Accessible web servicesdon’t need to be Ugly

Seppo Kankaantähti 14.2.2017

The Finnish Association of People with Physical Disabilities

• Vision: Equal and accessible Finland

• 32,000 individual members

• 150 member associations

• 2,600 employees

• 20 years of promoting accessibility

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0

• Covers a wide range of recommendations for making Web content more accessible

• Three levels of conformance: A (lowest), AA, and AAA (highest)

Assistive Technologies

• Screen reader– software application which converts text into speech

• Switch access– may be placed near any area of the body which has consistent and

reliable mobility

• Eye gaze and head mouse systems– can be used as an alternative mouse navigation

Examples

• Drupal 8

• Alternative text on Read more buttons

• The site can be used with a keyboard

• Alt texts on pictures

• Jump to content link

• Color contrast and possibility to enlarge text

Accessibility checkers

• Wave Web Accessibility Tool for Firefox(http://wave.webaim.org)

• Achecker (http://achecker.ca/checker/index.php)

• Siteimprove (http://siteimprove.com/)– Automated tool for checking your website for accessibility issues

– Checks are made based on the global standards WCAG 2.0 and WAI-ARIA

– Level of compliance can be chosen (A, AA, or AAA)

– Gives a list of issues alongside clear fix explanations

– Chrome plugin

Screen readers

• Windows: NVDA (https://www.nvaccess.org/)

• iOS: Voiceover

Thank you!

seppo.kankaantahti@invalidiliitto.fi