Level AAAWCAG 2.0

1.4.8 Visual Presentation

For blocks of text, a mechanism lets users select foreground and background colors, line width is no more than 80 characters, text is not fully justified, line spacing is at least 1.5x within paragraphs and 2.5x between them, and text can be resized to 200% without requiring horizontal scrolling.

Last reviewed: September 9, 2026

Understanding 1.4.8

People with certain cognitive, reading, or low-vision conditions, such as dyslexia or visual tracking difficulties, can find dense, justified, or tightly-spaced text very difficult to parse. This criterion bundles several presentation controls together so users can adjust color, line width, spacing, and justification to match what they can actually process.

How to Meet It

For any block of text, provide a way to customize foreground/background color combinations (or ensure the page respects OS/browser-level style overrides), constrain text columns to no more than 80 characters (about 40 for CJK languages), avoid text-align: justify in favor of left-aligned (or right-aligned for RTL) text, set line-height to at least 1.5 with paragraph spacing of at least 1.5 times the line-height, and confirm the layout doesn't require two-dimensional scrolling when text is resized to 200%.

Code Examples

INCORRECT

.article p {
  text-align: justify;
  line-height: 1.1;
  max-width: none;
}

CORRECT

.article p {
  text-align: left;
  line-height: 1.5;
  margin-bottom: 2em;
  max-width: 80ch;
}

Frequently Asked Questions

Does every page need a custom color picker to pass this?

Not necessarily. If the page's styles don't override OS/browser-level style sheets or "reader mode" color settings, respecting those user overrides can satisfy the color-selection part. A built-in theme switcher is one direct way to meet it, but honoring user/browser overrides is an accepted alternative.

Why is fully justified text treated as a problem?

Justified text creates uneven gaps of whitespace between words as the browser stretches spacing to fill each line evenly, which is harder to track visually for readers with dyslexia or low vision than the more consistent ragged edge of left-aligned text.

Related Success Criteria

1.4.1 Use of Color 1.4.2 Audio Control 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum)1.4.4 Resize Text

Quick Facts

Criterion1.4.8
LevelAAA
IntroducedWCAG 2.0

Automate Compliance

AccessiSight automatically scans and identifies 1.4.8 issues in your codebase.

Try Scanner Free