Download - Accessibility Demystified: What You Don't Know May Hurt You

Accessibility Demystified:What you don’t know can hurt you.

#csuc13 @hannon_hill@kelliPhoReal

Goals

● Understand ○ what web accessibility means○ why web accessibility is important

● Learn ○ common web accessibility issues ○ quick remedies

● Gain ○ basic web accessibility principles○ appreciation for web accessibility


Web Accessibility Defined

Web Accessibility refers to the inclusive practice of making websites usable by people of all abilities and disabilities.

- Wikipedia (Updated on 13 Aug 2013)


Myths

Web accessibility is:● for people with disabilities.● only affect a small group of people.● hard.


Myth #1:

Web accessibility is for people with disabilities.

Truth:

It is about making the web easy to use for:● People with impairments● Different Environments● Mobile Devices● Elderly


Myth #2:

Web accessibility only affects a small group of people.

Truth:● 1.2+ billion people use mobile Internet● 80%+ of adults (16-34) use mobile Internet● 77% of people above 65 are online● Add disabilities statistics


Myth #3:

Web accessibility is hard.

Truth:

Web accessibility is not hard. It just takes some compassion and consideration.


Types of Limitations

● Visual● Hearing● Motor● Cognitive● Seizures


Visual

Examples:● Blindness● Poor vision● Color blindness

Assistive Technologies:● Screen readers● Braille displays● Screen magnifiers


Hearing

Examples:● Hard of hearing● Deafness

Assistive Technologies:● Hearing aids● Captions● Transcription


Motor

Examples:

• Plegia (partial paralysis) or Paralysis

• Loss of limbs

• Arthritis• Parkinson’s Disease

Assistive Technologies:● Pointing and typing

aids● Eyeball tracking

devices● Touch screens


Cognitive

Examples:

• Cerebral Palsy

• Autism

• ADHD• Down Syndrome


Seizures

Examples:● Partial or generalized


Accessibility Statistics

U.S. Census Bureau (2010):

• 56.7 million had a disability

• 38.3 million had a severe disability



Microsoft Research Study (2003):

• Ratio amongst computer userso 1 in 4 has a vision difficultyo 1 in 4 has dexterity difficultyo 1 in 5 has a hearing difficulty



What does this translate to in numbers?● Visual Difficulty or Impairment

○ Mild: 21.9 million○ Severe: 11.1 million

● Dexterity Difficulty or Impairment○ Mild: 24.4 million○ Severe: 6.8 million

● Hearing Difficulty or Impairment○ Mild: 24 million○ Severe: 2.5 million


Additional Facts:

• 43% of US adults with disabilities uses the Internet

• 15% of the world's population have some form of disability

• Disability rates are increasing


What’s the problem?

● Techniques● Designs● Implementation


Why should you care?


It’s RIGHT!

● Ethically● Morally


It’s SMART!

• Economicallyo Larger audienceo Lower site maintenance costo Reduce legal risks/costs

• Designwiseo Good design principleso Responsive design and emerging technologieso Search engine friendly


It’s the Law!

• Americans with Disabilities Act

• Rehabilitation Act o Section 504o Section 508

• Telecommunications Acto Section 255


It’s the Law!

• Canadian Human Rights

• Ontarians with Disabilities Act

• Common Look and Feel Standards

• Bill 118 2004


Case StudiesLitigations and Settlements

Target

vs. National Federation of the Blind● Lack of alternative texts on product images● $6 million settlement● Additional cost litigation costs


Florida State University

vs. National Federation of the Blind● Lack of accessible technology resulted to

incompletable academic courses● $75,000 settlement per student (2)● Commits to continued effort to come to

standards


So many more!

• Penn State University

• Arizona State University

• California Law Schools

• Disney

• Major League of Baseball (MLB)

• Bank of America

• Netflix

• Amazon


Where to start?

1. Identify and remedy potential issues

2. Develop implementation plan

3. Educate and maintain


Common Issues

Alternative Text Attributes


Audio and Visual Media


Color Contrast


Common Problems

● Heading elements○ Order heading elements properly

● Link texts○ Unique○ Descriptive○ Avoid “Click Here”

● Tab navigation○ Skip to main content

● JavaScript ○ Use event handlers appropriately


Common Problems

● Forms○ All fields are properly labeled○ Recoverable from errors

● Flashing/blinking text or images○ Don’t

● HTML without CSS/JavaScript○ Ensure that site functions properly and content is still

accessible without CSS/JavaScript


Resources

• Screen reader emulators:o Firefox: FANGSo Chrome: ChromeVoxo Built-in screen reader (Mac OS X)

• Text-browsero Lynx

• Free automated validatorso WAVE (WebAIM)


More on Web Accessibility

Rick Hill of UC Davis● “Creating More Accessible Content”● 3:15pm - 4:00pm● More technical, in-depth


Questions?Q&A