Florens Verschelde avatar Florens Verschelde

A short history of body copy sizes on the Web

Screenshot of “A short history of body copy sizes on the Web”

A nice overview of the many variations body copy has seen since the Web exists.

I agree with the conclusion:

I’m […] sad that we’re somehow chasing after device makers, operating system and browser developers, and trying to tweak font sizes every other year to adapt to what is out there in the market. The very concept of raising font size a bit depending on the screen width should raise eyebrows. Isn’t it the device’s job to make sure that font-size: 100% is readable?

It should indeed be the device's job to make sure font-size: 100% is readable for most users, but don't forget it's the developer's job to make sure people can change their preferred root font size if this default size is not the best for them.


  1. People don't change the default 16px font size in their browser (You wish!)

    I am really happy to still read articles that advocate for the use of proportional CSS units as em and rem in 2016. But there are often trolls that come comment these articles to say that we, who are using proportional units, are dumb, because there is no need for this. Here is an example. There are unfortunately two misleading urban legends in most web developers minds. I often call myself a troll, that's not that harsh when I'm the one saying it… 😉