The Accessible Web: Improving the Universal Experience
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Transcript of The Accessible Web: Improving the Universal Experience

The Accessible WebImproving the universal experience

What is web accessibility?
None of these should be required on a website:● Keyboards● Mice● Monitors● Desktop computers

Interface Independence
The essence of web accessibility: content is not dependent on the tools used to access it.

Section 504: Equal Opportunities
If your web site:● Is part of your programs or services● Provides information on programs or
services● Shares documents required to register for or
get information about your programs● Then you’re subject to 504.

Section 504: Equal Opportunities
Under Section 504: you must provide alternate formats of information you share.
The ideal web site minimizes the need to create alternate formats: one web site with universal access.

Principles of Accessibility
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/
● Perceivable● Operable● Understandable● Robust

What does that mean?
Web accessibility is for everything on the web:
● Web sites● PDFs● .doc, .ppt, .xls, .everything else

Testing Web Sites for Accessibility
Keyboard Accessibility
● Unplug your mouse.● Hit the tab key
Can you navigate to every link? Can you tell where you are?

Testing Web Sites for Accessibility
Keyboard AccessibilityCompare these two sites:
● http://themes.joedolson.com/universal/● http://themes.joedolson.com/iatc/

Testing Web Sites for Accessibility
Form Labeling
● Has a profound impact on web site users● Is extremely easy to detect.

Testing Web Sites for Accessibility
Form Labeling Example:
Bad News

Testing Web Sites for Accessibility
Form Labeling Example:
Good News!

Testing Web Sites for Accessibility
Form LabelingCompare these two sites:
● http://dev.joedolson.com/form-bad.html● http://dev.joedolson.com/form-good.html

Testing Web Sites for Accessibility
Alternative Text
● Disable Images● Is any information missing?
What’s gone with images disabled? Is this an equal experience for the user?

Testing Web Sites for Accessibilityhttps://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/image-block/
● http://www.girlandthegoat.com/

Testing Web Sites for Accessibility
Inclusive Content
It doesn’t matter how accessible your site is if you don’t have accessible content.

Testing Web Sites for Accessibility
Inclusive Content
● Accessible text content● Accessible PDFs● Accessible Audio and Video

Testing Web Sites for Accessibility
Accessible Text Content● Scannable: Use headings and bullet points.● Avoid directional text: where is “left” in a
screen reader?● Use meaningful link text: what does “Click
here” mean?

Testing Web Sites for Accessibility
Accessible PDFs● The source document must be accessible
o Alternative text for imageso Use heading structures - don’t just change fonts and
sizeso Export to PDF, don’t just print to PDF
http://webaim.org/techniques/acrobat/converting

Testing Web Sites for Accessibility
Accessible PDFs - what about scanning?
● Not accessible by default - just big images.● Use Optical Character Recognition● Edit the document to add structure
http://wac.osu.edu/pdf/scan/pdffromscan.html

Testing Web Sites for Accessibility
Inspect your PDFs:With Acrobat X
● Tools > Advanced > Accessibility > Full Check
● View > Zoom > Reflow● Tools sidebar > Action Wizard > Make
Accessible

Testing Web Sites for Accessibility
Accessible Audio & VideoTwo factors: the player and the content.● Player Accessibility● Text transcription● Closed Captioning● Audio Description

In Summary
Web accessibility is complex and subjective; but there’s still an objective difference between inaccessible and usable - you too can spot that difference.