Archive for the ‘Accessibility’ Category
published by Dan in Accessibility | Tools & Resources | Web Technology | Website Design | Website Standards
Benefits of automated authoring tools:
- Programming-free authoring and publishing - Uses easy to learn and use WYSIWYG editing
- Time saver - Automated processes makes content translation faster and everything else faster, which results in saved money and earlier release of product to the market.
- Cost reduction - The in-house production/development of e-learning materials and websites using such tools can be significantly lower than hiring a development team.
- Quality assurance - Automated editing processes ensures that process steps are taken.
- Easier collaboration - Some automated software allows for real-time multi user collaboration.
- Results in documentation consistency - By automating documentation processes you can be sure that you’ll get more consistent and timely results.
Disadvantages of automated authoring tools:
- Small things that count get overlooked - There’s no denying it a professional web designer will find it easier to spot problems or even just potential problems that someone inexperienced that is just dabbling with an automated authoring software.
- Non-compliance to web standards - This wouldn’t be too bad if it didn’t result in something adverse but since it does affect accessibility then it is a problem that shouldn’t be overlooked. Most affected by accessibility issues are the visually-impaired. While this can be corrected by someone knowledgeable in HTML those using WYSYWIG editors do not even know there’s a problem.
- Debugging woes - Whether a big/critical problem or something as minute as incorrect alignment arises a lot of those using automated authoring tools will find themselves unable to solve the problem that easily, if at all, which then prompts them to either hire a professional web developer or to leave the the end product flawed.
published by Dan in Accessibility | Usability | Website Design
- Use visual illustrations - Present visual illustrations whenever appropriate and/or possible. Use pie charts or bar graphs when quoting statistics instead of simply discussing it in paragraph form or listing it down in tables.
- Break information into small chunks - Bullet points are good. Avoid long sentences and paragraphs.
- Good spacing - Use adequate spacing between lines of text as well as between paragraphs. The spacing between lines of text usually depends on the font used so make sure you use a font that is easy on the eyes.
- Use CSS to increase the distance between:
- the text and underline in links - This may seem unimportant but for some with reading disabilities the underline could make it even harder to distinguish letter and read.
- the target area of navigation links - Just make sure that the target area is clear or very distinguishable from the other space surrounding it. Make the target are a different color because increasing the target area and leaving it a white space is not good in terms of usability. Plus it can be really irritating if people mistakenly click on the link even if the mouse is simply hovering on white space.
- Provide a large print version of your page/documents - You can do this by making it easy to change font sizes. Just make sure that if you do this everything scales properly because it can even be more confusing if lines get broken and/or text ends up overlapping each other.
Resource: Learning difficulties & web accessibility by Webcredible
published by Dan in Accessibility | Usability | Website Design
Below are a few tips on designing a website for the learning disabled.
- Be consistent - Make the buttons, links, and the whole appearance of the website as consistent as possible. Aside from the appearance clickable elements should behave as consistently as possible. If you a new tab opens when a button is clicked then use pop-out tabs all throughout. If you make use of drop down menus use them all throughout instead of mixing drop down menus with expandable menus.
- Do not use idioms - Idioms can be confusing and taken literally. Instead use simple everyday language using words in their literal context/meaning.
- Avoid using abstractions - If you want an action to be taken spell out what you want to heppen along with the information needed. For example instead of just giving a “Contact Us” link give a telephone number and/or email address beside the words contact us.
- Summarize your content - Summarize the content of an info-rich page and place the summary at the top of the page. If technical terms are used throughout the article on the webpage make sure you avoid this in the summary and use simple words.
- Provide an audio version - This is perfect for those with reading disabilities becasue they can just listen to the verbal content instead of having to read through a long article. In the same way if your website has mostly audio content provide a written transcript to help the listening disabled.
to be continued…
Resource: Learning difficulties & web accessibility by Webcredible
published by Dan in Accessibility | Website Design
When discussing accessibility web designers often take into consideration users that have slow internet connections, use alternative browsers, and other technical factors that might result in difficulty accessing a website. With regards to people with disabilities, although there are still many websites that still do not use alt tags, the needs of the visually impaired are also usually taken into consideration. What is usually left unnoticed are the needs of those with other disabilities such as learning disabilities.
Learning disability is defined as “a condition that either prevents or significantly hinders somebody from learning basic skills or information at the same rate as most people of the same age.” People with learning disabilities, contrary to the belief of some, actually usually have an average to above average intelligence but do not perform well in school due to “difficulty in one or more of the following areas: listening, speaking, reading, written expression, mathematics, and reasoning.”
As website designers you can actually help those with learning disabilities by ensuring that your website takes into account their needs. Of course those with that experience difficulty in listening, speaking, math, written expression, and reasoning are usually not affected when surfing the web since reading is the skill that comes to play.
In my next post I will outline some things you can do to ensure that your website is as friendly to those with reading disabilities as much as possible.
published by Dan in Accessibility
When talking about accessibility although it is often used to refer to ensuring that web sites are accessible to people with disabilities it actually has a larger scope and actually addresses accessibility of web sites to EVERYBODY. Sure enough when designing web sites the accessibility to the majority of users are always considered, which is why the topic is not really fall under accessibility but usually focuses on usability when it comes to the majority of users. When it comes to the minority of users who might encounter difficulty in being able to view a website, this is when the issue of accessibility takes center stage.
So when is accessibility an issue? It is an issue when the user:
- has any disability - Whether this be visual impairments, motor dysfunctions, auditory impairments, cognitive/intellectual disabilities. This is true for any medical condition (like seizures) that result in special consideration of the user’s needs in order to be able to make the accessing the website possible and safe.
- uses a non-standard platform/device - This pertains to both software and hardware. For software alternative operating systems and web browsers might be used. For hardware mobile devices (i.e. newer mobile phone models) might be used.
- uses a computer with lower specs - There are dinosaurs still in existence or simply people who prefer lower resolutions. Make sure the websites is still viewable even then.
- has a slow internet connection - Always consider the needs of those with dial-up connections by giving an alternative version to graphic-heavy sites and offering lower resolution/smaller sized downloads.
published by Dan in Accessibility | Usability | Website Design
Perhaps the tip that beats all accessibility tips is the simplest one - to test your website using a screen reader. Even if you do follow accessibility guidelines chances are something will get overlooked. Testing the site with a screen reader is plain common sense. However, when testing with a screen reader it is best if you do this:
- as you build your site - Test the site as you go along. Just like in anything waiting till the very end to find if there are any bugs is a huge mistake. By testing the site with a screen reader periodically you can catch small mistakes before it becomes more difficult or at least more tedious to address.
- with your eyes closed - Let the screen reader do the reading for you. Listen to the output with your eyes closed to see if it makes sense. Although the screen reader might report things accurately you will realise that many times what seems to be easy to understand with the context of the layout right before your eyes might be a bit more difficult if your don’t see it. This way you can adjust certain elements to not only help accessibility but also usability. Note too that listening to the screen reader with your eyes open might bias you in what you hear.
- with your eyes open - Not to contradict myself, but you should also listen with your eyes open aside from with your eyes closed to check for errors.
- on test users - Make sure you include visually impaired people to help you with usability testing.
published by Dan in Accessibility | Usability | Website Design
- Keep empty form fields empty - Although I have observed the trend of inserting sample text into empty form fields as placeholders there are still websites that do this. This shouldn’t be done since most screen readers (except the very old models) are able to recognize form fields and so prompt users to enter the required information. The problem with putting placeholders inside the form fields is that screen readers usually do not even read out/mention the existence of these placeholders so that users end up not deleting them and thus end up submitting incorrect information when they simply add the right information at the beginning or the end of the placeholder. Note that this is true only for supposedly EMPTY form fields (i.e. name, address, username).
- Acronyms and Abbreviation tags - There is nothing really wrong with using the <acronym> and <abbr> tags but it doesn’t really do much in terms of accessibility. The reason for this is that screen readers ignore these tags and do not announce its contents. So if you want the visually impaired to know the meaning of an acronym then simply use the entire name/title and place it beside the acronym during the first time it is mentioned. Do continue using these tags though for usability’s sake since it can be very useful for the sighted but forgetful users.
published by Dan in Accessibility | Usability | Website Design
Last time we talked about the importance of accessibility. This time I’ll be giving some tips that should help you avoid making mistakes when implementing accessibility.
- Be concise - I have mentioned this in my last post but this time remember to be concise not just in the written content but also with the ALT text. You do not have to describe just exactly what an image looks like but you should simply state what the image contains. For example if the image contains a child eating a lollipop then put “Child Eating a Lollipop” in the ALT text. You do not have to write “Pretty child with blond hair eating a big half-eaten red and white lollipop.” Furthermore if you use images as borders or for other decorative purposes only you do not need to put ALT text so that the screen readers can just skip those images. Emphasis is given to accessibility but only to relevant content. Lessen the noise to make surfing your site more easy.
- Do not use access keys - Some webmasters think that access keys are cool. However, if you pause and think about it how many of your users actually spend time learning the access keys in your site? Changes are, that unless your site contains games or a useful application used by people on a daily basis, then almost no one even bothers to really learn the access keys you so painstakingly put up for their use. In terms of accessibility, access keys can also actually be a deterrent since they sometimes override keyboard shortcuts used by screen readers. This means that instead of helping your users you might be unintentionally sabotaging your visually-impaired users ability to surf your site.
published by Dan in Accessibility
If you are a web designer and has heard of the lawsuit that Bruce Sexton along with Baltimore-based National Federation of the Blind (NFB) filed against Target.com last December 2006, then you understand how important it is to address accessibility issues. Too many web designers nowadays make the mistake of taking accessibility for granted or dealing with the issues only for commercial purposes, but for the visually-impaired it is indeed as serious barrier that should be addressed. Some very basic changes only need to be implemented to make websites more accessible to the visually-challenged including:
- using plain/simple language when writing your site’s content
- breaking down the content into manageable chunks
- using sub-headings
- using lists/bullet points whenever possible to make the content more concise
- using ALT-text
In the end addressing accessibility issues will improve not just accessibility itself but your site’s overall format. It will also result in a more readable content not just for screen readers but also the sighted.
published by Dan in Accessibility | Tools & Resources | Web Technology | Website Design | Website Standards
Last time I posted about the importance of web accessibility. I mentioned how other users, aside from the disabled and partially disabled, could benefit from web accessibility. As a web designer though that is not very familiar with web accessibility you should realize that there is a pretty wide range of disabilities to address including:
- visual impairments - whether full or partial blindness or colour blindness
- motor disabilities - for those with problems with fine muscle control due to certain conditions like Parkinson’s disease, cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, etc.
- auditory problems - whether full or partial deafness
- seizures - epilepsy is sometimes triggered when the screen frequency is between 2 to 55Hz
- cognitive/intellectually impairments - users with learning disabilities such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, has poor memory and problem solving skills, etc.
Looking at the list above can be daunting. However, a web design provider really needs to address these issues especially if under the jurisdiction of countries that legally require web accessibility. As mentioned in the previous post though, the Web Accessibility Initiative is a good place to start informing yourself about the issue. There you will find everything from guidelines and techniques to evaluation tools.
As a web designer note though that your job is really only to follow the guidelines set by the W3C. You do not have to worry about the hardware part and other assistive technologies that will help the disabled in web browsing. By following the guidelines you can be assured that the website you have designed can be easily read by assistive technologies such as screen readers. Of course, since technology constantly gives better (or at least newer) solutions then it is important that you keep yourself up-to-date with the latest developments in web accessibility.
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