From concept to implementation

Presented by Denise R. Jacobs

Planning for Accessibility

Overview of Accessibility

For the purposes of this presentation, "accessibility" refers to making web sites accessible to people with disabilities, and at the same time to people using different operating systems, web browsers and devices.

Who Cares?

“If anybody asks me what the Internet means to me, I will tell him without hesitation: To me (a quadriplegic), the Internet occupies the most important part in my life. It is my feet that can take me to any part of the world; it is my hands which help me to accomplish my work; it is my best friend — it gives my life meaning.”

— Dr. ZhangXU

Accessibility matters to…

The UserThe Client User Interface Designer(s) The Search Engine The Host

7 Real-Life Situations where Web Accessibility is a Must

1) Users cannot see. 2) Users cannot hear. 3) User cannot move. 4) Users cannot understand complex text. 5) Users have slow Internet connections and

the images either take too long to download or do not download at all.

6) Users are not native speakers and have difficulties understanding the foreign language.

7) The situation prevents for the user from using their hands, eyes or ears to access a web page.

Knowledge is power

Know yourself, know your audienceIt's important to make sure that you know what outcome you want with the end-product of your website and how your site will best serve your audience.

~ 10% of the population has disabilities

What are your audience's needs?What are your internal needs?

If the users have…sight disabilities

correct page semantics for screen readers

audio equivalents to audio pieces

color schemes optimized for contrast and people with color blindness

Know what to provide in each situation

Know what to provide in each situation, 2

If the users have… hearing disabilities

text equivalents to any audio pieces

motor disabilities easily navigatable

pages (by multiple methods: click, tab, keyboard)

content chunked well cognitive disabilities

content chunked well clear, simple

presentation of content

content written in clear, simple language

Know what to provide in each situation, 3

If the users have… different browsers and

operating systems thorough cross-

browser testing

alternative media alternative stylesheets

updated easily in the future: progressive enhancement correct page semantics

(proper HTML coding) properly styled

implementation that can be altered

Trends in accessibility

Adhering to Web Standards:Following the specifications created by the W3C for the version of markup or scripting language that you are using.

Trends in accessibility

Web Standards make for good businessAccessibilityUsability Compatibility Substantially increased performance Higher search engine rankings Powerful designs

Trends in accessibility

Standards Harmonization"Standards Harmonization" refers to the adoption of a consistent set of international technical standards for accessibility of:

Web content browsers and media players authoring tools

Accessibility and Your Website Project

Integrate accessibility standards into design process

Examples of design requirements for people with different kinds of disabilities include:

Visual: described graphics or video; well marked-up tables;

keyboard support, screen reader compatibility Hearing:

captioning for audio, supplemental illustration

Accessibility and Your Website Project

(continued) Physical, Speech:

keyboard or single-switch support; alternatives for speech input on voice portals

Cognitive, Neurological: consistent navigation, appropriate language

level; illustration; no flickering or strobing designs

Site wireframing and designing

Incorporating accessibility into wireframes and design – what to look for

• The wireframes/design should have logical and consistent navigation.

• Elements should be grouped and relationships between elements should be evident.

• The design should not rely on color alone to convey information.

• As a client, do NOT require browser pop-up windows for your site (pop-up divs are different, however).

Site wireframing and designing

Some (potentially) tough design choices:

Submit buttons – standard buttons have full functionality, whereas Javascript buttons may pose accessibility issues.

Use (and/or abuse) of Ajax – Ajax is a combination of technologies that is not reliable from an accessibility standpoint. Be sure that any Ajax desired on the site is proven to be accessible.

Color - luckily, most of the unusable color combinations are also visually unappealing. However, it is still important to test the colors for contrast and color blindness.

Site wireframing and designing

The Goal: Graceful Transformation

“Graceful Degrading” – backwards degrading: the site works well in its simplest form.

“Progressive Enhancement" – while users are still able to see everything with a basic browser, JavaScript can overwrite and add functional richness if necessary. Also, if the site is redesigned, conceivably, only styles would need to be changed, but the page semantics and hierarchy are still solid.

Site wireframing and designing

Accessible is BeautifulOnce you get past all of the hard thinking to make sure you have all of your accessibility bases covered, then the fun can begin! Don’t think that just because a site is accessible, it can’t be beautiful too!

Content creation

Some Accessibility Guidelines for Web Content :

Provide context and orientation information. Link text should be meaningful enough to

make sense when read out of context - no more "click here"!

Place distinguishing information at the beginning of headings, paragraphs, lists, etc.

Use the clearest and simplest language appropriate for a site's content.

Accessibility and Implementation

You have the power…But with power comes responsibility!

The WC3 has created the WCAG Guidelines, the standards by which web developers can create sites that are accessible to all audiences.

Accessibility and Implementation

Here are some of the guidelines we will cover: Guideline 1. Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and

visual content. Guideline 3. Use markup and style sheets and do so properly. Guideline 5. Create tables that transform gracefully. Guideline 6. Ensure that pages featuring new technologies

transform gracefully. Guideline 9. Design for device-independence. Guideline 12. Provide context and orientation information. Guideline 13. Provide clear navigation mechanisms.

Accessibility and alternate browsers

Most web browsers on mobile devices, such as PDAs or cell phones generally render sites with minimal css and no javascript.

Consequently, all of the issues that affect screen readers also affect these mobile browser applications.

(WCAG Guideline 9)

Accessible HTML: General

Use Headings Properly

Include more than just “read more” in links.

Skip Navigation/Jump to Content Link

Distinguish betweenPresentational ImagesContent-Based Images

Accessible HTML: Images

Tables Are Not For LayoutTabular DataHow the Blind “s

ee” on the web

Semantic FormsUse Required flag to promote important content

Accessible HTML: Tables and Forms

Similar to the table tag being used for layout, iframes are another tag that can make navigation with a screen reader difficult. Keeping track of content with more than one page, and the difficulties of tracking which link opens in which frame, can be a headache. It is best avoided.

(WCAG Guideline 12)

Accessible HTML: Iframes

Flash: Provide an alternativeMost Flash is not developed with accessibility in

mind. Because of the difficulty of Flash working properly

with screen readers, most screenreader users don’t even have flash installed.

If a user doesn’t have Flash installed, you should show the user alternate text. Flash files that use dynamic content can be reproduced in HTML as an alternate text version.

(WCAG Guidelines 1, 6)

Accessible HTML: Flash

Lists for Navigation

Definition Lists

Accessible HTML: Lists

The main way increase blog accessibility is to maximize the ways to get to content. categorized content is essentialtagged contentpopular/rated content

Accessible Blogs

Conclusion

"Accessibility is a Process, Not a Product."

- Bob Regan, Macromedia

Questions? Comments?