Resizing text is a feature of Web browsers that I have rarely thought about over the years of using the Web. However, such a seemingly benign topic seems to have a certain degree of controversy surrounding it.

Most of that controversy stems around the use of text-resizing widgets on Web sites. Some people feel it is important and useful to users if the button is provided. The argument here is that most users don't even know that they are able to resize text with their browser and this provides accessibility to them. This was evident in a small, 10-person survey. I found only one person who regularly resized text and only a  few who knew they could.

Some think these widgets are not the job of a Web developer to include. There are several arguments that these people make. One is that it is more important to teach people how to properly resize text rather than provide a button. That way the user can use this technique on any site they visit. This is described as “teach a man to fish ...” The second argument is that it is unnecessary because it duplicates a browser function. Some people feel that it is redundant to provide widgets that offer nothing the browser can't do.

Another argument (or complaint might be more appropriate) is that people place these widgets and then consider their sites to be accessible. These widgets alone certainly do not make for an accessible site.
In a discussion amongst MSIT students at Marlboro College School,There was a split between those who felt the buttons should be provided and those who felt they should not. I am in favor of educating people how to resize text rather than including the widgets. These widgets only go so far and as soon as a user navigates away from your site, they are back to possibly having text that is too small to read.  However, I can certainly see the argument for using them. So many people don't know what to do to make the text more readable for themselves that the buttons can certainly have value. And some will argue that such a simple fix can help a lot of people.

This is hard to argue with and is a completely valid point of view.

James Lambert is a Vermont newspaper editor, more specifically the design editor at the Rutland Herald. He is also an MSIT student at Marlboro College and enjoys developing Web sites and SEO. He blogs here from time to time about these topics.