Inappropriate Layout Measurement Value Check
Description
The “Inappropriate Layout Measurement Value Check” evaluates whether there is any layout measurement (e.g., widths, heights, padding, margins) defined using absolute units like px
(pixels), which does not scale well when users resize text.
Example outcome
I found 1 instance where the measurement units that define the width of content elements are expressed in absolute values.
Impact
- Visual Impairments: Users who enlarge text may see clipped content or overlapping elements.
- Motor Impairments: Individuals with motor imairments may need to resize the interface for ease of interaction, and fixed sizes prevent that.
- Cognitive Disabilities: Fixed layouts can break flow or cause readability issues when zoomed.
- Color Blindness: Users may zoom to compensate color blindness, but absolute units break layout scaling.
- Elderly: Absolute sizes don’t respect browser zoom or user preferences, presenting a challenge for elder people.
Fixes
To address inappropriate layout measurements defined using absolute units:
- Locate the inappropriate measurement definition.
- Replace the absolute unit by a relative one (e.g.,
em
, rem
and %
).
Resources