Overview of Web Accessibility
Web accessibility is the ability of a website, mobile application, or electronic document to be easily navigated and understood by a wide range of users, including users who have visual, speech, , auditory, physical or cognitive.
Accessibility is essential for designers and organizations that want to create high-quality web sites and tools, without preventing people from using their products and services.
Accessibility Diversity
There are nearly 8 billion people in the world. According to the World Health Organization, there are more than one billion people with disabilities. This represents approximately 15% of the population. Access to information is a human right.
Refers to design that seeks to enable and accommodate all human diversity, including a wide range of abilities and disabilities.
The main goal is to create a unified approach to design that allows multiple methods to access the same functionality.
Advantages
Web availability encompasses all disabilities that influence Internet access, including:
• hearable
• mental
• neurological
• physical
• speech
• Visual
Web availability also helps people without disabilities, for example:
• People using cell phones, smart watches, smart TVs and different gadgets with small screens, different information modes, etc.
• more experienced individuals with changing abilities due to maturation
• people with “transient disabilities” such as a broken arm or lost glasses
• people with “situational difficulties, for example, in broad daylight or in a climate where they cannot pay attention to sound.
Web accessibility standards
The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) expands web accessibility standards to help improve the accessibility of the World Wide Web.
WAI is responsible for creating the principles and rules that are used to make the web accessible.
WAI is developing the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These are internationally recognized and adopted standards.
There are three levels of WCAG conformance:
A-level will be an essential prerequisite for certain users with disabilities to be able to access and use web content.
AA level indicates overall accessibility and the removal of critical barriers to content access.
AAA level offers web accessibility upgrades and improvements for some users with disabilities.
Accessibility conditions
Visual layout
- The page should be in a logical order for assistive technologies.
- Structure your pages and posts with appropriate titles.
- Content blocks should be visually separated and distinct from each other, via padding, margin, or different techniques to achieve visual “white space”.
- The design should have only one primary visual focus on the elements.
- Labels should be visually adjacent to their controls.
Typography
Fonts should be easily readable by blind and visually impaired users.
Make all links the same color, bold, and underlined.
Buttons and links are regularly important to a site’s experience, and it’s crucial that both have good, accessible names.
<button aria-label="Left align"></button>
Color contrast and accessibility
The guidelines recommend an AA (minimum) contrast ratio of 4.5:1 for all text.
Small text should have a contrast ratio of at least 7 to 1 with the background.
Large text and large text images have a contrast ratio of at least 4.5 to 1 with the background.
The website must be keyboard accessible.
Various users depend on the keyboard to navigate applications, from users with temporary and permanent motor impairments to users who use keyboard shortcuts to be more efficient and productive. Having a decent keyboard navigation methodology for your app creates a better experience for everyone.
Include appropriate text alternatives to objects and images.
Images must have alt text so they are readable through screen-reading devices for the blind and visually impaired
Add captions to your images.
Responsive design
The design should be responsive to provide a better user experience. This will give a win for accessibility.
Control focus using tabindex
Standard HTML components, for example,
Insert an item in natural tab order using tabindex=”0″. For instance:
<div tabindex="0">Focus on me with the tab key</div>
Eliminate a component using tabindex = “- 1”. For instance:
<div tabindex="-1">Can not reach me with tab key</div>
Accessible WordPress Themes
- Period by competition themes
- Angelique by WebMan Design
- Cindy by WebMan Design
- Morning by competition themes
Available for free WordPress themes
Better WordPress accessibility plugins
- WP accessibility
- One-click accessibility
- WP Accessibility Wizard
WordPress accessibility reader
WordPress makes every effort to ensure that all of our themes are accessible, but some themes have additional features that add simplicity to the site and may make it more difficult for users who use screen readers and users to access all content. disabled users.
WordPress accessible menus
Navigation is a core function of a website. To ensure people with disabilities have equal access to our web content, we need to make sure the menu works for people who cannot use a mouse, such as people with motor disabilities, keyboard-only users, and screen reader users.
The Superfish plugin ensures that everyone has equal access to your web content. It helps people with a wide range of abilities, such as screen reader users, keyboard-only users, and touchscreen users. This also justifies other risks that come with people who find websites inaccessible.
WordPress Accessibility Checker
Axis development tools:
WAVE from WebAim:
Summary
When websites and web tools are designed and coded appropriately, people with disabilities can use them. In any case, today many websites and tools are developed with accessibility barriers that make them difficult or unthinkable for some people to use.
Making the web accessible benefits individuals, organizations and society. International web standards define what is needed for accessibility.
