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Issues related to the development of accessible web sites

Issues related to the development of accessible web sites. Steven Builta October 2002. Part 1: Section 508 and Related Legislation. Staggering Stats. Americans with disabilities spend twice as much time on the Internet. 500 million disabled worldwide 54 million disabled in US

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Issues related to the development of accessible web sites

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  1. Issues related to the development of accessible web sites Steven Builta October 2002

  2. Part 1: Section 508 and Related Legislation

  3. Staggering Stats Americans with disabilities spend twice as much time on the Internet. • 500 million disabled worldwide • 54 million disabled in US • Aging population • Temporary disabilities not included

  4. Rehabilitation Act • Defined rights of the persons with disabilities to help them re-enter the workforce • Non-discrimination on basis of disability in programs or activities receiving Federal money

  5. 1998 Amendments • Workforce Investment Act (1998) included amendments to the Rehabilitation Act • Section 501 requires reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities • Section 504 prohibits discrimination of persons with disabilities by Federal agencies in any federally funded or federally conducted programs or activities

  6. Section 508: What’s Covered • All Electronic &Information Technology (E&IT) developed, procured, maintained, or used by Federal agencies must be accessible • Alternative means of access when accessibility cannot be achieved • Authorizes lawsuits after June 21, 2001

  7. Section 508: What’s Not • Does NOT require: • Agencies to provide AT to the general public • All workstations to be fitted with AT • Retrofitting of E&IT (e.g., Web pages)

  8. Other Documents of Interest • World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT) • Illinois Web Accessibility Guidelines http://www100.state.il.us/tech/technology/accessibility/

  9. Part 2: Why You Need to Care About Accessibility

  10. Barriers to Access • Visual • Auditory • Mobility

  11. Visual Disabilities • Blindness • Weak vision • Tunnel vision • Dimness • Extreme near- or far-sighted • Color blindness

  12. Hearing Disabilities • Deaf • Hard of hearing • High/low frequency hearing loss

  13. Mobility Disabilities • Repetitive Stress Injuries (RSI) • Arthritis • Stroke • Spinal Cord Injuries • ALS • Loss of limbs or digits

  14. Benefits of Accessible Design Accessible design benefits everyone! • Older technology • Slow connection speeds • Newer wireless technology • Personal preference

  15. Part 3: Techniques for Developing Accessible Web Pages

  16. Color • Don’t rely on color alone to convey meaning

  17. Images and animations • Use the ALT (alternate text) attribute for all graphics

  18. Multimedia • For audio - provide transcript • For video - provide transcript and closed captioning

  19. Hypertext links • Make sure that links make sense out of context (avoid “click here”)

  20. Page organization • Use headings (H1 - H6) - be consistent • Use lists where possible

  21. Scripts, applets & plug-ins • If you use them, they must be accessible or provided in alternate way • If you use a plug-in: • Choose one that is accessible • Provide adequate instructions for downloading and installing it

  22. Adobe PDF Files • PDF files were inaccessible • PDF becoming accessible? • http://access.adobe.com • Users can obtain a converted PDF file via e-mail or a utility • Convert PDF to HTML or text

  23. Equivalent Pages Guideline (k): A text-only page, with equivalent information or functionality, shall be provided to make a Web site comply with the provisions of this part, when compliance cannot be accomplished in any other way. The content of the text-only page shall be updated whenever the primary page changes.

  24. Part 4 Testing, Validation, and Budgeting

  25. Accessibility Features of Popular Browsers • Netscape Navigator • Microsoft Internet Explorer (IE) • Opera • Amaya

  26. Test for Browser and Version Differences • May interpret standard HTML elements differently • Accessibility features • Style sheet support • Deprecated elements

  27. Browsers Designed for Persons with Disabilities • Complete keyboard control • Speech synthesis • Screen magnification

  28. Quick Test Your Site: Format • Turn all the images off • Turn off style sheets • Use the largest custom font size • Resize the browser window • Select all text and copy it into a word processor

  29. Quick Test Your Site: Navigation • Navigate using only the keyboard • Press Tab to move through the links • Does the link text tell you where the link will take you?

  30. Quick Test Your Site: Media • Turn off sounds • Disable all applets and scripts

  31. Quick Test Your Site: Color Scheme • View the page on a monitor set to black & white resolution • Print the page on a black & white printer • Set a color monitor to high contrast

  32. A More Thorough Test • View your site in a text-only format • Lynx Viewer( http://www.delorie.com/web/lynxview.html ) • Turn off “Play Animations” • Use a combination of various AT to view the site

  33. Let Someone Else Test It! • Bobby ( http://www.cast.org/bobby/ ) • HTML checkers ( http://validator.w3.org )

  34. Credits • This slide show was adapted in large part from http://www.section508.gov

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