Web Accessibility: Overview and Paths to Success

Editor's Notes

• #4: Describe background with accessibility and your role at Acquia and how it relates to accessibility Question - how did you get into accessibility? Rob a) learn on the job b) vision impaired member of UXPA
• #7: Design for disability, making things accessible Products, services, places, experiences Tied into “universal Design/Design for All” Making something in a way that it can be used by the largest number of people Only tangentially related to “usability”
• #8: Examples of sections of the community that need accessibility: Hearing impairment Dementia Arthritis, Attention Deficit Disorder Dyslexia For last bullet:Accessible websites enable people to make independent decisions, and provide greater opportunity for participation, interaction, education and employment.
• #9: Discuss temporarily disablement - broken wrist; eye infection, universal design - Universal Design is the design and composition of an environment so that it can be accessed, understood and used to the greatest extent possible by all people regardless of their age, size, ability or disability - humanist approach to product development
• #10: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Series of web accessibility guidelines published by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the main international standards organization for the Internet. WCAG standards come in 3 sizes (A, AA, AAA) https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/)  Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) The ADA is a civil rights law that prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities in all areas of public life, including jobs, schools, transportation, and all public and private places that are open to the general public. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (29 U.S.C. § 794 (d)) - public sector Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 - higher education Explain Difference between accessibility (broad concept, approach to design) ADA (top level US federal regulation), 508 compliance ( section from Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. § 794d), as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (P.L. 105-220) that covers accessibility requirements for technologies & comm platforms used by federal govt. https://www.w3.org/WAI/Policy/
• #12: Describe that developers and content creators/editors will each need to take separate actions for each of the guidelines we review in order to make the site compliant. This information will be covered in the checklists we send out after the webinar.
• #13: levels Level A: For Level A conformance (the minimum level of conformance), the Web page satisfies all the Level A Success Criteria, or a conforming alternate version is provided - starter pack of accesibility options Level AA: For Level AA conformance, the Web page satisfies all the Level A and Level AA Success Criteria, or a Level AA conforming alternate version is provided. - consists of the biggest and most prevalent barriers encountered by disabled users. Level AAA: For Level AAA conformance, the Web page satisfies all the Level A, Level AA and Level AAA Success Criteria, or a Level AAA conforming alternate version is provided - the most stringent level p some content can be rendered to this standard; no time limits for actions, sign language versions posted for all video content Goldilox rule
• #14: WCAG Design Principles Perceivable, e.g. Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. Operable Understandable Robust - Partner with your front end devs (Cal’s top ten tips page for web accessibility https://webaccess.berkeley.edu/resources/tips/web-accessibility) ongoing conversation about it Aesthetics and accessibility (common fear #2) - ReDeCheck - a tool to check accessibility failure points with responsive design Accessibility and micro interactions COMMON FEARS the fear of making having to make it accessible to everyone paralyzes the firm to invest no effort in accessibility at all the dictatorship of the aesthetic proletariat = making things accessible means all design and aesthetic considerations need to be abolished (if it doesn’t look like a nelson norman website from 1996 with 18 point type and blue hyperlinks, than forget it) LevelAccess https://www.levelaccess.com/ Has worked with AirBnB COMMON PRACTICES WW_D (What would ____ Do) copycat design (e.g. theological arguments if links need to be underlined or not) cannot rely on color alone to convey information Contrast checkers like NoCoffee deuteranopia & protanopia (red-green blindness)
• #16: Describe why manual testing may not be as necessary as it used to be - automated tools are more advanced
• #26: GAAD = May 21: Global Accessibility Awareness Day Universal Design Gather data on your customer (get a better undersanding of who they are and their need) Include accessibility info in personas Document what you do Do what you do on a schedule One bite at a time Video has its own considerations - e.g issues with auto play Partner with front end devs (see Cal’s top tips for web acessibility) https://webaccess.berkeley.edu/resources/tips/web-accessibility ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) attributes especially those developed with Ajax, JavaScript and more recent web technologies like Bootstrap Use checklists, include in definition of ready Test test test test test Evangelist team; but avoid the theological arguments
• #29: Need to follow A and AA standards