Website design & development-Part 11

Web Accessibility
Web Accessibility is a principle that tries to make sure visitors with disabilities can locate, navigate, read and understand web content. The main impairments covered by this are:
• Vision, e.g. blindness, colour blindness.
• Hearing, e.g. deafness.
• Physical and speech, e.g. restricted use of limbs.
• Cognitive, e.g. learning difficulties.
There are many content, design and coding techniques that can make your website easier to use by people with a disability. For instance, a well-made website can be easily used by a blind person using a program called a ‘Screen Reader’. This software vocalises content on a page. Unfortunately, carelessness or lack of foresight during development can render a website unusable to many. As such, many organisations follow the guidelines of the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). This organisation has created a set of standards called the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WGAC) – in 3 levels (A, AA & AAA) – that, when followed, make a website accessible. However, accessibility is not just about code. The way you write content can also influence whether you meet the WCAG standard or not. In general, you should aim for clarity and simplicity in writing.

Provide appropriate alternative text
Alternative text provides a textual alternative to non-text content in web pages. It is especially helpful for people who are blind and rely on a screen reader to have the content of the website read to them.
Provide appropriate document structure
Headings, lists, and other structural elements provide meaning and structure to web pages. They can also facilitate keyboard navigation within the page.
Provide headers for data tables
Tables are used online for layout and to organize data. Tables that are used to organize tabular data should have appropriate table headers (theelement). Data cells should be associated with their appropriate headers, making it easier for screen reader users to navigate and understand the data table.
Ensure users can complete and submit all forms
Ensure that every form element (text field, checkbox, dropdown list, etc.) has a label and make sure that label is associated to the correct form element using the element. Also make sure the user can submit the form and recover from any errors, such as the failure to fill in all required fields.
Ensure links make sense out of context
Every link should make sense if the link text is read by itself. Screen reader users may choose to read only the links on a web page. Certain phrases like “click here” and “more” must be avoided.
Caption and/or provide transcripts for media
Videos and live audio must have captions and a transcript. With archived audio, a transcription may be sufficient.

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