CINXE.COM

<!DOCTYPE html> <html lang="en"> <head> <meta charset="utf-8"> <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"> <title>WebAIM: Design Considerations - One Size Fits All?</title> <link rel="shortcut icon" href="/media/favicon.ico"> <link rel="home" href="/"> <link rel="search" href="/search/"> <link rel="alternate" href="https://webaim.org/blog/feed" type="application/rss+xml" title="WebAIM Blog"> <script async src="https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtag/js?id=G-Y41PF8WV9X"></script> <script> window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; function gtag(){dataLayer.push(arguments);} gtag('js', new Date()); gtag('config', 'G-Y41PF8WV9X'); </script> <link href="/styles/main.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css"> <link href="/styles/print.css" rel="stylesheet" type="text/css" media="print"> <script src="/media/scripts/jquery.js"></script> <script src="/media/scripts/main.js"></script> <link href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Roboto:400' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'> <link href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Kameron:400,700' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'> <link href="/styles/documents.css?ver=2" rel="stylesheet"> <link href="https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Open+Sans:400,400i,700" rel="stylesheet">  </head> <body> <div id="headcontainer" class="clearfix" style="background-image: url(/media/banners/articles.jpg)"> <header> <div id="skiptocontent"><a href="#maincontent">skip to main content</a></div> <h2><a href="/"><img src="/media/logo.png" width="315" height="83" alt="WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind"></a></h2> <nav> <h2 class="hidden">Main Navigation</h2> <ul> <li><a href="/services/">Services</a></li> <li class="current"><a href="/articles/">Articles</a></li> <li><a href="/resources/">Resources</a></li> <li><a href="/projects/">Projects</a></li> <li><a href="/community/">Community</a></li> </ul> </nav> <div id="search"> <form method="get" role="search" action="/search/" id="sitesearch"> <p class="search"><span><label for="q">Search:</label> <input type="text" name="q" id="q"><input type="image" src="/media/template/search.svg" alt="Submit Search"></span></p> </form> <p class="intro"><a href="/intro">Introduction to Web Accessibility</a></p> <p class="training"><a href="/services/training">WebAIM Training</a></p> </div> </header> </div> <main id="maincontainer" class="clearfix"> <article id="maincontent"> <h1>Design Considerations<br><span class="subtitle">One Size Fits All?</span></h1> <p id="breadcrumbs"><span class="hidden">You are here: </span><a href="/">Home</a> > <a href="/articles/">Articles</a> > Design Considerations - One Size Fits All?</p> <nav role="navigation"> <h2>Article Contents</h2> <ol> <li class="currentpage"><span class="hidden">Current page: </span>Page 1: One Size Fits All? <ol> <li><a href="#case_for">The Case For Personalized Web Design</a></li> <li><a href="#case_against">The Case Against Personalized Web Design</a></li> <li><a href="#conclusion">Conclusion</a></li> </ol> </li> <li>Page 2: <a href="textonly">Text-only Versions</a></li> </ol> </nav> <div class="section" id="case_for"> <h2>The Case For Personalized Web Design</h2> <p>On the web, one size does not fit all. The needs and preferences of users, especially users with disabilities, vary greatly. Personalized designs can offer a better user experience by tailoring the site to the needs of users. Users with low vision, for example, may benefit from sites designed especially for their needs, with extra large fonts, high contrast, narrower page formats, and so on. A user with a cognitive or learning disability may benefit from illustrations and very basic text.</p> <p>Some accessibility experts have advocated that authors provide specialized designs for each type of disability. This type of customization could take into account the various needs and preferences of users in ways that one-size-doesn't-quite-fit-all designs simply can't. A number of techniques have attempted to do this, from pre-fabricated templates to storing user preferences in databases, or even allowing users to switch style sheets quickly as they view the page. Some of these techniques have met with success; others have not.</p> <p>The advantage of a personalized design is that it seeks to create web content that is highly accessible for all users. The website can present custom versions of content ideally accessible for each specific disability.</p> </div> <div class="section" id="case_against"> <h2>The Case Against Personalized Web Design</h2> <p>Despite the possibilities of the personalized design movement, there are many drawbacks with this approach. The most glaring drawback is site maintenance. Developers must invest a lot of time and effort to design different versions of web sites for each type of disability. There are many issues that must be addressed if a developer decides to create disability-specific web pages, including (but not limited to) the following:</p> <ul> <li>How frequently will the page content be updated, and how will changes be reflected in each version?</li> <li>How well can the content be conveyed using different mediums? For example, how can the content be conveyed using icons and illustrations for users with cognitive disabilities?</li> <li>What resources would be necessary to update each version if substantial additions or changes are made?</li> </ul> <p>These issues become quite difficult when analyzed carefully.</p> <p>Another challenge is the vast number of possible disabilities. It is entirely impractical to attempt to design a personalized web site for every type of disability imaginable. There are simply too many.</p> <p>Additionally, users must somehow indicate which version of the content they prefer. This may require the user to divulge that they have disability—and many users with disabilities are reluctant to do so.</p> <p>Finally, people with the same disability often have very different preferences. Whether it be the position of navigational links, color schematics, or sign language vs. text, it is impossible for one design to account for all the preferences of users with a specific type of disability, let alone multiple disabilities.</p> </div> <div class="section" id="conclusion"> <h2>Conclusion</h2> <p>The goal to accommodate all users is commendable. When the necessary resources are available, personalized designs can be worth the effort for users. More often than not, however, those resources are not available, and a single design is more practical. That single design, however, must be designed to be compatible with end-user adaptations and assistive technologies. Both approaches require thoughtful planning, but the single design approach is generally more reasonable and, if done correctly, more broadly accessible.</p> </div> <div id="nextpage"><a href="textonly">Next</a></div> </article>  <aside id="articlemeta"> <div id="updated">Last updated: <time datetime="2020-09-25">Sep 25, 2020</time></div> <div id="translations"> <h2>Translations</h2> <ul> <li><a href="http://professional-online.marketing/personalisiertes-webdesign/"><img src="/media/common/flags/de.png" alt="">German</a> by Google Gamer</li> <li><a href="http://40tygodni.com/webaim/design/"><img src="/media/common/flags/fr.png" alt="">French</a> by <a href="http://40tygodni.com">Anna</a></li> <li><a href="https://www.languagemarketplace.com/WebAIM-U-A8-Spanish_Design.html"><img src="/media/common/flags/es.png" alt="">Spanish</a> by <a href="https://www.languagemarketplace.com/">Language Marketplace Inc.</a></li> </ul> </div> <div id="related"> <h2>Related Resources</h2> <ul> <li><a href="/articles/pour/">Constructing a POUR Website</a></li> <li><a href="/articles/cognitive/">Cognitive Disabilities</a></li> </ul> </div> </aside> </main> <footer> <div id="footerresources"> <div class="footerblock"> <h2 id="copyright">©2025 WebAIM</h2> <p id="contact"> Utah State University<br> 6807 Old Main Hill<br> Logan, UT 84322-6807<br> <a class="phone" href="tel:4357977024">435.797.7024</a></p> <div id="checkpage"> <h2>Check Your Accessibility</h2> <form action="https://wave.webaim.org/report" novalidate> <label for="waveurl">Web site address:</label> <input type="url" id="waveurl" name="url" title="Web site address"> <input type="submit" value="WAVE"> </form> </div> </div> <div class="footerblock"> <h2 id="blog">From the Blog</h2> <ul><li><a href="/blog/salary-survey-results/">Global Digital Accessibility Salary Survey Results</a></li><li><a href="/blog/join-the-discussion/">Join the Discussion鈥擣rom Your Inbox</a></li><li><a href="/blog/severity-ratings/">Using Severity Ratings to Prioritize Web Accessibility Remediation</a></li><li><a href="/blog/25-tips/">25 Accessibility Tips to Celebrate 25 Years</a></li></ul> </div> <div class="footerblock"> <h2 id="popular">Popular Resources</h2> <ul> <li><a href="/training/virtual">WebAIM Training</a></li> <li><a href="/standards/wcag/checklist">WCAG 2 Checklist</a></li> <li><a href="/newsletter">WebAIM Monthly Newsletter</a></li> <li><a href="/resources/contrastchecker">Color Contrast Checker</a></li> <li><a href="/resources/designers/">Web Accessibility for Designers</a></li> <li><a href="http://wave.webaim.org/">WAVE Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool</a></li> </ul> </div> <div id="footerlinks"> <ul> <li><a id="footercontact" href="/contact">Contact</a></li> <li><a id="footerabout" href="/about">About</a></li> <li><a id="footerrss" href="/community/rss">RSS Feeds</a></li> <li><a id="footertwit" href="http://twitter.com/webaim">Twitter</a></li> <li><a id="footercopyright" href="/copyright">Copyright & Terms of Use</a></li> </ul> </div> <div class="clear"></div> </div> </footer> </body> </html>