Accessibility Examples

[jerry62704]

I'm looking for a couple of pages that use accessibility (such as sect 508).

Any suggestions?

[jamesicus]

Originally Posted by jerry62704

I'm looking for a couple of pages that use accessibility (such as sect 508).

Any suggestions?

Fortunately many Web Developers are now incorporating Web Content Accessibility principles into all their pages - I do.

here is my Web Content Accessibility (WCA) reference page.

Accessibility pointers for those who do not wish to follow the above link:

Web developers do not need to change their design approach or methodology in order to produce Web pages that are WCA compliant. In fact, most existing pages can easily be made fully accessible with very little effort or change. Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are now used extensively for page layout, thereby separating content from presentation. However, pages should function as intended when Style Sheets are turned off or not usable as is often the case with old Browsers.

Things that Web Authors can do to enhance the Accessibility of their pages:

Provide descriptive text for reference images (meaningful description of what the image is and its purpose via the ALT attribute or adjacent text).
Structure pages utilizing header markup (use h1-h6 for section headings).
Provide a Site Map or List of internal page links.
Ensure links make sense out of context (natural language text descriptions - avoid "Click Here" or text within images).
Avoid duplication of Link text (for different anchors on the same page).
Insure that there is good contrast between text and background colors.
Use text that is large enough to be easily read by people with diminished vision.
Do not rely on color alone to convey meaning.
Employ punctuation that is compatible with screen reader usage.
Whenever possible use proportional, rather than absolute, sizing and dimensions (% and em rather than pixels).
Design to web standards (for interoperability, ease of maintenance, etc.).

Not providing meaningful alternative text for images is the most frequent Accessibility error committed by Web Authors, fortunately one that is easily corrected. Appropriate Use of Alternative Text by WebAIM is an excellent reference and guide for complying with this essential WCA requirement.

James

[jerry62704]

Looking at your page, it looks like I have a lot of reading to do.

Do you have any example sites that have already done it?

[jamesicus]

Originally Posted by jerry62704

Looking at your page, it looks like I have a lot of reading to do.

Do you have any example sites that have already done it?

My web sites and pages do.

Although the W3C cautions against relying on automatic checking of pages for Accessibility, the (Free) WAVE accessibility evaluation tool provides an excellent way to check pages for such accessibility requirements as correct structure (H1-H6), alternate text for images, missing form labels, links without text ..... etc. Here are the WAVE check results for my site pages

There is a provision to disable (and re-enable) styles so that you can see how pages render in screen readers and textual Browsers (substituting alternate text for images of course).

You might want to check your own pages.

I haven't checked around the web recently but all US Federal Agencies sites and pages have to be "section 508" compliant - US Government Access Board Guide to the Section 508. I believe the US Justice Department is on point for enforcement.

You might check some random sites/pages.

James

[jerry62704]

Thanks! A very interesting place. My site had a couple of problems (will be fixed tonight) and some false positives like the "form" to display the time.

I haven't added a skip content section, but now I might.

[Fumigator]

I found an annoying thing with the latest Firefox version-- a button that has been styled using CSS loses the blue outline that indicates focus. I believe it's the border attribute that's killing it. I haven't found a solution yet. Pretty annoying, since I tend to use the keyboard about half the time to submit forms.