HTML code semantics, forms, tables, Use CSS, Tabbed navigation, Colour contrast, WAI-ARIA attributes. HTML code semantics Following HTML code semantics is fundamental in making your web applications accessible because assistive technologies, like screen readers, rely on the code to transmit the correct information to the user. Forms are communly inaccurate due to a lack of the label [...]
Here are the main things to think about when designing a website: Maintain a design and layout consistency throughout the site, Avoid clutter, Include written transcript for any audio and visual media, Avoid multiple level menus. Do not have more than two levels, Include a sitemap when your site has embed pages, Avoid making the [...]
This assessment is very simplistic and constitutes a basic preliminary review. It is not comprehensive nor exhaustive. I chose themes from the Free Theme Directory and searched for Web Accessible and Accessibility. I narrowed my selection by considering which theme would be easily customizable, have good contrast between foreground and background, have elements in a [...]
The secret of the “em” is proportions. Keeping the appropriate proportions regardless of the size. Let’s use font-sizes as an example. First, set a parent font-size as an absolute measurement. Let’s say 16 pixels in the body. All subsequent sizes use the following formula: child pixels/parent pixels = child ems. So if you want an [...]
The main consensus is to avoid them. Why you say? Well because it’s not necessary. If you really want to open a link in another tab or window, you can do it yourself: In Firefox, hover over the link you want to access, right-click your mouse to get a menu and click on “Open Link [...]
Websites dedicated to online awareness and magazines alike are pushing more and more the importance of Web Standards. Sites like A List Apart has been an advocate for Web Standards and Web Accessibility for years. WordPress, Joomla and other content management systems have embraced the principles of accessibility. Forums like Accessifyforum have also seen increased [...]
Lists can be tricky, but as long as you keep a consistent structure and the correct sequence, lists are a piece of cake. Here are the basics to remember: Make your menus into unordered lists, Place the list inside a div, Have an H2 header with menu title (hide it if not need to be [...]
The W3C has extensive information on how to properly evaluation a sites accessibility. Here are the underlining steps to ensure that your evaluation is full-proof: For a preliminary review, select a page that is representative of the whole site or that most people will see. Try to choose a page that has tabular data, images [...]
Did you know that according to Statistics Canada in 2006 there was 1,289,420 Canadians with a hearing impairment, 835,960 Canadians with a seeing impairment, 2,856,820 Canadians with an agility impairment, and 752,110 Canadians with a learning impairment. In every case, around 70% of these Canadians said that they had used the Internet in the past [...]
Don’t you just love Firefox add-ons. I do! Especially because they make my life easier. As a developer it is important to have a feel for what the user is getting out of your site. I found a good way to use a screen reader on any operating system (OS) without paying a dime. I [...]
Ok so Canada does not have the national equivalent to the United States section 508. But if you want to know what they recommend you can read their Common Look and Feel standards for the Internet documentation. Obviously the information is for government and public sector websites, but it could be useful to get another [...]
Sure accessibility guidelines are designed to help people with disabilities access the web, but it extends to more than just them. I am talking about the elderly, people with low literacy or little fluency in the language the site is made, people that have dial-up or a low bandwidth connection, and even new or infrequent [...]
