safari iconIn Apple's Safari web browser, there are several ways to make viewing web pages easier on the eyes. All of them involve adjusting the font size or the zoom level that Safari applies when it loads web page content, which can be helpful if you're using a small screen or a large display set at a high resolution.

To increase or decrease the zoom level of both text and images when viewing web pages in Safari, press Command and the + (plus) or - (minus) keys. You can also click on View in Safari's menu bar and select Zoom In or Zoom Out.

Alternatively, you can add zoom buttons to Safari's interface: Right-click (or Ctrl-click) on a space in the Safari toolbar and click Customize Toolbar.... Then drag the Zoom buttons in the dropdown to the space you just clicked on the toolbar. Click Done to finish.

safari zoom buttons
If you want to keep images at the same size and only adjust web page font size on the fly, press Option-Command and the + or - keys. You can also hold down the Option key and click on View in the Safari menu bar, which changes the Zoom options to Make Text Bigger and Make Text Smaller.

Safari will remember your zoom and font size settings until you clear your History. To do so, click Safari in the menu bar, select Clear History..., then click the Clear History button.

Set the Zoom Level for a Specific Website

Once the zoom level is set up for a particular site, Safari applies it automatically whenever you visit it. Here's how it's done.

  1. Navigate to the site that you want to adjust the zoom level for.

  2. Right-click on the URL or website name that appears in the address bar, and select Settings for This Website. Alternatively, click Safari in the menu bar and you'll see the same option just below Preferences.

  3. Click the Zoom Level percentage and select a new level from the dropdown menu. (Anything greater than 100 zooms in; anything less than 100 zooms out.)
    safari web page zoom

Set the Zoom Level for All Web Pages

  1. In Safari's menu bar, select Safari -> Preferences....

  2. Click the Websites tab.

  3. Click Page Zoom in the General column.

  4. Clear any Configured Websites in the list by highlighting them all with your mouse button and then selecting Remove.

  5. Click the When visiting other websites pop-up menu and choose a percentage to suit.safari zoom all websites

Set Your Own Zoom Level With a Style Sheet

If none of Safari's zoom level increments sit right with your eyes, here's a way to set your own percentage.

  1. Open the TextEdit application.

  2. Click New Document.

  3. In TextEdit's menu bar, select Format -> Make Plain Text.

  4. Copy and paste the following CSS code into the file, changing the zoom number to your preferred percentage level:
    body {
    zoom: 140%;
    }

    safari zoom style sheet css

  5. In TextEdit's menu bar, select File -> Save....

  6. Name the file safari zoom.css or whatever you like, just make sure it retains a .css suffix.

  7. Choose a location for the file and click Save.

  8. Back in Safari, select Safari -> Preferences... in the menu bar.

  9. Select the Advanced tab.

  10. Click the Style sheet dropdown menu and select Other....

  11. Navigate to the location of your saved CSS file, select it, and click Choose.safari style sheet

From now on, Safari will default to the zoom level specified in your style sheet file, which you can edit at any time.

Force Websites to Use Bigger Font Sizes

Finally, there's an option in Safari that lets you force websites to display text using a minimum font size, without affecting the zoom level.

  1. In Safari's menu bar, select Safari -> Preferences....

  2. Select the Advanced tab.

  3. In the Accessibility section, check the box next to Never use font sizes smaller than: and select a font size in the dropdown.safari font size limiter
Tag: Safari

Top Rated Comments

CarlJ Avatar
79 months ago
@MacRumors : There's also the feature (originally from Safari on iOS?) where you can two-finger double-tap on a column of text and Safari will zoom in on that column. I use that All. The. Time. It gets the part I want to look at right then, it's crazy easy to do, and you can switch back with the same gesture.

I also use the Cmd-Opt-+ sometimes, with Cmd-0 to reset to normal size (regardless of how many '+' or '-' you've done).
Score: 2 Votes (Like | Disagree)

Popular Stories

maxresdefault

Apple to Launch New iPad Pro and iPad Air Models in May

Thursday March 28, 2024 11:07 am PDT by
Apple will introduce new iPad Pro and iPad Air models in early May, according to Bloomberg's Mark Gurman. Gurman previously suggested the new iPads would come out in March, and then April, but the timeline has been pushed back once again. Subscribe to the MacRumors YouTube channel for more videos. Apple is working on updates to both the iPad Pro and iPad Air models. The iPad Pro models will...
General Apps Messages

Google Reveals When to Expect RCS Support on iPhone for Improved Texting With Android Users

Friday March 29, 2024 7:14 am PDT by
In November, Apple announced that the iPhone would support the cross-platform messaging standard RCS (Rich Communication Services) in the Messages app starting "later" in 2024, and Google has now revealed a more narrow timeframe. In a since-deleted section of the revamped Google Messages web page, spotted by 9to5Google, Google said that Apple would be adopting RCS on the iPhone in the "fall...
airtag new orange

Criminals in Montreal Using AirTags to Steal Vehicles

Friday March 29, 2024 12:50 pm PDT by
Thieves in Montreal, Canada have been using Apple's AirTags to facilitate vehicle theft, according to a report from Vermont news sites WCAX and NBC5 (via 9to5Mac). Police officers in Burlington, Vermont have issued a warning about AirTags for drivers who recently visited Canada. Two Burlington residents found Apple AirTags in their vehicles after returning from trips to Montreal, and these...
top stories 30mar2024

Top Stories: WWDC 2024 Announced, New iPads Delayed, and More

Saturday March 30, 2024 6:00 am PDT by
Apple's WWDC 2024 dates have been announced, giving us timing for the unveiling of the company's next round of major operating system updates and likely some other announcements. This week also saw some disappointing news on the iPad front, with update timing for the iPad Pro and iPad Air pushed back from previous rumors. We did hear some new tidbits about what might be coming in iOS 18 and...
iphone 16 cases sonny dickson 1

First iPhone 16 Cases Outline New Rear Vertical Camera Bump

Friday March 29, 2024 4:09 am PDT by
Photos of the first iPhone 16 cases have been shared online, offering another preview of the rumored new vertical rear camera arrangement on the standard iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus. Image credit: Accessory leaker Sonny Dickson Over the last few months, Apple has been experimenting with different camera bump designs for the standard iPhone 16 models, all of which have featured a vertical ...
Apple iPhone 15 Pro spatial video capture lifestyle

$3 App Shoots Better Quality Spatial Video Than iPhone's Camera App

Friday March 29, 2024 4:48 am PDT by
A $3 third-party app can now record spatial video on iPhone 15 Pro models in a higher resolution than Apple's very own Camera app. Thanks to an update first spotted by UploadVR, Spatialify can now record spatial videos with HDR in 1080p at 60fps or in 4K at 30fps. In comparison, Apple's native Camera app is limited to recording spatial video in 1080p at 30fps. Shortly after Apple's Vision ...