Web Accessibility

1
Web Accessibility

• ICS 691 (Fall 06), Dr. Quiroga
• Diane Kunichika
• Rachel Gushiken

2
Web Accessibility

• What does web accessibility mean?
• Web accessibility the history
• Who is disabled?
• Website creation recommendations
• Stages of development for implementing web
  accessibility
• Selective guidelines of accessibility

3
What is Web Accessibility?

• Web accessibility means that people with
  disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate,
  and interact with the Web, and that they can
  contribute to the Web.
• From the Web Accessibility Initiative website
• http//www.w3.org/WAI/intro/accessibility.php,
  accessed November 11, 2006.

4
Who is disabled?

• Social Security Office definition
• Has a medically determinable physical or mental
  impairment, which
• ? Results in the inability to engage in any
  substantial gainful activity
• ? Can be expected to result in death or
• ? Has lasted or can be expected to last for a
  continuous period of not less than 12 months.

5
Statistical Abstract of the U.S., 2006
6
Web Accessibility The History

• 1973 Rehabilitation Act passed
• 1998 Rehabilitation Act amended
• Section 508
• http//www.section508.gov
• United States Access Board
• http//www.access-board.gov/

7
Web creation recommendations

• ? Creating graphics and multimedia content that
  is described through markup.
• ? Laying out table data with logical header and
  data tags that will be read accurately by screen
  readers for the blind.
• ? Captioning audio content as well as any
  necessary supplemental figures and illustrations
  for users with hearing impairment.
• ? Using consistent and predictable navigation
  throughout the site for those with cognitive
  impairments.
• Avoiding flickering or strobbing designs that can
  have serious consequences for users with
  epilepsy.
• Kevin Ruse, Web Standards Design Guide (Hingham,
  MA Charles River Media, Inc., 2005), 220.

8
Stages of development for implementing web
accessibility

• Stage 1 Educate Content Providers
• Stage 2 Decide Which Web Standards to Follow
• Stage 3 Determine Which Accessibility
  Guidelines to Follow
• Stage 4 Determine Which Priority of the WAI
  Guidelines Applies to Your Site
• Stage 5 Validate Your XHTML and CSS
• Stage 6 Evaluate and Validate Your Codes
  Accessibility
• Stage 7 Correct, edit, or modify your code

9
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative Guidelines

• Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory
  visual content
• Dont rely on color alone.
• Use markup stylesheets do so properly
• Clarify natural language
• Create tables that transform gracefully.
• Ensure that pages featuring new technologies
  transform gracefully.
• Ensure user control of time-sensitive content
  changes

10
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative Guidelines

• Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user
  interfaces.
• Design for device independence.
• Use interim solutions.
• Use W3C technologies guidelines.
• Provide context orientation information.
• Provide clear navigation mechanisms.
• Ensure that documents are clear simple.

11
Web Guidelines Priority Rating

• Priority 1
• Priority 1 must satisfy to make site accessible
• Priority 2 should satisfy
• Priority 3 may or may not choose to follow
• Out of 14 guidelines, go into more detail those
  guidelines with priority 1 rating

12
Guideline 1Provide equivalent alternatives to
auditory visual content

• Benefit users with vision or hearing impairment
• Technique
• Provide alt attributes for image tags.
• ltimg srcimage.gif altdescription of image /gt
• Add long descriptions to images, input, applet.

13
Guideline 1Provide alternatives to auditory
content

• Provide alternative auditory that coincides with
  visual content, eg. soundtrack for a movie

14
Guideline 2 Dont rely on color alone

• Benefits users who are visually impaired or
  color blind user agents that cant display color
  like cell phones PDAs
• Techniques
• Check use of color in text
• Check use of color in images
• Check foreground background colors

15
Guideline 4Clarify natural language

• Benefits users with vision impairment screen
  readers, Braille devices learning disabilities
  like dyslexia younger users first language not
  language used on page
• Techniques
• Use simple language
• Avoid technical jargon
• Declare language web page is written
• lthtml xmlns"http//www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"
  lang"en" xmllang"en"gt
• Limit number types of fonts used
• Limit use of italics all caps

16
Guideline 5Create tables that transform
gracefully

• Benefits user with vision impairment users of
  screen readers users of small screen devices
• Techniques
• Do not use tables for layout.
• Identify row column headers cells
• ltthgt lttdgt lttheadgt lttbodygt lttfootgtltcolgroupgt ltcolgt

17
Guideline 6Ensure that pages featuring new
technologies transform gracefully

• Benefits users who use older browser versions
  users who turn off browser features like
  JavaScript
• Techniques
• Organize content so that it can be understood
  without CSS
• Ensure that navigation content works without
  aid of scripting languages or applets
• Create a text-only version

18
Guideline 7Ensure user control of
time-sensitive content changes

• Benefits people with cognitive or visual
  disabilities people with epilepsy user who turn
  off browser features
• Techniques
• Avoid causing screen flicker
• Allow moving, blinking, or scrolling text to be
  stopped or paused
• Prepare user for automatic redirect

19
Guideline 8Ensure direct accessibility of
embedded user interfaces

• Benefits people who cannot access the embedded
  object (eg. user who do not have Macromedia Flash
  or cannot Java applets)
• Techniques
• Direct user to required software
• Provide alternative navigation

20
Guideline 9Design for device independence

• Benefits users who cannot choose not to use
  mouse, keyboard, monitor users with limited
  mobility
• Techniques
• Provide keyboard shortcuts to links and form
  controls
• lta href page.html accesskey bgt

21
Guideline 11Use W3C technologies guidelines

• Benefits all users
• Techniques
• World Wide Web Consortium (xHTML) come with
  built-in accessibility features
• Avoid deprecated features
• Eg. HTML
• ltfontgt defines text font, size, and color
• Use CSS to do this color, font, font-family,
  font-size

22
Guideline 14Ensure documents clear simple

• Benefits all users
• Techniques
• Consistent page layout
• Clear recognizable graphics
• Create style of presentation consistent across
  all pages
• Global stylesheet

23
Web Sites

• 508 Checklist
• http//www.webaim.org/standards/508/checklist
• Web-based Intranet Internet information
  Applications
• http//www.access-board.gov/sec508/guide/1194.22.h
  tm
• Spells out equivalencies
• W3C Evaluating Websites for Accessibility
• http//www.w3.org/WAI/eval/

24
Demo

• Tools http//www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tools/complete
• Easiest to read
• http//www.etre.com/tools/accessibilitycheck/
• Gives suggestions by role
• http//www.binaryblue.com.au/access_wizard/
• Readable
• http//sipt07.si.ehu.es/evalaccess2/index.html