Font Sizes

[autoace]

After reading all the messages in this thread I wanted to pass along a suggestion that might simplify things if you are looking to maintain uniform type face sizes for the customers visiting your store.

Use the named sizes defined in the HTML and CSS standards. They are:

xx-large
x-large
large
medium
small
x-small
xx-small

Because the perception of a font's size is controlled by the monitor definition settings on individual web users' computers, specifiying a 12px font looks larger to someone with 800x600 screen size than to someone with1024x768 screen size if they are using the same 21" monitor.

Browsers automatically set the font size using a visitor's preferences or default settings when named sizes are declared.

It also mekes keeping track of your settings easier to follow when reading through the stylesheet.

Thank you for the information, I am going to try it out and report later!

[rstevenson]

The only comment I would make about this suggestion is that using named sizes gives you only 7 sizes, whereas using ems gives you pretty much infinite control. An excellent article explaining the way to make it all work (and revealing the wisdom of the Zen developers along the way) is here.

Rob)

[Jay Gee]

The only comment I would make about this suggestion is that using named sizes gives you only 7 sizes, whereas using ems gives you pretty much infinite control. An excellent article explaining the way to make it all work (and revealing the wisdom of the Zen developers along the way) is here.

Rob)

Not wanting to be too argumentative on the subject (-' the beauty of named sizes is that they give you the ability to present a completely uniform effect from page to page which makes reading text easier on the viewer.

While it is unlikely that a developer interested in giving a customer a pleasant shopping experience needs to use twelve or fifteen font sizes to get the information across accurately, percentages allow the developer control only to the extent that they are reviewing content on their machines with their browsers.

I don't disagree that having a nice storefront look helps sell merchandise or services, but I suggest that navigational ease is enhanced by fewer type face sizes because it makes reading things easier for the visitor. And, navigational ease helps sell merchandise on the Internet.

I understand that the wide variety of sizes declared in the Zencart stylesheet makes it possible to stuff incredible amounts of information into a single web page and that is why the styles are set up that way.

For a Zencart user who does not need complete page cramming, named faces are much easier to keep track of.

Jay