Thursday, May 20 is the 10th annual Global Accessibility Day, which focuses on digital accessibility for the more than 1 billion people living with disabilities. Learn more by visiting accessible360.com. - Editor
When folks think about something being accessible, they usually think of wheelchairs. Is there a ramp? Are the doors wide enough? Well, what about your website or your pdf documents, or even emails? Can anyone use them?
There are also certain aspects of digital construction that affect people with various disabilities, too. Consider these examples:
People who are deaf or have hearing loss find it easier to watch YouTube if things are captioned.
People who cannot use a mouse because of mobility limitations may find a crowded website difficult to maneuver with a mouth stick or tracking ball.
People who have seizures may be triggered by flashing graphics.
I’m far from an authority on these areas. But, as a totally blind computer user, I know some of the website fundamentals which affect blind people who use a screen reader or Braille display.
Maureen and her husband Paul.
Here are some of the things that make it easier for me to navigate the digital world.
Does your website have “skip to content” links?
It’s possible you’ve never actually seen a skip link before, because they’re often hidden from view. When I go to a web page and there is a link that allows me to navigate to content, I can hit that link and immediately be in a place where the actual content of the web page begins. Without this, I have to listen to the whole page being read, or arrow down, line by line, and wade through information until I reach the place where the meat of the page is available.Does your web page have headings, and are they clearly understandable?
When using a screen reader, I can hit the letter “h” to navigate efficiently. If there are headings, I can jump from heading to heading down the page and get the main gist of the website, even if I’ve never been there before. So, if I hit “h” and it says, “no headings,” I know I’m going to have to read through everything. And if the headings are not clear or well-thought, I may read them but not really gain any insight into what the page is about.I’ve been to some sites, for example, where a heading will simply say “read more” or “click here.” Unlike sighted people who can quickly scan what is in the area of the “click here,” I have to go tediously back and forward with arrow keys to read what is around that heading.
Do you have a search box?
The search box is another helpful navigational tool when I go to a website I haven’t visited before. The first thing I do almost anytime I visit a new site is hit the screen reader command that takes me directly to any search box.Let’s say I come to your church’s website and want to know if you have a women’s ministry. I can obtain this information with my screen reader by using a “find” command and typing in “women’s ministry.” If those words appear on the page, the screen reader will go to the spot where they appear. But let’s say the words “women’s ministry” are not found on the page where I’ve landed. Having a search box allows me to quickly find where that topic is located on that page or other pages. And if your search box has a button that says “submit,” that is most helpful for operating it.
Do the pictures contain alt tags?
Alt tags tell the screen reader user what the graphics portray. They provide a quick text description of the graphics. If properly coded, these are not visible to anyone else except the user of the screen reader. Without alt tags, I may hear a series of meaningless numbers or simply the words “image” or “graphic” whenever a picture is encountered. When alt tags are provided, I hear a description such as, “our church providing food to homeless people.”
Your site will be increasingly accessible for any blind user with each of these suggestions you implement. For that matter, accessibility features are useful for any reader who comes along.
To learn more about website accessibility please visit theWeCo.com.
Maureen Pranghofer was born legally blind and with a rare bone disease. She is a songwriter, author, speaker, music therapist and brailleist who also tests websites for accessibility. With a Bachelor of Arts in Music Therapy, Maureen has worked as a therapist with terminally ill children, the elderly and those dealing with addiction. Her children’s book, Ally’s Busy Day: The Story of a Service Dog, is available on Amazon along with her numerous music recordings. Maureen lives with her husband Paul and service dog Walter in Golden Valley, MN. You’ll find her blogs The Walter Report and Maureen’s Musings at Maureen’s Facebook page.
