When viewing a web page in the Safari web browser for the Mac, the text and screen contents may be too small to see comfortably, especially if you use a small-screen laptop. In other situations, the screen contents may be too large.

Safari makes it easy to change the font size and zoom level of web pages so that you can view web pages comfortably.

Change the Font Size in Safari

To make the text larger or smaller, adjust the web page’s font size.

These instructions apply to Safari versions 13 through 9, covering macOS Catalina through OS X El Capitan.

  • Open the Safari browser on your Mac and go to a web page.
  • To increase the font size, press Option+Command++ (the plus sign).
  • To decrease the font size, press Option+Command+- (the minus sign).
  • Alternatively, to increase the font size, go to View and select Make Text Bigger.
  • To decrease the font size from the menu, go to View and select Make Text Smaller.
  • Web sites stay at the font size you set. To return everything to its original state, go to the History menu item, select Clear History, and then select Clear History again.

Change the Zoom Level in Safari

Changing the zoom level on a web page is a little different from changing the text size because the tool increases or decreases the size of both text and images. Here’s how to change the zoom level on a web page in Safari:

Open the Safari browser on your Mac and go to a web page.

To increase the font size, press Option+Command++ (the plus sign).

To decrease the font size, press Option+Command+- (the minus sign).

Alternatively, to increase the font size, go to View and select Make Text Bigger.

To decrease the font size from the menu, go to View and select Make Text Smaller.

Web sites stay at the font size you set. To return everything to its original state, go to the History menu item, select Clear History, and then select Clear History again.

  • Open the Safari browser on your Mac and go to a web page.
  • Go to the View menu at the top of the screen and select Zoom In to make all content on the current web page appear bigger. Repeat to make the content even larger.
  • Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut Command++ (the plus sign) to increase the zoom level.
  • To make the web page content display at a smaller size in Safari, select View > Zoom Out.
  • Or use the keyboard shortcut Command+- (the minus sign) to make all content appear smaller.
  • To reset the zoom, go to View > Actual Size, or use the keyboard shortcut Command+0 (zero). This command isn’t available until you zoom in or out on the page.

Add Zoom Controls to the Safari Toolbar

Add a zoom icon to the Safari toolbar to make zooming in and out even easier. Here’s how:

Go to the View menu at the top of the screen and select Zoom In to make all content on the current web page appear bigger. Repeat to make the content even larger.

Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcut Command++ (the plus sign) to increase the zoom level.

To make the web page content display at a smaller size in Safari, select View > Zoom Out.

Or use the keyboard shortcut Command+- (the minus sign) to make all content appear smaller.

To reset the zoom, go to View > Actual Size, or use the keyboard shortcut Command+0 (zero). This command isn’t available until you zoom in or out on the page.

  • Go to View and select Customize Toolbar.
  • In the pop-up window, select the pair of buttons labeled Zoom and drag the buttons to Safari’s main toolbar.
  • Select Done to exit the customization screen.
  • Two new buttons appear on the toolbar. Select the small letter A to zoom out, and select the larger letter A to zoom in.

Enlarge Safari Pages on Macs With a Trackpad

Macs with a trackpad have more ways to change a web page’s size. Place two fingers together on the trackpad and then spread your fingers apart to make a Safari web page bigger. Pull the two fingers back together to reduce the size of the web page.

Go to View and select Customize Toolbar.

In the pop-up window, select the pair of buttons labeled Zoom and drag the buttons to Safari’s main toolbar.

Select Done to exit the customization screen.

Two new buttons appear on the toolbar. Select the small letter A to zoom out, and select the larger letter A to zoom in.

A double-tap with two fingers on the trackpad zooms in closely on a section of the web page. A second double-tap returns the page to standard size.

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