Web developers showed enthusiasm upon Netscape’s introduction of the FONT element alongside its SIZE= and COLOR= attributes because it offers more options to lay out website documents. Likewise, web authors also rejoiced when Microsoft unveiled its additional FACE= attribute.

However, web authors were caught unaware that these developments could possibly threaten the visibility, legibility, and accessibility of their websites. Indeed, the inevitable took place in major browsers due to misconceptions and the inefficient implementation of the element.
Users of Netscape and Internet Explorer had been the most vulnerable victims of the erratic effects of the FONT element.

1. A Netscape user viewed a website using her laptop with a small screen. The site was configured to a smaller size in order to fit her monitor. The web author designed a table on a specific page using <FONT SIZE=1>, which has almost become unreadable to the user.

2. A nearsighted web surfer is using a laptop configured with extra-large fonts. A web page designer used <FONT SIZE=”+4”>. As a result, a single phrase took up most of the user’s screen, frustrating the said user.

3. Our third user needs a strong contrast between ordinary text and the background because like 10% of male computer users, he is colorblind. Using his modern workstation equipped with a large monitor, he configured his browser to use black text over a yellow background, specifying that his color scheme should override all other colors. He comes across a “cool” website that used a white text on a black background. Due to his specifications, he viewed the page in his preferred colors but unfortunately, phrases and sentences that are emphasized with <FONT COLOR=”yellow”> are scattered in different parts of the website. Ideally, it worked with the web author’s black background but not with the user’s yellow background. He therefore saw the texts in yellow as blank spaces and might have missed important messages the author wished to convey unless he viewed the page source. Netscape enables users to override text and body colors but not font colors.

4. Howard P. Marvel recommended setting up the <FONT COLOR= > attribute in such a way that the text will contrast against a table cell with a background color that was specified with the <TD BGCOLOR= > attribute, which is readable to some browsers. Users of Netscape 2.0, which is widely used up to now, may not be able to read the “highlighted” text. Netscape 2.0 recognizes <FONT COLOR= > but not <TD BGCOLOR= >.

Tags: What You Need To Know About FONT