Web Accessibility
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Web Accessibility
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Transcript of Web Accessibility
Web Accessibility
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IT and AT: Powerful enablers
IT = Information Technology AT = Assistive Technology
IT has made the world better for the disabled community.
IT can also pose barriers.
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What is web accessibility?
“Accessible” means that people are able to use your website even under limiting conditions.
To be accessible, your website must be: Perceivable (see, hear, touch) Operable (device independent)
Web accessibility wheelchair ramp Making your website accessible is like
providing a wheelchair ramp for your building.
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Why make websites accessible?
Over 1 billion people worldwide use the Internet. Internet traffic in the world is growing by 214%
annually; and in US, by 113.7% annually. There are more than 100 million websites on the
Internet.
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Benefits: Increased Reach
Estimates on the number of people with disabilities in the United States vary, but most are derived from U.S. Census:
1 in 5 Americans have some kind of disability.
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Benefits
Making your website accessible: Helps people with disabilities use the web and “levels
the playing field.” Separates content from presentation, making the
website easier to manage and web pages quicker to download.
Increases your site’s usability. Increases your websites visibility in search engines. Provides good publicity and addresses questions of
possible liability.
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Web Accessibility Standards
W3C WCAG – Worldwide Web Consortium Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
Federal Section 508 – Web-based Intranet and Internet Information and Applications (1194.22)
Commonwealth of Massachusetts Web Accessibility Standards, version 2.0
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Accessibility Basics
“Think about what you are trying to visually communicate and try to communicate it in other ways.” [Derek Featherstone] Structure – Use headings and standard markup to structure your web pages and documents. Links – Include link text that can be understood out of context. Images – Write appropriate text equivalents (“alt text”) for all images. Color – Do not use color as the only way to convey information. Video/Multimedia – Caption your video content, or provide a transcript. Audio – Provide a transcript. File types – Choose appropriate file types, and use HTML whenever possible.
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Web Accessibility Standards 2.0
HTML markup – A state agency web page must use HTML markup tags according to industry standards. [1.1]
Forms – Forms designed to be completed online and other interactive elements must be accessible by people using assistive technology. [1.5]
Text Equivalents – A state agency web page must provide a text equivalent for every non-text element. [3.1]
Multimedia – A state agency web page must provide synchronized auditory and readable text descriptions of the important information on the visual track of a multimedia presentation. [3.2]
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Web Accessibility Standards 2.0(continued)
Audio – A state agency web page must provide a text equivalent for information provided in audio format. [3.3]
Color – A state agency must ensure that the use and selection of color do not affect the information conveyed on a page. [3.5]
Document File Formats – All information published on a state agency web page must be published in HTML, whenever possible, to eliminate the need for additional software. [4.1]
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Web Accessibility Standards 2.0(continued)
File Size Optimization – A state agency must optimize files to improve download time. [5.1]
Web Accessibility Statement – A state agency web site must provide a link to a web accessibility statement. [6.1]
Website Validation – A state agency must validate web content against these Standards prior to posting and at regular intervals after posting. [7.1]
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Choosing file types: open, accessible, and usable
Open – Open standards are specifications for systems that are publicly available, developed by an open community, and affirmed by a standards body. HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is an example of an open standard.
Accessible – Web accessibility refers to the practice of making web pages accessible to all users, including those with disabilities, including all kinds of limitations (low vision, color blindness, inability to use a pointing device).
Usable – The extent to which a product achieves specified goals with effectiveness, efficiency, and satisfaction in a specified context of use.
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Document file formats Some reasons agencies give for publishing in a
document format, rather than HTML/XML include:
Ease of maintenance. Laws, regulations, reports, legal documents and charts that require consistent formatting can be processed more efficiently if published directly to the web in their original format.
Ease of printing. Some documents, particularly long documents, are more likely to be read off-line, and it makes sense to make them available in a document format that ensures consistent presentation.
Accuracy. Some documents, such as those that include dosage information, require consistent formatting in order to ensure accurate information dissemination. These may use superscripts or subscripts that may not display properly in a more browser-friendly format.
Document purpose. Some materials are meant primarily for marketing/printing. Examples include the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program posters, which are available in 9 languages, and employment posters required by law.
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Best Practices
To publish content that is as open, accessible, and usable as possible:
Establish business processes to ensure a legitimate business need for publishing documents in a format other than HTML. Ensure that all documents are created to maximize accessibility. Publish an alternate HTML version of all document files, where possible. Publish an RTF version of PDF or PowerPoint files. Publish a DOC version if the RTF file size is excessively large. Publish a summary page in HTML that provides links to the document
file(s). Doing this well requires a centralized, empowered web governance structure.
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Accessibility Checking Tools
Firefox Browser
Firefox Add-Ons:
1. Web Developer Toolbar
2. Accessibility Toolbar
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Accessibility Checking Tools
Document Structure Check – Headings
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Accessibility Checking Tools
Meaningful-Link Check
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Accessibility Checking Tools
Meaningful “Alt Text” Check
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Accessibility Checking Tools
Color Contrast Check
