Accessibility Flashcards
define web accessibility
People with disabilities can use (perceive, understand, navigate, contribute, interact) the Web.
What are the social, business, and legal motivations to be accessible online?
SOCIAL: more people online=better! education, awareness, culture exposure…
Accessibility features add capabilities for disabled users, but also benefit other users. For example, keyboard shortcuts good for blind people and increasing productivity. Captions good for deaf people and learning languages.
BUSINESS:
- SEO
- better mobile web design
- device independence
- more users for business
- less maintenance.
LEGAL: UK Equality Act, …
examples of accessibility features
- Screen readers (blind people)
- Captions (aka. subtitles) on videos (bonus: your media file is machine readable) https://dcmp.org/learn/213
- Enlarge text for partially blind
- Color-blind-proof colours
- Keyboard only navigation?
- Epileptic safe?
- Motor disability safe? (slow, restricted movement)
- Cognitive disability safe? (difficulty remembering, concentrating, or making decisions)
Effect of standards on accessibility
Standards promote accessibility.
• W3C standards compliance code
• Valid code works benefits
Accessibility Guidelines
- Important information at the top / homepage
- Avoid reliance on colour to impart information
- Sans serif fonts are clearest
- Relative sizes
- Avoid tag abuse — don’t force a particular appearance with too many labels
How to make navigation accessible?
- keep it clear and consistent
- descriptive link text
- site map — overview of site content
- keyboard shortcuts (access keys)
Benefits of using the alt attribute for images
- read by screen readers in place of images
- displayed if the image file is not loaded
- SEO
How to make forms accessible?
- minimal text before the form
- ensure a sensible tab order
- allow enough time for readers to read and understand
- explicitly associate text labels and form controls (for screen readers)
- group form controls where appropriate using fieldsets
- give warning alert when user try to reload the page whilst completing the form
What are the 4 Priority Checkpoints of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
PERCEIVABLE
- Providetext alternativesfor non-text content.
- Providecaptions andother alternativesfor multimedia.
- Make it easier for users tosee and hear content.
- Create content that can bepresented in different ways, including by assistive technologies, without losing meaning.
OPERABLE
- Make all functionality available from akeyboard.
- Give usersenough timeto read and use content.
- Do not use content that causesseizures.
- Help usersnavigate and find content.
UNDERSTANDABLE
- Make textreadable and understandable.
- Follow predictable patterns - intuitive.
- Help usersavoid and correct mistakes.
ROBUST
- Maximisecompatibilitywith current and future user tools.