Don t expect visitors to be focused on the path, they will be looking at your plants, so it is best to not just have one step when there is a change in levels, three steps is more noticeable. Of course, steps do hinder wheelchairs, one should think about that before building steps. The width of a path should be dependent on how the path is intended to be used. A main path which is intended to be used by every visitor should ideally be wide enough for two people to walk side by side, paths between beds only need to be wide enough for one person. A good rule is to allow two to four feet per person.
Most garden paths are too narrow rather than too wide.
The main path in the original part of my garden is 4 feet wide and since I let flowers seed themselves in the gravel, the path seems a bit narrow. The path between my lilypond and my vegetable garden is 7 feet wide , this may sound too wide, but I let plants lean into the path, so I wish that I had made the path at least 8 feet wide. Also, this path is over 100 feet long, so perspective makes it look more narrow than it really is. It sounds like the deck outside of my bedroom, it is made out of sawdust and plastic milk jugs. I am not familiar with an inexpensive new sort of wood edging.