Comrade Web Accessibility 101

Web Accessibility 101

What it is, why it matters,

and how you can get started

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You need to plan a trip on BART. Which map would be more helpful?

Introduction to Web Accessibility

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What if you tried planning the same trip on Google Maps?


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For millions of Americans, getting information on the Web is a challenge

Color blindness is

just one of many

accessibility

challenges for

people using the

internet.


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What is Web accessibility?

In the World Wide Web, accessibility means having

equal access to web-based information and services

regardless of physical or developmental abilities or

impairments.

Source: Johns Hopkins University


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Why accessibility?

It’s the right thing to do

“The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by

everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.”

- Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web


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Accessibility benefits everyone

It’s the law

Accessibility is mandated by the federal government*, as well as many states,

international governing bodies, educational institutions and nonprofits.

It can help you reach a wider audience

49.7 million Americans have disabilities.** As with most other Americans, they

depend more and more on the internet for information and transactions.

It can improve overall usability and SEO

Because accessible websites are more intuitive, navigable and search engine

friendly, everyone wins—not just people with accessibility challenges.

It's future-friendly

Accessible sites leverage the latest tech innovations across multiple platforms,

and decouple content from formatting.

*Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act

**Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Disability Status: 2000 - Census 2000 Brief


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Accessibility is key to baby boomers as they become more at risk of disability

*Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Disability Status: 2000 - Census 2000 Brief

Prevalence of disability by age*

Total number With disability Percent with disability

All ages 257,167,527 49,746,248 19.1

Ages 5 to 15 45,133,667 2,614,919 4.3

Ages 16 to 64 178,687,234 33,153,211 17.6

Ages 65 and over 33,346,626 13,978,118 43.0

“The number of adults with a disability is likely to

increase dramatically as the baby boomers enter into

higher risk age groups over the next 20 years.” - Centers for Disease Control and Prevention


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An accessible website can be used by virtually anyone

Can your website be used by people with common

disabilities?

• Blindness

• Visual impairment

• Deafness

• Hearing impairment

• Motor disability

• Cognitive disability

Source: WebAIM, “Considering the User Perspective: A Summary of Design Issues”


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If you are visually impaired, you need assistive technology to use the Web

If you are blind:

• You can’t see images, photos, graphics or videos.

• You probably use a screen reader to listen to web pages.

• You may use the Tab key to jump from link to link.

• You probably don’t use a mouse.

If you are visually impaired:

• You may use a screen enlarger to view websites.

• You can’t enlarge text in graphics without special software—

and even with this software the text is pixelated.



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Accessibility challenges aren’t limited to what you can and can’t see

If you are deaf or hearing impaired:

• You may use assistive technology to convert audio into text.

If you have a motor disability:

• You may not be able to use a mouse.

• You may rely on voice-activated software.

If you have a cognitive disability:

• Complex layouts or inconsistent navigation may be confusing.

• You may have difficulty focusing on or comprehending lengthy

sections of text.



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The World Wide Web Consortium is setting the standard for accessibility

Source: Wikipedia

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are

guidelines for making content accessible, primarily for

disabled users, but also for all user agents, including

highly limited devices, such as mobile phones.

WCAG are published by the World Wide Web

Consortium’s Web Accessibility Initiative. The current

version is 2.0, published on December 11, 2008.


http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag

http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/wcag

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Is your website perceivable, operable, understandable and robust?

Sources: Paul Wallas, “POUR Principles of Accessibility,” W3C, “Introduction to Understanding WCAG 2.0”

The POUR principles of Web accessibility:

Perceivable As a minimum requirement for accessibility people need to be able to see,

hear, or touch Web content.

Operable Users should be able to find, navigate, and interact with Web content such as

forms and menus using a range of input methods and assistive technologies.

Understandable All Web content should make sense and its behavior should be predictable.

In addition any feedback provided about errors should be clear and helpful.

Robust Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide

variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.


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Perceivable

Source: W3C, “Introduction to Understanding WCAG 2.0”

Perceivable:

• Provide text alternatives for any non-text content so that it can be

changed into other forms people need, such as large print, braille,

speech, symbols, or simpler language.

• Provide alternatives for time-based media.

• Create content that can be presented in different ways (for

example, simpler layout) without losing information or structure.

• Make it easier for users to see and hear content including

separating foreground from background.


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Case study: Apple.com

Perceivable:

• Video is is closed

captioning enabled.

• Images are clearly labeled

with helpful alt text.


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Operable


Operable:

• Make all functionality available from a keyboard.

• Provide users enough time to read and use content.

• Do not design content in a way that is known to cause seizures.

• Provide ways to help users navigate, find content, and determine

where they are.


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Case study: Couchsurfing.org

Operable:

• All links on the page are

available by “tabbing” on the

keyboard.


All 42 links on the page are available without

requiring the use of a mouse.

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Understandable


Understandable:

• Make text content readable and understandable.

• Make Web pages appear and operate in predictable ways.

• Help users avoid and correct mistakes.


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Case Study: Screen Reader

Understandable:

• Screen readers must account

for every link on the page by

signposting it with the audible

alert “LINK” each time there

is a link on the page.


To experience a hypothetical site with a screen

reader, visit:

http://webaim.org/simulations/screenreader-sim.htm

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Robust


Robust:

• Maximize compatibility with current and future user agents,

including assistive technologies.


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Case Study: Accessibility Evaluation Toolbar

Robust

• To prevent future

enhancements from

becoming inaccessible, tools

like the Accessibility

Evaluation Toolbar allow

developers to run through

myriad scenarios.


To generate a list of HTML headings on a web

page, visit: https://addons.mozilla.org/en-

US/firefox/addon/accessibility-evaluation-toolb/

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Next steps

What you can do to address Web accessibility:

• Create accessibility awareness and expertise within your

organization.

• Evaluate your current Web properties for accessibility gaps.

• Create a prioritized action plan to make your Web properties

compliant with current accessibility standards.

• Get started, tackling one project at a time. (We recommend

starting with your home page.)

• Support an ongoing effort to learn and evolve your Web properties

as accessibility standards change.


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Sources and further reading

Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act

http://www.section508.gov/

Johns Hopkins University, Web accessibility microsite

http://webaccessibility.jhu.edu/

U.S. Census Bureau, Disability Status: 2000 - Census 2000 Brief

http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/disability/disabstat2k.html

WebAIM, “Considering the User Perspective: A Summary of Design Issues”

http://webaim.org/articles/userperspective/

Wikipedia, “Web Content Accessibility Guidelines”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Content_Accessibility_Guidelines

W3C, “Understanding WCAG 2.0”

http://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/Overview.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

http://www.cdc.gov/Features/dsAdultDisabilityCauses/

Paul Wallas, “POUR Principles of Accessibility”

http://www.paulwallas.com/anything-web/pour-principles-of-web-accessibility/


http://www.section508.gov/



























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Technology

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Oakland, CA

New York, NY

www.comradeagency.com

Page 24 Introduction to Web Accessibility

Comrade Web Accessibility 101

Technology

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accessibility people

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understandableall web

touch web content

webbased information

accessibility challenges

world wide web consortium