Web Accessibility Breaking Down Barriers David Holstius Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities Michigan State University September 27, 2001

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Web Accessibility “Maximizing the ability of users to access information, services, and resources.”

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Web Accessibility “Maximizing the ability of users to access information, services, and resources.”

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Web Accessibility “Maximizing the ability of users to access information, services, and resources.”

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Web Accessibility “Maximizing the ability of users to access information, services, and resources.”

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Questions Why is web accessibility important? Is it reachable? What are the benefits? What are some specific examples? Where can I learn more?

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” The One URL You Must Know

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” How Do We Start? Education is key Sign up for a class! –LCTTP Seminar: “Web Accessibility” –3 hours –Hands-on exercises –Guidelines – tools – practices – Q & A Explore online resources

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Who’s Who World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) WebAIMWebAble! TRACE Center (U-Wisc)

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” W3C / WAI W3C: Standards body for the Web Acronym Soup: –W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) –WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) –WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Guidelines May 1999: WCAG 1.0 –14-point recommendation –Foundation for most other initiatives –WCAG 2.0 in draft Section 508 –Federal Independent guidelines

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” “Gold Star” Accessibility Guidelines -> Checkpoints -> Priorities

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” “Gold Star” Accessibility Guidelines -> Checkpoints -> Priorities Bobby Approved!

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Further Into WCAG Getting Started Getting Started Fact Sheet Fact Sheet Guidelines: v1.0 | v2.0 (Draft) v1.0v2.0 (Draft)v1.0v2.0 (Draft) Checklist Techniques Resources CurriculumCurriculum (slide-show) Curriculum

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Summary: Guidelines WCAG: W3C, foundational 508: Federal, may carry legal weight Independent: Corporate, university, etc.

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” DO I HAVE TO READ THESE??? Well… automated tools exist: –Bobby Bobby –The WAVE The WAVEThe WAVE –Dreamweaver Design tools => greater incorporation (ATAG)

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Accessibility Requires A Human Effort because…

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Accessibility Requires A Human Effort because… It’s not just about code.

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Accessibility Requires A Human Effort because… It’s not just about code. Computers can check code.

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Accessibility Requires A Human Effort because… It’s not just about code. Computers can check code. We need people to design.

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Universal Design Diversity of web users Skills and preferences Power and choice => users

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Example: ALT Text Supposed to be “equivalent” –Descriptive? –Functional? –Summarizing? Only humans can decide

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” We Need People to: Make sure the same content is available in different formats Make sure it is understandable and clear Check the actual experience, reading order, etc. In other words – is it usable?

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” What Else? Validate HTML Test in different browsers –Lynx, Older IE/Netscape, Home Page Reader Lots of browsers, lots of situations

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Whom Are We Helping? Persons with functional limitations –Visual –Mobility –Cognitive –Hearing Persons using alternative browsers alternative browsersalternative browsers –PDAs; mobile phones; kiosks

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Visual Barriers Unreadable content (size/color) Dependence on graphics Poorly designed pages, tables, & forms –Linear reading order –“Soda-straw”

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Mobility Barriers Small “click” targets Device-dependence –vs. multimodality Not enough time to respond

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Cognitive Barriers Difficult navigation Inconsistent layouts Unclear/dense wording

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Hearing Barriers Uncaptioned audio Audio cues

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Visual Enhancements Resizable layouts Meaningful ALT text –Indexed by machines as well Well-structured tables, forms

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Mobility Enhancements Keyboard compatibility Control over redirects Accessible embedded UIs Reasonable navigation

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Cognitive Enhancements Search engine (!) –“Elevators and stairs” Consistency in layouts Multimedia (!) Clear and concise writing

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Hearing Enhancements Captioning (MAGPIE) Text equivalents, transcripts

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Key: Flexibility Not about “text-only” –JavaScript menus? Sure! –RealVideo lectures? Yes! Because: –Everyone may have a functional limitation –Everyone has different skills and preferences

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Situational Equivalence Visual = poor lighting / small display Mobility = no mouse Cognitive = distractions Hearing = noisy environment

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Implication Accessibility can be helping anyone at any time.

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Summary Maximizing ability Importance of education (take a class!) W3C; WAI; Guidelines Automatic tools Universal Design Audiences: barriers, fixes, situations

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Frequently Asked Questions Are PDF files accessible? –access.adobe.com Can Flash/Java/JavaScript be accessible? –Can be more accessible Do I need a database/XML-driven site? – Can I use tables for layout? –CSS-P

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Again, that ONE URL is: Brochures – Articles – Links – Resources Presentations – Examples – News Course Sign-up – Contact Info

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” WCAG: Fourteen Guidelines PresentationInteractionComprehensionCompatibility

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” 1. Equivalents Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content. –Text = universal –Doesn’t mean “no pictures!” –Alternatives to text

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” 2. Color Don’t rely on color alone. –Allow for sufficient contrast –“All items in red are on sale”

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” 3. Markup and Style Use markup and style sheets and do so properly. –CSS –Markup abuse –Headers and lists –validator.w3.org

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” 4. Language Clarify natural language usage –Identify –Alert to changes –Acronyms

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” 5. Tables Create tables that transform gracefully –Screen readers, PDAs, etc. –Linearization

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” 6. Compatibility Ensure that pages featuring new technologies transform gracefully –Scripting –Style sheets –NOFRAMES, NOSCRIPT –Plugins

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” 7. Movement Ensure user control of time-sensitive content changes –Auto-refreshing –Redirects –Flickering, blinking –Scrolling

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” 8. Embedding Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces –Java applets –Scripts

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” 9. Interoperability Design for device-independence –Multimodality vs. multimedia –Inputs –Outputs

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” 10. In the Meantime… Use interim solutions –“Until user agents…” –“D” links –Positioning of form labels –Delimiters between links

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” 11. W3C Technologies Use W3C technologies and guidelines –CSS, XHTML, etc. –Avoid deprecated features

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” 12. Orientation Provide context and orientation information –Titling frames –Content chunking –Navigational clues

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” 13. Navigation Provide clear navigation mechanisms –“Click here!” –Navigation bars –Search, sitemap, etc. –Metadata

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” 14. Simplicity Ensure that documents are clear and simple –Consistent layouts –Clear, concise writing

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Summary: 14 Guidelines Created by W3C WCAG: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Guidelines – checkpoints – priorities Foundational

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Summary: 4 Principles PresentationInteractionComprehensionCompatibility

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Summary: Benefits Persons with functional limitations –Disabilities –Situations –Preferences IndexingTransformation

David Holstius September 27, 2001 “Web Accessibility” Further Resources Online –W3C –WebAIM –WebAble! LCTTP Seminar: “Web Accessibility”