Accessibility Guidelines
Recently, we were asked about accessibility guidelines. In case other people have similar questions I’ve created a summary here.
The accessibility guidelines are guidelines put forward by W3C (World Wide Web Consortium). For those unaware of W3C, they are a non-profit organisation whose mission statement is to “develop interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the Web to its full potential”.
These guidelines explain how to make Web content accessible to people including those with disabilities and are intended for all Web content developers (page authors and site designers). For example, a blind person may use a system to access web content via an audio interface which will interpret web navigation in a different or unexpected way in comparison to a web browser such as Firefox or Internet Explorer. In the case of an image a textual alternative would assist blind readers.
There are different levels of accessibility. Conformance level Double-A (or AA) of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 includes all Priority 1 and Priority 2 checkpoints defined in their Guidelines. Conformance level Triple-A (or AAA) includes all Priority 3 checkpoints.
The full list of guidelines is:
1. Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content.
For example, provide textual content when displaying images, audio or video.
2. Don’t rely on colour alone.
If people cannot distinguish between colours this will hinder their access to content.
3. Use markup and style sheets and do so properly.
Incorrect markup will hinder how people can access content.
4. Clarify natural language usage.
Specify what language the content uses so that search engines and speech synthesizers are given clear instructions.
5. Create tables that transform gracefully.
Avoid using them to present content. They should only be used to present tabular information such as spreadsheet cells.
6. Ensure that pages featuring new technologies transform gracefully.
Some browsers have scripts turned off so content that uses Javascript to display information should be able to function with Javascript turned off.
7. Ensure user control of time-sensitive content changes.
The content panel on the front of the Abraxor website has content that changes with time. However, as some people may read faster or slower than the rate being used to rotate these content panels, people can control the content changes by clicking through to or hovering over the content they wish to see.
8. Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces.
9. Design for device-independence.
These days content can be accessed via mobile phones, gaming consoles and projectors.
10. Use interim solutions.
For example, until users have browsers that can disable popups web content creators should avoid the use of popups and use an alternative solution.
11. Use W3C technologies and guidelines.
W3C specifications are developed in an open, industry consensus process.
12. Provide context and orientation information.
Ensure pages are clearly structured and easy to understand.
13. Provide clear navigation mechanisms.
Drop down menus can sometimes be confusing as the information is hidden away in the menu until the user hovers or clicks on the menu item.
14. Ensure that documents are clear and simple.
Keep content as simple as possible for the site.
The full article is available here: W3C WAI Accessibility Guidelines.
In addition, a very useful Techniques document provides clear information for the use of web content designers and developers and this can be found here: W3C WAI Techniques.
Also, this article covers the Level Double-A Conformance: Level Double-A Conformance