Many standard and widely available fonts score highly for web accessibility. The most accessible fonts are Tahoma, Calibri, Helvetica, Arial, Verdana, and Times New Roman. The good news is that you don’t need to invest in a specialist, custom font to make your website’s content accessible. Neither Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act nor the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) specify requirements for choosing an accessible website font.įortunately, accessibility standards like WCAG help shine a light on which fonts provide the most inclusive website experience for all users. It’s not always obvious which fonts are accessible. But that rule doesn’t help with picking the best font for web accessibility. To achieve web accessibility and minimize confusion for your website visitors, you should use as few fonts as possible across your website. It’s a good idea to specify your accessible font choice in your brand guidelines and ensure all website stakeholders are aware of the varying web accessibility levels of different fonts. If that’s not possible, as few font types as possible should be used. Consider all the ways that you use written communications to connect with your target audiences, such as emails, landing pages, PDFs, videos, and images.Īll these content formats should be written using the same font throughout. When selecting an accessible font, remember that accessibility and digital inclusion don’t start and end on your web pages. On what type of content should I use accessible fonts? Using an inaccessible font can result in severe legal and financial penalties such as fines, lawsuits, and other enforcement actions. It’s worth noting that dyslexia affects up to 20% of the US population.īy ensuring your website fonts are accessible, you can better reach this significant section of the population and safeguard your brand reputation as an organization that takes inclusivity seriously.īesides being the right thing to do, using accessible fonts on your website is the only way you can avoid violating accessibility standards set out in US law. Your choice of font type can greatly impact their level of readability too. People with learning difficulties like dyslexia can also be sensitive to certain typefaces. It’s not just people with visual disabilities who struggle to read certain fonts. And that number will continue to swell as the American population grows older and experiences more age and disease-related issues with their vision. This figure includes Americans who experience trouble seeing even when wearing corrective lenses or contacts. With more than 32 million Americans experiencing vision loss, you risk endangering your reputation and commercial success by ignoring this group’s website needs. Most of the web’s information – and the value your business offers – is communicated with text.
Why are fonts important for web accessibility
Not all fonts have been designed with web accessibility in mind. Using accessible fonts that conform to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is essential for compliance with key web accessibility laws in the US. If you use an inaccessible font on your website, you run the risk of legal action. To be clear using accessible fonts is not optional.