Most people never think about it. They adjust one small setting on their phone — usually under Accessibility or Display Size — and suddenly websites start looking “off.” Text overlaps, logos stretch, menus disappear, and layouts shift in strange ways.
If you’re a website owner or designer, it can be alarming. But in many cases, nothing is actually wrong with your site. Your phone is simply doing exactly what you asked it to do… a little too enthusiastically.
Why Phone Font Settings Affect Website Layouts
Modern smartphones allow users to increase system font size for better readability. This is fantastic for accessibility — but browsers don’t all handle it the same way.
Chrome vs. Firefox: Two Different Approaches
- Chrome scales text inside the layout, trying to keep everything neat and contained.
- Firefox scales text as if it were printed on paper, expanding the space it needs even if it pushes other elements aside.
This means that when system text size increases, Firefox may cause:
- logos to stretch or overflow
- navigation bars to grow taller
- hamburger menus to slide off-screen
- tables to overflow horizontally
- buttons and badges to shift unexpectedly
Your website isn’t broken — the browser is simply honouring the user’s accessibility settings.
Which Parts of a Website Are Most Affected?
- Fixed-height headers — larger text can’t fit inside a rigid container.
- Logos with fixed dimensions — they may stretch to accommodate surrounding text.
- Navigation menus — icons can be pushed out of view.
- Tables — they often overflow on mobile when text grows.
- Buttons — containers may not resize gracefully.
How to Make Your Website More Resilient
If you’re a designer or developer, here are the most effective fixes:
- Use
min-heightinstead ofheightfor headers. - Make logos responsive with
max-heightandheight: auto. - Avoid absolute positioning for essential elements like hamburger menus.
- Wrap tables in a scrollable container to prevent overflow.
- Test your site with large text settings on both iPhone and Android.
Why This Matters for Your Business
A significant number of users browse with larger text enabled — especially older users, people with visual impairments, or anyone using a smaller phone screen. If your website breaks when text scales, those users may think your site is unprofessional or difficult to use.
A few small CSS adjustments can make your website far more accessible and robust.
Why Is It Important?
Changing the font size on your phone is a harmless personal preference — but it can reveal weaknesses in a website’s responsive design. The good news is that these issues are fixable. Once addressed, your site becomes more resilient, more accessible, and more user-friendly.
If you’ve ever looked at your site on your phone and thought, “Why does everything look wrong today,” check your font settings first. It might not be your website at all.