Getting Started With Web Accessibility

Learn about the core ideas of making your website more accessible. Tips and Tricks for Managers and Developers, side by side.

Transcript

1. @seanyo SeanYo.ca sean.yo@uoguelph.ca Getting Started with Web Accessibility
2. What is Web Accessibility? Web accessibility refers to the practice of making websites usable by people of all abilities and disabilities. When sites are correctly designed developed and edited all users can have equal access to information and functionality. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_accessibility
3. Web Accessibility Barriers Diversity of Abilities Auditory Speech Cognitive and Neurological Physical/Motor Visual 5 5 4 4 3 3 2 2 1 1
4. Why Be Accessible?
5. Why Web Accessibility Makes Sense More People on Your Website Be Awesome Better Code Be Awesome It’s the law or it will be Do The Right Thing More Aging Visitors Google Will Love You Easier to Maintain
6. Why Be Accessible?
7. Why Have a Website?
8. To Connect With People
9. User Experience
10. Accessibility Experience
11. People Have Experiences Checklists Don’t
12. Web Accessibility Principles
13. The Only One That Matters
14. Principles of Accessibility AODA • Independence • Dignity • Integration • Equality of opportunity
15. Principles of Accessibility W3C • Perceivable • Operable • Understandable • Robust
16. Understading Web Accessibility For Managers & Developers
17. Automated Tools and Best Practices Accessibility is Simple • Lots of great, free tools to measure accessibility • Lots of great, free info & recommendations • Using web standards is good for accessibility • Tools: WAVE, FAE, TAW, FANGS, NVDA • Info: WAI, WCAG, WebAIM, WaSP • Use valid, semantic code - Even better, use a CMS
18. Accessibility is Complicated • How to measure accessibility? • Automated testing needs user testing • Websites are not fire &forget – they are a process • Which Standard? WCAG, 508, AODA • Lots of platforms: IE, Gecko, Webkit + Mobile • Content will change & break accessibility No Single Path
19. The Best Stuff is Open & Free Accessibility is Cheap • Being accessible improves search rankings • Google is a Screen Reader • CMS tools are a strong investment – Open & free • The best tools are Open & free • Development best practices are Open & free • CMS tools can automated compliance : alt tags
20. You’re only as Accessible as your last a11y bug… Accessibility is Expensive • Passing a checklist doesn’t make a site accessible • Accessibility is challenging and doesn’t end • Leaving it to the end is costly – in time and money • Web development is a mature profession • Accessibility is a critical dimension of webdev • A11y is expensive to retrofit, like schemas & security
21. Accessibility is Cheap & Simple…
22. …When Finding Problems
23. Accessibility is Complicated and Expensive…
24. …When Fixing Accessibility Problems
25. Accessibility for Management
26. Plan for Accessibility From the Beginning
27. Most errors are introduced during requirements analysis and design. The later they are removed, the most expensive it is to take them out. Boehm et al (1975): “Some Experience with Automated Aids to the Design of Large-Scale Reliable Software.” Diagram Source: http://blogs.windriver.com/vxworks/device-management/
28. Accessibility is not an option. An inaccessible website is incomplete.
29. A vendor claiming a product is accessible does not make it accessible.
30. Avoid Assumptions About Your Audience
31. Count on Text Provide Alternatives in Text
32. Don’t take control of your visitor’s experience
33. Use Clear Language
34. Testing Is Hard Real People Different Needs Assistive Technology
35. Accessibility for Developers
36. Be Usable, Searchable and Navigable
37. Be Semantic
38. Separate Content & Presentation
39. Progressive Enhancement is the new graceful degredation
40. Do Periodic A11y Sanity Testing Turn off CSS All Alt Text in Place Test with FANGS/Screen Reader
41. Testing Is Fun Real People Different Needs Assistive Technology
42. Connect With Me Sean Yo BAh MA Web Analyst University of Guelph @seanyo seanyo.ca sean.yo@uoguelph.ca Sean Yo BAh MA Web Analyst University of Guelph @seanyo seanyo.ca sean.yo@uoguelph.ca Find links to these slides at seanyo.ca, as well as other presentations on Web Accessibility