteracy

> Email delivered to ansons at epix.net



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