Introduction to Web Accessibility

What is Web Accessibility Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the Web Disabilities including  Visual  Auditory  Physical  Speech  Cognitive  Neurological  Aging-related conditions

Experiences of Students with Disabilities The students in the following videos (1, 2) share some of their experiences with the web and accessibility.12

How People with Disabilities Using the Web Alternative keyboards or switches Braille and refreshable braille Scanning software Screen magnifiers Screen readers videovideo Speech recognition

How People with Disabilities Using the Web (cont) Speech synthesis Tabbing through structural elements Text browsers Visual notification Voice browsers

Examples Blind – Audio description of a video Deaf – Captions accompanying audio Deaf & Blind – Text description of the audio and video to refreshable braille display Physical disability & Low vision – Speech input and speech output, and precise indicators of location and navigation.

Essential Components of Web Accessibility content - the information in a Web page or Web application, including:  natural information such as text, images, and sounds  code or markup that defines structure, presentation, etc. Web browsers, media players, and other "user agents" assistive technology, in some cases - screen readers, alternative keyboards, switches, scanning software, etc.

Essential Components of Web Accessibility (cont) users' knowledge, experiences, and in some cases, adaptive strategies using the Web developers - designers, coders, authors, etc., including developers with disabilities and users who contribute content authoring tools - software that creates Web sites evaluation tools - Web accessibility evaluation tools, HTML validators, CSS validators, etc.

How the Components Relate Web developers usually use authoring tools and evaluation tools to create Web content. People ("users") use Web browsers, media players, assistive technologies, or other "user agents" to get and interact with the content.

Interdependencies Between Components There are significant interdependencies between the components; that is, the components must work together in order for the Web to be accessible. When accessibility features are effectively implemented in one component, the other components are more likely to implement them.

Guidelines for Different Components The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) develops Web accessibility guidelines for the different components.W3CWAI

Guidelines for Different Components (cont) Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) addresses authoring tools Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) addresses Web content, and is used by developers, authoring tools, and accessibility evaluation tools Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) addresses Web browsers and media players, including some aspects of assistive technologies User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG)

Accessibility Policy Section 508 Guidelines Learn by examples

Blank image for skiping the navigation ALT text for Images conveying important information ALT text for a decorative image  Alt = “”; not Alt = “ ” ALT text for image maps Heading markup Appropriate link labels

Learn by examplesLearn by examples (cont) Accessible Audio content - transcript is provided Avoid using color to convey information Use Label Tag to associate Form Fields  Name (first,last)*:  No Flashing Text

Learn by examplesLearn by examples (cont) Accessible PDFs  Text based instead Scanned Image type PDF  Providng links to plug-ins & add-on programs Accessible multimedia content – captioned video Use table headers Accessible tables 

Learn by examplesLearn by examples (cont) Using 'D-link' to describe images The convention is to place a single "d" near the image that is linked to a separate page containing a description of the image. D

10 Quick Tips 1. Images & animations: Use the alt attribute to describe the function of each visual. Images & animations 2. Image maps. Use the client-side map and text for hotspots.client-side maptext for hotspots 3. Multimedia. Provide captioning and transcripts of audio, and descriptions of video.captioning and transcripts of audiodescriptions of video

10 Quick Tips (cont) 4. Hypertext links. Use text that makes sense when read out of context. For example, avoid "click here." Hypertext links 5. Page organization. Use headings, lists, and consistent structure. Use CSS for layout and style where possible. Page organizationheadingslistsCSS 6. Graphs & charts. Summarize or use the longdesc attribute. longdesc

10 Quick Tips (cont) 6. Scripts, applets, & plug-ins. Provide alternative content in case active features are inaccessible or unsupported. alternative content 7. Frames. Use the noframes element and meaningful titles.titles 8. Tables. Make line-by-line reading sensible. Summarize. Tables 9. Check your work. Validate. Use tools, checklist, and guidelines at Check your workValidate

References Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)

Different things to different people... When talking about the World Wide Web, the term ‘accessibility’ means different things to different people. It depends on:  Who you are;  What you do;  What you use;  Your environment; and  Your society.

A blind user… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Access to certain banks, home shopping, news, dictionaries, travel agents, etc… But, only those which:  work with my screen-reader (assistive technology);  provide additional information to cover the fact that I cannot take in purely visual information.”

A blind user… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Access to certain banks, home shopping, news, dictionaries, travel agents, etc… Those which:  work with my assistive technology;  provide additional information to cover the fact that I cannot take in purely visual information.” “Technical Accessibility”

A user with epilepsy… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Confidence that a web page does not contain harmful flashing content.”

A user with epilepsy… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Confidence, that a web page does not contain harmful flashing content.” “Health & Safety”

An elderly user… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Being able to increase the text size in a page; Consistent navigation which allows me to remember my way around; Provision of a site map or table of contents.”

An elderly user… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Being able to increase the text size; Remembering my way around; Provision of a site map or table of contents.” “User considerations”

A non-disabled user… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Less irritating websites – without pop-ups; Faster loading times; The possibility to use my PDA to view pages.

A non-disabled user… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Less irritating websites – without pop-ups; Faster loading times; The possibility to use my PDA to view pages. “Better User Experience”

Internet Software Developers “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Valid code: as mistakes are removed at the authoring stage. More time for other things: The time spent ‘correcting’ poor code could be spent on support for new technologies.” User Agents, Assistive Technologies, Accessibility evaluation software, etc…

Internet Software Developers “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Valid code: as mistakes are removed at the authoring stage. More time for other things: The time spent ‘correcting’ poor code could be spent on support for new technologies.” “Valid Code” User Agents, Assistive Technologies, Accessibility evaluation software, etc…

A Website Owner… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Legal responsibility; WCAG 1.0; Possible decision on which level of WCAG 1.0; Implementing WCAG 1.0; Staff training; Maintaining chosen level of accessibility.” Public Websites, Websites which provide goods and services, etc…

A Website Owner… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Accepting the fact that people with disabilities will use the website; Deciding which level of WCAG 1.0; Implementing WCAG 1.0 Staff training; Maintaining chosen level of accessibility. “Conformance to WCAG 1.0” Public Websites, Websites which provide goods and services, etc…

Procurement Manager… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Incorporating ‘accessibility’ into all tenders and contracts: Precise technical specifications; Evaluation procedures for assessing the ‘accessibility’ of delivered products, either internally or by a third-party.

Procurement Manager… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Incorporating ‘accessibility’ into all tenders and contracts: Precise technical specifications; Evaluation procedures for assessing the ‘accessibility’ of delivered products, either internally or by a third-party. “Precise definition of accessibility & an evaluation mechanism”

Web Designer / Developer… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Understanding WCAG 1.0; Understanding and applying supporting WCAG techniques. Identifying tools which help me (the developer) to generate WCAG conformant content – minimizing development time. Making web content which works on different platforms and in different browsers Evaluating finished content using tools and WAI checklists.”

Web Designer / Developer… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Understanding WCAG 1.0; Understanding and applying supporting WCAG techniques. Identifying tools which help me (the developer) to generate WCAG conformant content – minimizing development time. Making web content which works on different platforms and in different browsers Evaluating finished content using tools and WAI checklists.” “Techniques & Tools”

Lawyer… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Understanding legislation to determine people’s rights and duties; Seeking independent advice about what is ‘reasonable’ in terms of accessibility. Using accessibility experts to evaluate whether or not a reasonable level of “accessibility” has been provided; When defending a client who’s being sued for an “inaccessible” Website, or suing the owner of an “inaccessible” Website.

Lawyer… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Understanding legislation to determine people’s rights and duties; Seeking independent advice about what is ‘reasonable’ in terms of accessibility. Using accessibility experts to evaluate whether or not a reasonable level of “accessibility” has been provided; When defending a client who’s being sued for an “inaccessible” Website, or suing the owner of an “inaccessible” Website. “Independent Expert Advice”

Disability Rights Group “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Equalisation of opportunities; Universal adoption of standards;

Disability Rights Group “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Equalisation of opportunities; Universal adoption of standards; “Equalisation of Opportunities”

Politician… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Making a more inclusive society through policy; Setting standards & benchmarks; Promoting the widespread adoption and use of guidelines; Measuring progress and showing visible results.

Politician… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… Making a more inclusive society through policy; Setting standards & benchmarks; Promoting the widespread adoption and use of guidelines; Measuring progress and showing visible results. “Visible sign of accessibility adoption”

All these things are related… Conformance to WCAG 1.0 Technical accessibility Health & safety User considerations Better user experience Valid code Tools & techniques Precise definition of accessibility & an evaluation mechanism Independent expert advice Equalisation of opportunities Visible signs of accessibility adoption

Conformance to WCAG 1.0 Technical accessibility Health & safety User considerations Better user experience Valid code Tools & techniques Precise definition of accessibility & an evaluation mechanism Independent expert advice Equalisation of opportunities Visible signs of accessibility adoption Through… Adoption of W3C / WAI Recommendations European e- Accessibility Implementation Policies &

Conclusion …as they are all valuable parts of Europe’s strategy for ‘Web Accessibility’. Making, the World Wide Web far more ‘accessible’ for everyone…