body {
max-width: 70ch; /* Limits the text column to a comfortable reading width */
margin: 0 auto; /* Centers the text column on large screens */
padding: 1.5rem; /* Prevents text from touching the edges on small/mobile screens */
line-height: 1.6; /* Gives the lines room to breathe */
}
font-size: 1rem;
The problem is you're imposing your own idiosyncratic preferences on strangers. Your "improvements" cost valuable screen space. I paid good money for my screen space and I don't appreciate designers unilaterally wasting it because they personally think it looks better. The decision of how much (if any) space to spend on padding should be made by the user.
There are also large-scale studies.
Btw, WCAG recommends 45–75 characters with a limit of 80 characters. Why not follow their recommendation?
It doesn't achieve a reasonable readable font size which was presumably the goal. Your padding won't be the right size for all screens either. (And personally I hate excessive line height).
> respect the browser's default font size
The browser's defaults are also bad. But they shouldn't be. The browser is in a position to actually fix this; the webdev isn't.
What's bad about them? There is a sensible default and users (in particular those with poor eyesight) will adjust them to their needs.
Ignoring this default is presumptuous.
16pt is a sensible default on some screens and very much not on others.
> users (in particular those with poor eyesight) will adjust them to their needs
In the real world they won't though, much as we might both wish otherwise.