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Web Axe - Practical Web Design Accessibility Tips - Podcast and Blog

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Practical web design accessibility tips. Podcast and blog with tips and techniques for creating accessible web sites.
URL: http://webaxe.blogspot.com/
Updated: 7 hours 14 sec ago

Link Roundup - August 2010

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 17:44


Accessibility in .Net Mag Awards

Tue, 08/31/2010 - 08:52
Two nominations directly related to web accessibility appeared in the .net magazine's 2010 Best of the Web awards. This site, Web Axe, was nominated for "Podcast of the Year" and Accessible Twitter was nominated for "Best API Use". Please make your vote and support the importance of web accessibility and the efforts of these two services!

On October 20, nominations for each category will be reduced to three. A panel of over 100 judges will choose the final winners and will be announced on November 19.


Podcast #83: Fate of Longdesc in HTML5

Tue, 08/17/2010 - 21:37

What's the fate of the "longdesc" attribute in HTML5? Can or should the "aria-labelledby" ARIA attribute replace it? These are some of the controversial issues discussed by Dennis and guests John Foliot (@johnfoliot), Everett Zufelt (@ezufelt), and Joe Dolson (@joedolson).

Download Web Axe Episode 83 (Fate of Longdesc in HTML5)

[transcript of podcast 83]

Related Links


No to Text Resize Widgets

Sat, 08/07/2010 - 13:06
Michael Gifford (@mgifford) recently wrote a tweet on text-resizing widgets. It said:
Is it time to scrap text resize widgets and teach people how to resize text http://bit.ly/94jNkvI totally agree. Say no to text resize widgets. To enlarge text for users, the browser should be used (many reasons below). See this video from OpenConcept on how to text-resize in your browser.

Gifford's tweet references an article on the subject from almost 3 years ago, Scrap text resize widgets and teach people how to resize text from 456 Berea St. This site had also blogged about the topic a while back in Don't Use Text Resizing Widgets.

Keep in mind is the issue of misinformation. For example, the very recent article A quick Web Accessibility Checklist actually encourages the use of text resize widgets, or in their words a "Font re-size option".

Gifford's tweet sparked many responses with many very good points, which all support why not to implement text-resizing tools on a website. I've summarized some reasons from very respectable professionals including @v, @alxp, @johnfoliot, and @ppatel. (Bonus! See slide 12 of Web Accessibility Gone Wild by WebAIM which also discourages the use.)
  • Implementers need to stop setting font to 80% (or lower!) in the default CSS.
  • Text resize widgets only add another layer of complexity on top.
  • Text resize widgets don't resize text in images.
  • Text resize widgets are site-specific. There's no standard; each site implements differently.
  • Text resize widgets causes confusion, clutters up the interface.
  • Text resizing is the responsibility of browser; browsers should do this natively. Browsers need a better way to expose this functionality to the user.
  • Users who regularly need larger text have figured this out already on all the sites that lack such a widget.
  • Interface design is not graphic design. Tyrannical control over font size & colors in UI is doing a huge disservice to users.
  • Text resize widgets make the author feel like they are doing good, but only solve problems created by the designer/developer in first place.
  • Not many users I've spoken to (@ppatel) use the widgets.


Link Roundup - July 2010

Mon, 08/02/2010 - 08:41


Critique - New Section 508 Web Site

Tue, 07/27/2010 - 21:43

Below are suggestions for improving the web accessibility of the new United States government Section 508 web site. Well, from analyzing the home page at least. This is basic stuff and I'm very disappointed that the site leaves so much to be desired. The site, which is U.S. government law with rules for web accessibility, should itself be an example of an accessible web site. And with the recent ADA anniversary, this was a great opportunity to move forward in the field of web accessibility. But instead, unfortunately, this was a failed attempt. The U.S. government has a lot of work to do.

Core Issues
  • No headings! Not one. Need headings in markup, period. There are many headings indicated visually, but inappropriately coded such as using strong or div tags.
  • Labels for text inputs are incorrect; there's a label tag, but no text label! See the search text and email address for news signup.
  • Alternative text for many images need improvement such as removing "Graphic for". Better yet, do not use a graphic when it's not needed; text is fine in the following two cases. (Losing the inline style would also be good.)
    • Example 1:
      <img style="border:0" src="/images/508questions.jpg" alt="Graphic for how do I get my 508 questions answered">
    • Example 2:
      <img alt="Graphic for An Official Website of the United States Government" src="/images/official-website.jpg" style="border: 0pt none;">
  • No keyboard focus to match mouse hover effect. In addition, a hover & focus could be added in several places to make it more usable, such as the first-level items in the left/main navigation menu.
  • The "AddThis" social media feature requires JavaScript and in either case is not keyboard accessible.
  • No ARIA implemented, not even landmark roles to help with navigation.
  • Links such as "read more >>" have no context; not unique. Also recommend removing the ">" character (better to use CSS for these types of markers/symbols).
  • Text links are not clear. The underlines are removed and dark blue not distinct enough from black text.
  • Poor progressive enhancement. With JavaScript off, the menu options do not fully display and the content of the slider feature is not displayed.
  • Redundant title attributes must go! I'm so tired of seeing this. It's not useful but on the contrary gets in the way; and it creates code bloat. Example: <a href="http://www.blogger.com/..." title="Link Policy">Link Policy</a>
  • The placeholder email content is confusing. The example is not even a valid email address (missing the top-level domain). The feature can be done with unobtrusive JavaScript and even use the label text, if it existed.
Other Issues
  • Horizontal scrollbars in 1024 resolution. Need better resizing/width design.
  • Lots of CSS in header (and inline); much better to use external file.
  • The attribute language="JavaScript" not needed in XHTML.
  • Why display the date? Just adds to cluttered screen.
  • Print button not needed. Just adds to cluttered screen. Requires JavaScript.
  • Conditional comment for IE6 CSS should be in head, not body.
  • Text resizing tool not needed; let the browser do this! And clutters screen.
  • Some navigation items use lists while others do not.
  • Image need better optimization/compression. One image alone in the slider feature is over 150k and can easily be compressed to 35k.
  • 67 XHTML validation errors.


Podcast #82: Deque Labs FireEyes

Wed, 07/07/2010 - 17:46

Dennis and Ross speak to Dylan Barrell (VP, Product Development) and Brian Kerr (Software Developer) of Deque Systems/Deque Labs. The main topic is the newly developed Worldspace FireEyes plugin for the Firefox browser which is being released in Beta status. It is a web accessibility tool that works in conjunction with the widely used Firebug Firefox extension. You can follow Deque Labs on Twitter.

Download Web Axe Episode 82 (Deque Labs FireEyes)

[transcript of podcast 82]

NOTE: As of June 28, the Worldspace FireEyes add-on has not yet been released. It's planned for end of June.

UPDATE: On July 1, the Worldspace FireEyes beta is released! Read the FireEyes announcement.

Chatter & News


Link Roundup - June 2010

Thu, 07/01/2010 - 10:09


Podcast #81: HTML5 and John Foliot

Wed, 06/23/2010 - 13:18

HTML5 is hot. It's new, powerful, and exciting. But what is it exactly, and how will it make the web more accessible? Dennis discusses these issues and more with web accessibility veteran John Foliot. Topics include background on HTML5, browser support, new form functionality, how Canvas can be accessible, and much more!

Mr. Foliot runs the Stanford Online Accessibility Program. He is an active member of the W3C and is an integral part of the web accessibility community. He writes a blog entitled Unrepentant and you can find John on Twitter.

Download Web Axe Episode 81 (HTML5 and John Foliot)

[transcript of podcast 81]

Mentioned ResourcesOther HTML5 Resources


BayJax Presentation "Making JavaScript Accessible"

Fri, 06/18/2010 - 10:51

Web Axe host Dennis Lembree presented "Making JavaScript Accessible" at the Bay Area Ajax and JavaScript Meetup (BayJax) June 15, 2010 at the Yahoo! campus in Sunnyvale, California.

Dennis was honored to be invited as a replacement for Dirk Ginader, who sadly couldn't make it due to a family emergency.

Making JavaScript AccessibleView more presentations from Web Axe.


The CA.gov Web Site Accessibility Page

Mon, 06/14/2010 - 18:31
dt { font-weight:bold; margin-top:1em; }

The accessibility page of the State of California web site lists many claims on what makes their web site accessible. Frankly, I'm pretty embarrassed for this state is which I live; nearly all of the bulleted items have major web accessibility mistakes and flaws. Let's take a look. (All of the assessments were made from referencing only the one accessibility page.)

Clean, Simple and Consistent
This is true. Although it's consistently inaccessible, as we'll see.
"Skip To:" Menu
Skip nav is good, but it's not visually displayed, not even when tabbed upon. This is a major issue for sighted keyboard users. Also, the skip link lands the user before the breadcrumbs; it should go past the breadcrumbs since the object is to pass over all the navigation to the main content.
The Navigation
The main menu requires a mouse to access the second level of items, therefore, it's not keyboard accessible. What's worse is that the second level links are not listed on the main page of parent menu item! In other words, there's no fallback.
Breadcrumb Navigation
Breadcrumbs are a good idea, but first of all, they require JavaScript [on this site's implementation which is unnecessary; a server-side solution is ideal]. And, there is no semantic markup or a heading denoting what this section is. Also, it's better practice to markup the breadcrumb links in an unordered list.
Images With Alternative Text
Wow, I didn't know that alt text is "visible when the mouse is placed over the image"! LOL, that's just silly IE. (It's the title attribute which is rendered as a tooltip in most browsers.) Also, say no to alt="bullet", yuck!
Relative Font Sizing
This doesn't work when the text is a graphic! A graphic doesn't increase when text size increased. See "Popular Pages". Note that graphic text will increase in size with page zoom, but then may be very pixelated and unreadable.
Style Sheets
What? The second paragraph is instructing the user to install a developer toolbar!
Fluid Sizing Display
Says "viewed best at a minimum of 800 x 600 pixels" but the web page doesn't fit in that screen resolution! There's a nasty horizontal scrollbar. So I took a better look and there is no fluid sizing. The CSS is clearly static: width:972px;
Accessible Via Mouse or Keyboard
Uh, no, see reasons above.
Access Keys
Implementing access keys is an outdated practice and get in the way of assistive technology. But the site has implemented only 1 anyway. Just silly. Draw your own conclusions here.
No Sound, No Images, No Problem
Lies I tell you!
Improved Search Engine
This is more of a usability issue.

Although there's clearly a lot of effect here, it's almost worse off than no effort at all. Sticking with semantic markup and unobtrusive JavaScript in itself may have been a better start.

Addendum

The CA.gov Accessibility Page Updated!


The CA.gov Accessibility Page Updated!

Mon, 06/14/2010 - 18:29

Today, just 3 working days after my critique of the CA.gov Accessibility page was published, the CA.gov Accessibility page has been updated! Some of the point discussed were removed and other modified. As for the site itself, the "skip to content" is now visible when tabbed upon. Hooray!

Also, a couple of interesting links were added to the "related sites" at the bottom of the page: Accessible Twitter and California's Accessibility Standards.


Link Roundup - May 2010

Tue, 06/01/2010 - 09:14


Podcast #80: Web Accessibility Successes

Thu, 05/27/2010 - 08:35

Dennis and Ross review a few excellent web sites. Each provides great accessibility as well as being standards-compliant.

Download Web Axe Episode 80 (Web Accessibility Successes)

[transcript of podcast 80]

Announcements News & Articles Main Segment Testco
  • In 2001, a new easy-access version of Tesco.com was launched, making the online shopping service available to a higher number of customers. In 2002-3, the web-based business made a profit of £12.2 million, more than 30 times that made in the previous year.
  • Reference: 3 case studies on Universal Design.
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