Since 1 em unit is based on whatever the current font size is, this means that text sized at 1em won’t always be the same resulting pixel size on the screen. So the actual name “em” seems to derive from the phonetic pronunciation of the letter M. According to Wikipedia, “one em was traditionally defined as the width of the capital M in the current typeface and point size.” The em unit is a holdover from the days when typography involved actual metal type blocks and printing presses. This allows users to change the base font size in their browser, and have control over the font sizing for webpages. It’s generally considered best practice for accessibility to set your base font-size to 100% on the element, and use relative units to handle all other font-size rules in your CSS. Most browsers default to a 16px base font size, so 100% of that would be 16px, and 50% would be 8px. If you have a that is set to width: 50%, it will be half the width of its parent.įor fonts, setting font-size: 100% will make your text 100% of the base font size set in the browser. Percentage units are simply a percentage of the parent element. There are several relative units: percents (%), em, rem, viewport width (vw), and viewport height (vh). Relative units are measurement units that are dependent on other factors, such as the viewport width, viewport height, or a parent element.

So pixels are not a fully accessible solution for fonts. This is because even though zooming in will make pixel sizes greater, changing the base font size in the browser settings will have no effect. It might seem tempting to use pixels for font-size, but it’s not recommended for accessibility reasons. We know that 10px type is tiny, and 100px type is a giant headline. And pixels are familiar and pretty easy to understand. In CSS, the default unit we might turn to is the pixel (px) unit.Ī font sized at 18px will be 18 pixels, no matter what device or screen you’re viewing it on. Use relative units - not absolute - for fontsĪbsolute units are static and their resulting sizes are not dependent on anything else. Let’s address some basic guidelines that will make your fonts look good on all devices and ensure they’re accessible for users who either need to zoom in or change their browser’s base font size. What are some best practices for writing font styles in CSS? This article will walk you through the basics of sizing your fonts in CSS and look at a few different approaches you can use in your own website projects. What units are you supposed to use for font-size: px, em, rem, vw? How can you make sure your fonts are accessible? And what is fluid typography all about? The elements of responsive typographyĬoding responsive typography can be quite confusing.

Jessica Chan Follow I write coding tutorials and practical tips for the beginner web developer on my blog,.

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