The page belongs to its reader
A design can look balanced on its creator’s monitor and still be uncomfortable to read. Someone may enlarge a page because of their eyesight, viewing distance or simply preference. Treat that choice as normal use. The useful question is not whether the enlarged page resembles the original screenshot, but whether the person can still understand it and finish what they came to do.
Two checks, not one number
W3C distinguishes text resizing from reflow. The Resize Text criterion addresses enlargement up to 200% without losing content or functionality, with stated exceptions for captions and images of text. Reflow addresses ordinary vertically scrolling content at a width equivalent to 320 CSS pixels, with exceptions for content that genuinely needs a two-dimensional layout. These are related checks, not interchangeable promises or a complete accessibility audit.
Start with a real task
Open an article, find a service and follow its contact link. Repeat the same journey with larger browser zoom. Check the header, language selector, cookie notice if present and the last button, not just the comfortable middle paragraph. A sticky header that occupies most of the screen can make perfectly enlarged text difficult to use. Record the actual viewport, browser and zoom setting so that another person can repeat the observation.
Look for missing content before cosmetic differences
Watch for clipped labels, text escaping a card, buttons covering each other and dialogs whose close control moves out of reach. A change from three columns to one is usually a sensible adaptation, not a defect. Do not shorten important instructions merely to preserve a fixed-height box. Give the content room, allow labels to wrap and keep the reading order meaningful. Long translated labels deserve the same test as the shortest language.
A table is not an excuse for a sideways page
Some diagrams and comparison tables need two dimensions. Keep any necessary horizontal scrolling local to that component and explain its use. The introduction, headings and surrounding controls should not become a wide strip that the reader must drag back and forth. Check both zoom and a narrow layout: a small browser window alone does not reveal every problem caused by enlarged text.
Make the check part of maintenance
Repeat the journey after changing fonts, navigation or a translation. Keep a short record of the task, the failure and the correction instead of a vague “mobile friendly” badge. This complements our discussion of mobile typography and small-screen comparison tables. Passing a few sampled pages does not certify the whole site; it gives the team specific evidence and a useful next repair.