Web accessibility: An overview

Webcredible – user experience research & design 13 May 2009

Web accessibility:An overview

13 May 2010 | Trenton Moss


About WebcredibleUser experience consultancy

• Usability & accessibility testing

• User research & requirements gathering

• Information architecture

• User-centered design

• Usability & accessibility training


Agenda• True or false?• Accessibility requirements:

– Blind– Partially sighted– Motor impaired– Cognitive impaired

• Benefits of accessibility• Embedding accessibility internally


True or false?

True or false?


1. Websites should provide audio versions of pages for blind users

2. Sites should use a large font size

3. You can use as many images as you like on web pages

4. Separate text-only versions are beneficial

5. Making websites accessible is a UK legal requirement

6. Accessibility is all about how the site is coded

7. Accessibility can improve usability for everyone

True or false?True False

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Accessibility requirements




• Descriptive page title• Skip link(s)• Avoid accesskeys• Lists• Minimise noise• ALT text:

– Descriptive ALT text for informative images

– Null ALT text for decorative images• Headings (inc. invisible headings)• Descriptive links (front-loaded)

Blind users



• Resizable text• Visible font resizer• Text not embedded in images• Large headings• High contrast links• Different background colours used• Sufficient colour contrast

Partially sighted users



• Large link target• Focus state for links• Visible skip link

Motor impaired users


Accessibility requirementsCognitive impaired users• What’s the best tool?

• Why is Google’s tool good?

• How many tools does the article mention?


Accessibility requirementsCognitive impaired users• Descriptive headings• Front-load page content• 1 idea per paragraph & front-loaded• Lists used• Emboldened text• Descriptive link text• Left-aligned text• Clear & simple language


Benefits of accessibility

Benefits of accessibility


BenefitsWhy you should care...• Increase in reach to:

– 8.6m registered disabled people (14%; source: DRC)– 2m people with a sight problem (4%; source: RNIB)– 1 in 12 men and 1 in 200 women with colour

blindness (9%; source: IEE)– 12m people aged 60+ (21%; source: National

Statistics)• Better SEO & usability• It’s the done thing• It’s the law!


BenefitsThe law• UK (DDA)• Australia (DDA)• USA (ADA)• EU legislature


Testing for accessibility

Embedding accessibility internally


Embedding accessibilityRange of activities• Find your knight in shining armour• Raise awareness & knowledge:

– Awareness seminars– Training– Accessibility guidelines

• Ongoing testing:– Expert review (Web Accessibility Toolbar)– Automated testing– Disabled user testing


Trenton MossDirector

[email protected] 020 7423 6324

www.webcredible.co.uk/blog | www.webcredible.co.uk/articles | www.twitter.com/webcredible

Web accessibility: An overview

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