Extend your reach - making your website accessible to everyone

©Copyright AccEase Ltd. 2011 All Rights Reserved www.AccEase.com

Extend your reachMike Osborne - AccEase Ltd

www.AccEase.com


Where are we going today?

1. What’s the problem2. Get the mindset right3. Some simple things that make a

big difference


What’s the problem?


What’s the problem?

20%

may be struggling with your website

And the othercould be having a better experience

80%


Will you have a WCAG 2.0 AAA compliant websiteafter thiswebinar?


No.


But, you will be ableto remove a number of common barriers.


Get the right mindset


Universal Design

A universal approachto improving accessibility.


Multiplicity


UD Principles• Equitable use • Flexibility in use • Simple and intuitive • Perceptible information • Tolerance for error • Low physical effort • Size and space for approach and use


Rich Information

Easy Read

Plain English

Information is available in different formats and can be delivered by different technologies

Regular Print

Large Print Braillehard copy – braille display

Sign language

InternetWeb / email

ReadersE-,screen, human, talking book

Voice Recognition

Magnifiers

CaptionsAudio description


Limited approaches Deaf Blind Low vision Mobility Reading 4 million careful owners

Beehive Bioethics Council Community Net Companies Office Department of Labour Embassies Employment Relations Service Ministry for the Environment GCSB Good Practice Funding Government Jobs


How should we get started?• Use a broad ranging group

• Accessible communication starts at the beginning• you can’t add it in later

• Accessible design is about everyone• 80% get it for free

• Go for the low-hanging fruit – start easy• we’ll pick some today

• Pick your experts carefully • they really need to know the area

• Accessible communication is as much about attitude as expertise

• It’s not about techies who get hung up on methodologies instead of results


Important factors•Accessible web platform•Visual designer who “gets it”•Structured approach•Early and frequent testing & validation•User/customer-centred focus•Think “task completion”


Action to task completion• It’s about action – helping people to get

things done faster and easier– When completing tasks on websites, the

longer they take the less satisfied they are

• Hence, usability is a near relative of accessibility


Accessibilitydoes not mean making your website equally unusable for everyone.


What gets in the way?

• Lack of knowledge• Lack of will



• Branding & Visual Designers



• Internal Focus– It’s all about us

• Narrow focus– make the site accessible for screen readers

Customers don’t care about your websiteor you organisationthey care about themselves.



• Belief that it’s too hard– more expensive, take longer, little return

• Poor platform choices– You will never adequately overcome a platform

that delivers inaccessible HTML

If you do it at the start,the difference is negligible.




Make a difference


When is best time to make your site accessible?

• Now• But – the easiest time is

when you’re designing and building it


HyperlinksWhat is the rule/convention?a. Blue underlinedb. Whatever colour this site chooses, may or

may not be underlined.(capture by branding/designers)

Must you do blue underlined? No.Would it make it easier for your site visitors?





Size does matter• Make your hypertext links longer.

– Better meaning & larger target size

Find out more about the Building Act. Find out more about the Building Code.

This scheme was introduced in November 2007.This revised qualifications scheme was introduced in

November 2007.


PDFs• Think of PDF as an alternative format

– That facilitates nice print quality

• HTML is always your first choice• Don’t put text in images

– Don’t scan text and make PDF

• Check if Reflow works– View | Zoom | 150%– View | Zoom | Reflow


Accessible PDF example

SOCIAL MEDIA FOR PEOPLE WITH A DISABILITYhttp://www.mediaaccess.org.au/online-media/

social-media http://www.mediaaccess.org.au/sites/default/

files/files/MAA2657-%20Report-OnlineVersion.pdf



Horizontal scrolling




Linking to Documents

• No Surprises• When linking, include the size and type inside

the link– Annual Report (PDF 250kB)– Membership Survey Analysis (MS Excel 150kB)

No Surprises

No Surprises


Images• Use images

- they break up text,- give visual cues,- help people with reading difficulties.

• Don’t put text in images• But do add text that describes the image

- as alt text,- captions, or- long descriptions.


Highlight links for tab key

• Keyboard only users tab their way round– But it’s really hard to see where they are

• a:link {border:2px solid white}• a:focus {border: 2px solid blue}


Adequate contrast• Also avoid red/green contrast

• Download the contrast analyserVision Australia

www.visionaustralia.org.au/info.aspx?page=628

Red text on green background Red text on green background


Screen Readers - Fangs






Plain English• Use simple plain English• Assess it herehttp://www.usingenglish.com/resources/text-statistics.php


Plain English• Or herehttp://juicystudio.com/services/

readability.php#readingresults


Questions - Discussion

Mike OsbornePh: 64 4 974 5235Mob: 64 21 675 010

AccEase LtdWeb: www.AccEase.comBlog: www.LowVisionary.com