Consider this post to be the sequel to my 2012 post It’s OK to Use Tables. Here I will go into bit more detail based on the state of accessible efforts I see today. In that post I identified two scenarios I see frequently as a result of developers blindly following the don’t use tablesContinueContinue reading “Hey, It’s Still OK to Use Tables”
Author Archives: dnw
No Dice? No Problem: Web-Based Solutions for Tabletop Gamers
The saying is “an apple a day keeps the doctor away,” but for me, games are apples. Even if I only have time for a single Sudoku, I have to play something to maintain my mental health. And it’s not easy for disabled social gamers. Even if we manage to avoid ableism in our gaming groups, aContinueContinue reading “No Dice? No Problem: Web-Based Solutions for Tabletop Gamers”
Accessibility With Apple – Brave In The Attempt
… Apple continues to lead the way. In fact, every photo and video on their site is made accessible with captions for the hearing impaired (in multiple languages) and audio descriptions for those with visual impairments. Even basic features you like are accessible in ways you may not have considered. Consider the Apple Watch with taptic feedback for theContinueContinue reading “Accessibility With Apple – Brave In The Attempt”
Age and Ability
In the United States, the Revised Section 508 Standards went into effect on January 18, 2018, a year after the U.S. Access Board published the final rule of the updated Information and Communication Technology (ICT) Standards and Guidelines. The Revised 508 Standards, and the accompanying updates to Section 255 of the Communications Act, have transformedContinueContinue reading “Age and Ability”
30 Helpful Resources for Improving Mobile and Web Accessibility
Creating accessible apps and websites is everyone’s responsibility, from designers and content strategists to developers and testers. Adopting accessibility practices into your workflow will make accessibility an inherent part of your process, no matter your role, and ultimately lead to a better product. To help you create apps and sites that everyone can use, weContinueContinue reading “30 Helpful Resources for Improving Mobile and Web Accessibility”
Always Go To The Funeral : NPR
Just putting this here so I can find it later… Always go to the funeral. I believe in always going to the funeral. My father taught me that. The first time he said it directly to me, I was 16 and trying to get out of going to calling hours for Miss Emerson, my oldContinueContinue reading “Always Go To The Funeral : NPR”
OS: High Contrast versus Inverted Colors
There are different ways to make a web page more easy to read, but there are two options that come directly from the operating system that many developers and designers seem to confuse — high contrast and inverted colors. While the confusion may not be a big deal in most contexts, when talking about implementingContinueContinue reading “OS: High Contrast versus Inverted Colors”
Text Splitting Causes Screen Reader Problems – Axess Lab
I am a screen reader user, and I am annoyed! I repeatedly encounter the same problem on websites. It’s about text splitting up. Let me share my agony with you! … The solution: role=”text” We had a similar problem on our site with headings, but the solution I used will work for links as well.ContinueContinue reading “Text Splitting Causes Screen Reader Problems – Axess Lab”
Document Outlines in HTML 5.1
In one of my previous articles, Using Heading Elements to Create a Document Outline, I explained the importance of having valid outlines in an HTML page. The outline for an HTML document shows the structure of the content on the page. This is useful for user agents, who can use the outline to create, for example,ContinueContinue reading “Document Outlines in HTML 5.1”
Advocating for Accessible UI Design | CSS-Tricks
Accessibility is a hot topic these days, and the older we web-makers get, the hotter it’s going to become! That might be a snarky outlook, but what I’m trying to say is that it’s about time we start designing the web for everyone because the web was meant to be for everyone, and less and less areContinueContinue reading “Advocating for Accessible UI Design | CSS-Tricks”
African Designer Creates Clothing To Aid The Visually Impaired
… Clothes, most of which are designed for the average person, are visual objects. South African designer Balini Naidoo has an answer to this problem: Clothing that looks great from afar but also communicates meaning when touched. The clothes are mostly done in plain and neutral colors so that pieces easily work well with each other. Using embroidery,ContinueContinue reading “African Designer Creates Clothing To Aid The Visually Impaired”
NEW FEATURES IN WEB CONTENT ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES 2.1 AND WHAT YOU NEED TO DO
In January there was a recent update to the WCAG that introduced some changes in what’s expected of you as a developer to make your web content accessible. The majority of these are fairly obvious and straightforward, with some nice additions that enhance accessibility on smaller hand-held devices. Criterion Conformance Level 1.3.4 Identify Common Purpose AA 1.3.5ContinueContinue reading “NEW FEATURES IN WEB CONTENT ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES 2.1 AND WHAT YOU NEED TO DO”
Accessibility: Usability for all | Interaction Design Foundation
Let’s examine a topic we often take for granted to understand what it’s really about. Doing so, you’ll be able to proceed with a broader appreciation of how users engage your designs. … A design is only useful if it’s accessible to the user: any user, anywhere, anytime. We often mistake the concept of accessibility as involving people with disabilities. However, we’re all disabledContinueContinue reading “Accessibility: Usability for all | Interaction Design Foundation”
The math of CSS locks
A CSS lock is a Responsive Web Design technique that lets you transition smoothly between two values, depending on the current viewport size, rather than jump straight from one value to the other. … I found this technique in Tim’s article and, when I tried wrapping my head around it, and creating variants of it,ContinueContinue reading “The math of CSS locks”
Accessibility Masterlist
This MasterList is designed to serve as a resource for researchers, developers, students, and others interested in understanding or developing products that incorporate one or more of these features. Each feature or approach is then listed below along with applicable disabilities to each feature are marked with the following icons: B – Blindness (For ourContinueContinue reading “Accessibility Masterlist”
Accessible Dynamic Links
Although hyperlinks are the soul of the World Wide Web, it’s worth using them in moderation. Too many links becomes a barrier for visitors navigating their way through a page. This difficulty is multiplied when the visitor is using assistive technology, or is using a keyboard; being able to skip over a block of linksContinueContinue reading “Accessible Dynamic Links”
Accessibility Through Semantic HTML ◆ 24 ways
Working on Better, a tracker blocker, I spend an awful lot of my time with my nose in other people’s page sources. I’m mostly there looking for harmful tracking scripts, but often notice the HTML on some of the world’s most popular sites is in a sad state of neglect. What does neglected HTML look like?ContinueContinue reading “Accessibility Through Semantic HTML ◆ 24 ways”
Website Design: Inclusive Experiences Part 1 Visual: Colours and shapes
Why is accessibility important? In order for the consumer to have an overall positive experience, it is strongly recommended that your project is designed to be inclusive. If the right accessibility isn’t in place, it could exclude consumers who may struggle or even be unable to interact with the project. The information that will be covered inContinueContinue reading “Website Design: Inclusive Experiences Part 1 Visual: Colours and shapes”
Web Accessibility Testing Tools: The Practical Role of Automated Checkers
With the proliferation of actions taken against organizations with websites and web applications that are not perceivable and usable by someone with a vision, hearing, mobility and/or cognitive disabilities, it is only natural that institutions would respond by seeking out automated testing tools that can scan an entire web-based experience and report accessibility issues. AtContinueContinue reading “Web Accessibility Testing Tools: The Practical Role of Automated Checkers”
Small Tweaks That Can Make a Huge Impact on Your Website’s Accessibility | CSS-Tricks
For a beginner, accessibility can be daunting. With all of the best intentions in the world, the learning curve to developing compliant, fully accessible websites and apps is huge. It’s also hard to find the right advice, because it’s an ever-changing and increasingly crowded landscape. I’ve written this post to give you some tips onContinueContinue reading “Small Tweaks That Can Make a Huge Impact on Your Website’s Accessibility | CSS-Tricks”
The new guidelines in WCAG 2.1 explained
In the Summer of 2018, WCAG 2.0 will be updated to version 2.1 with new guidelines for making websites even more accessible. In this post I’ll try to give simple explanations of these guidelines along with thoughts and advice on how to follow them. … New guidelines in WCAG 2.1 Before explaining the new guidelinesContinueContinue reading “The new guidelines in WCAG 2.1 explained “
Web Accessibility 101: Design for All People, Not Most
Web Accessibility 101: Design for All People, Not Most B Web design is about accessibility. Most web designers aim to create products for the largest swath of people within their audience, casting their designs out like gaping nets to yield them the greatest influx of users. And while there’s logic to that design principle, itContinueContinue reading “Web Accessibility 101: Design for All People, Not Most”
Screen Sizes | Viewport Sizes and Pixel Densities for Popular Devices
We built screensiz.es to help you quickly find the screen specifications of the most popular devices and monitors currently on the market.The size data comes from Wikipedia, and for a better understanding of Pixel Density, check out this great post by Teehan+Lax.Our “popularity” guesstimates are derived from annualized monthly Google queries (from AdWords traffic estimator),ContinueContinue reading “Screen Sizes | Viewport Sizes and Pixel Densities for Popular Devices”
Microsoft, others spearheading a ‘smart cities’ initiative for everyone
Microsoft has teamed up with two organizations to make smart cities more accessible for everyone, including the disabled and elderly. The collaboration, announced in May, includes Microsoft, the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies (G3ict) and World Enabled, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the disabled. Its mission is simple: define the stateContinueContinue reading “Microsoft, others spearheading a ‘smart cities’ initiative for everyone”
Why Web Accessibility Is Important and How You Can Accomplish It
The Web and Internet in whole is an increasingly important resource in many aspects of our life which includes: education, employment, government, commerce, health care, recreation, and more. It is important that the Web be accessible to everyone in order to provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with disabilities. An accessible Web canContinueContinue reading “Why Web Accessibility Is Important and How You Can Accomplish It”
