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> expecting the average user to know that they can zoom I'm all for never overestimating the technical literacy of one's users, but .. really? The average pers
by venus 14y ago
> expecting the average user to know that they can zoom
I'm all for never overestimating the technical literacy of one's users, but .. really? The average person doesn't even know they CAN zoom? That seems an "ignoratum too far", like not knowing they can alter the volume on their stereo.
Touch screen devices make it ridiculously easy, too. Surely the average user has worked out by now that they can change the size of a web site they are viewing.
- DanBC 14y agoMaybe on tablets and smart phones most people know they can zoom. I strongly believe, but have nothing to support it, that most people don't know they can zoom their browsers.
- adrianhoward 14y agoI'm all for never overestimating the technical literacy of one's users, but .. really? The average person doesn't even know they CAN zoom? That seems an "ignoratum too far", like not knowing they can alter the volume on their stereo. Average desktop user does not know how to zoom. I have done hundreds of usability tests and user observation in my time - the number of folk who know how to zoom text is vanishingly small.
- venus 14y agoWell, thanks for the depressing truth. I'll have to adjust my assumptions. It's turned into a learning experience.
- bjourne 14y agoFor a long time browsers shipped with basically broken zoom functionality. You could zoom, but it would break the page layout completely, make menu links disappear and images look ugly. It wasn't until WebKit browsers like Chrome came around that zooming to undo designers micro font sizes became usable in practice. There are still lots of sites around that breaks when zoomed in for one reason (flash) or another.