Video to be posted soon…
Session 212: Creating Accessible Web Sites
Sharon Mone & Josh Lee
The speed of change in the world.
Changes in how we get our news and other information.
The internet
Disabilities and access to news and information
Web Sites: Importance in today’s world.
Barriers to use for people with disabilities
Accessibility: Guidelines, policy, and law
Guidelines: POUR
Perceivable
Operable
Understandable
Robust
Principles of Accessible Design:
Images: alt text tag; put image in background, using CSS, so doesn’t interrupt HTML flow
Josh presented and explained sample html source code for examples.
Headings for data tables; CSS is better option for tabular info.
Ensure users can complete & submit all forms.. Try not to use Javascript.
Ensure links make sense out of context.
Caption and/or provide transcripts for media
Lay out pages to facilitate using screen readers.
Using anchor tags for elements to allow user to skip ahead.
Use Cascading Style Sheets
Don’t rely on color alone to convey meaning.
Content should be clearly written and easy to read.
Making Javascript accessible
“Progressive Enhancement” involves making the site work for everyone at the beginning. Then can add javascript features. And don’t use Flash.
Design to Standards: WWW Consortium publishes standards.
Can test accessibility of your site: Available testing web sites.
Wave.Webaim.org
Presentation was interspersed with questions for m audience, all of which were addressed by the presenters.
Popular Screenreaders: Most popular is Jaws, available at UVM.
Demonstrated site accessibility testing using WAVE.
Also, www.contentquality.com which also includes the standards for accessibility.