PUBLIC MARKS with tags webdesign & dyslexie

In Parts 1 and 2 of this series of articles I’ve been looking at the issues created by dyslexia and discussed, in detail, how colour contrast can adversely affect page readability. However, there is far more to designing dyslexia-friendly pages than just reducing colour contrast. On the plus side, it is likely that these changes will have a positive effect on page readability for all users.

In Part 1 of this series, we looked briefly at what dyslexia is and some of the generic problems dyslexics face when surfing the web. In this segment, I’m going to focus on a particular hot topic for dyslexics — colour contrast. You may well follow W3C recommendations regarding colour contrast but you may be creating problems for as many as 10% of your site visitors.

This is the first in a series of three articles examining the specific learning difficulty known as dyslexia and how web design can impact the ability of those afflicted to access information on web pages.

People with dyslexia frequently experience discomfort when reading because they find it more difficult to ‘decode’ the words on the page, and can also find it difficult to remain focussed on a particular piece of text. Some people may also have to concentrate more to remember what they have already read, which means they will tire more easily.