The viewport must allow zooming

Rule meta-viewport · Document, language & navigation · impact serious · Static + live

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Why it matters#

A viewport meta with user-scalable=no (or a tight maximum-scale) blocks pinch-zoom, which low-vision users rely on to read. When several viewport metas are present, browsers honor the LAST one processed, so only the last meta in document order is judged.

How to fix#

Remove user-scalable=no and any maximum-scale below 2 from .

Example#

<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, user-scalable=no">

<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">

Example#

<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, maximum-scale=yes">

<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, maximum-scale=5">

Example#

<meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1"><meta name="viewport" content="user-scalable=no">

<meta name="viewport" content="user-scalable=no"><meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">

Browsers honor the last viewport meta processed — a later corrective meta overrides an earlier zoom-blocking one.

WCAG success criteria#

1.4.4 Resize Text — Level AA#

Users must be able to zoom text up to 200% without loss of content or function; never block zoom.

Understanding 1.4.4

Standards#

This rule contributes to the following standards:

WCAG AA EN 301 549 ACT

References#

• WCAG — Resize Text