1.4.8 Visual Presentation

Level AAA · added in WCAG 2.0

Blocks of text need a way to get user-chosen colors, lines of 80 characters or fewer (40 in Chinese, Japanese or Korean) and unjustified text. They also need line spacing of at least 1.5 and text that resizes to 200% without horizontal scrolling.

Who it helps

People with dyslexia and other reading or cognitive disabilities lose their place in long lines, tight lines and justified text. People with low vision often need their own colors and larger text without scrolling sideways on every line.

How to meet it

Limit the width of text columns, for example with max-width: 70ch, so lines stay at or under 80 characters.
Use text-align: left (or start) for body text instead of justify.
Set line-height to at least 1.5 in paragraphs, and make the space between paragraphs at least 1.5 times the line spacing.
Do not block browser or user-stylesheet color overrides, for example with !important colors, and keep text readable in forced-colors mode.
Use relative widths and units so text reflows when zoomed to 200% in a full-screen window, with no horizontal scrolling.
Level AAA is not required by most laws or policies, which point to AA. It is still worth meeting where you can, and good defaults or a reading-settings control both count.

Examples

Fails:Justified text in a fixed 960px column with single line spacing

.article {
  width: 960px;
  text-align: justify;
  line-height: 1.2;
}
.article p { margin: 0 0 0.5em; }

Passes:A flexible column capped near 70 characters, left aligned, with 1.5 line spacing

.article {
  max-width: 70ch;
  text-align: left;
  line-height: 1.5;
}
.article p { margin: 0 0 2em; }

Can a scanner detect this?

axe-core has no rule for this criterion. Line length, justification and spacing depend on the rendered layout and on what users can change. Read the page, zoom to 200% and try custom colors yourself.

No automated rule tests this criterion. Check it by hand.

Common mistakes

Letting body text run the full width of a wide screen, giving lines of 120 characters or more.
Using text-align: justify on articles, which creates uneven gaps between words.
Setting text colors with !important so a reader's own color settings cannot take effect.
Fixing column widths in pixels so zoomed text forces horizontal scrolling.

Official W3C explanation of 1.4.8

Check your own page

See which automated WCAG checks your page fails, with the failing elements and how to fix them.

Reviewed November 2, 2026