How can I "disable" zoom on a mobile web page?

Planning your lock-down strategy

You have the viewport settings, much like a bike's lock, in place. The aim is to disable user's ability to zoom-in.

Mobile Viewport            📱
with Zoom Enabled:    🔓🔍✅
with Zoom Disabled:   🔒🔍❌

Alter the meta tag to adjust scales of the mobile viewport:

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

It's equivalent to:

📱🔒 = No more "accidental pinch-and-zoom". It's lockdown!

Using CSS to disable zoom

In complement to the viewport tag, the CSS touch-action property can be used to prevent any accidental zoom during interactions like button press or slider movement.

html, body {
  touch-action: manipulation; /* Blocks "accidental zoom in" when double tapping */
}


Threading the needle of accessibility

To maintain accessibility and cease automatic zooming during input focus, always set the font size to the minimum 16px:

input, textarea, select {
  font-size: 16px; /* Now, that's the sweet spot! */
}


Employ media queries to make font size adjustments correspond to different screen sizes, thereby inhibiting the need to disable zooming:

@media (max-width: 600px) {
  body {
    font-size: 18px; /* Remember: adjust moderately */
  }
}


Crafting the fine balance

Maintain a delicate balance between user experience and the need for zoom. Precision in design can help avoid unnecessary zoom while keeping the content accessible to users with disparity in vision.

Strategy for mobile-first design

In mobile design, vital attributes are navigability and readability. The need for zoom can be eliminated with layouts that are flexible and content that scales effortlessly to various screen sizes and orientations.

Implementing context-appropriate techniques

Consider the application's unique requirements before disabling zoom. For instance, a gaming application would require strict layout control, thus justifying zoom disablement. On the other hand, more informative material could use the zoom feature for user comfort.