1. Website Accessibility Testing

2. Why consider accessibility People with disabilities – Visual, Hearing, Physical, Cognitive (learning, reading, attention deficits, etc) Elderly people Non-English speaking Old equipment Slow telecommunications Mobile devices Search engines

3. Components of Web Accessibility Developers and Users interact in many different ways via web content Guidelines exist for: – Content (web sites) – Authoring tools (including WYSIWYG editors, Content Management Systems, save as HTML options, etc) – User agents (browsers, media players, assistive technology) Technical specifications: – HTML, XML, CSS, SVG, SMIL, etc www.w3.org/WAI/intro/components.php

4. Components of Web Accessibility

5. When to consider accessibility At all stages of a project Business requirements Technical specifications Wire frames Graphical design Templates Content preparation Maintenance

6. Fundamental Concept On a web page, keep the following separate: Content – Text + informative images Structure – Headings, lists, paragraphs, tables, etc Presentation – Visual style, presentational & design elements, positioning and interactivity Along with standards compliant coding, this separation will avoid many accessibility problems.

7. Concept and Design Review Critical consideration of end-to-end process from user perspective – use common business activities and include any critical 3rd party applications Assess strategies that could be used – What are the options for users and for the business to achieve the delivery goals Check: Have people with disabilities been considered in the business requirements? Has accessibility been considered in the technical specification?

8. Checking & Testing Requires knowledge and understanding Involves: – Reviewing content – Reviewing code – User testing Ref: Evaluating Web Sites for Accessibility www.w3.org/WAI/eval/Overview

9. Accessibility Evaluation Tools Automated tools – Cover a limited range of objective issues – Scan many pages – Generate a report Manual tools – More thorough coverage – Single page based – Assist with subjective issues No tool can automatically determine the accessibility of Web sites

10. Selecting an evaluation tool References: Selecting Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools www.w3.org/WAI/eval/selectingtools.html www.w3.org/WAI/eval/selectingtools.html Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools Database www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tools/Overview.html www.w3.org/WAI/ER/tools/Overview.html

11. Automated Tools Only do a partial job Can usually only tell if you fail Can’t give you a pass Still require manual checking Need interpretation Have flaws or weaknesses Still have a place for large sites, e.g. Maxamine

12. Automated Tools - References Comparison of Web Accessibility Testing Tools ausweb.scu.edu.au/aw03/papers/arch/ ausweb.scu.edu.au/aw03/papers/arch/ Automated testing - How useful is it? www.gawds.org/show.php?contentid=147 www.gawds.org/show.php?contentid=147 The problem with automated accessibility testing tools www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/ web-accessibility/automated-tools.shtml www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/ web-accessibility/automated-tools.shtml

13. Manual Tools Many “pseudo tools” are available by using the options included as standard within your computer Use the keyboard not the mouse to navigate Try different browsers & versions – Use different browser settings

14. Browser Setting Options Change the font to a larger size View pages without images View pages with styles sheets and page colours/fonts disabled View pages with an alternative, high contrast, colour scheme Disable scripts, applets and/or plugins

15. Browser-based Evaluation - References Getting started with accessibility assessments (using Internet Explorer) – ausweb.scu.edu.au/aw03/papers/arch2/ ausweb.scu.edu.au/aw03/papers/arch2/ Using Opera to check for accessibility – www.webaim.org/techniques/articles/opera www.webaim.org/techniques/articles/opera Evaluating websites with Firefox – www.webaim.org/techniques/articles/ evaluatingwithfirefox www.webaim.org/techniques/articles/ evaluatingwithfirefox

16. Accessibility Toolbar for IE & Opera Features: Validate Resize CSS Images Colour Structure Tools Doc Info References IE Options Magnification

17. Accessibility Toolbar AIS Accessibility Toolbar: – www.visionaustralia.org.au/ais/toolbar/ www.visionaustralia.org.au/ais/toolbar/ Toolbar Functions: – www.visionaustralia.org.au/info.aspx?page=619 www.visionaustralia.org.au/info.aspx?page=619 Toolbar Tutorials: – www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/ web-accessibility/accessibility-toolbar.shtml www.webcredible.co.uk/user-friendly-resources/ web-accessibility/accessibility-toolbar.shtml – www.webaim.org/techniques/articles/aistoolbar www.webaim.org/techniques/articles/aistoolbar Toolbar News: – web-accessibility-toolbar.blogspot.com/ web-accessibility-toolbar.blogspot.com/ – www.wat-c.org/ www.wat-c.org/

18. The WAVE Features – Visual – Identifies errors, alerts & accessibility features – Shows reading order – Shows structural and semantic elements http://wave.webaim.org/

19. Colour Checkers Colour Contrast – www.visionaustralia.org.au/info.aspx?page=628 www.visionaustralia.org.au/info.aspx?page=628 – www.lighthouse.org/color_contrast.htm www.lighthouse.org/color_contrast.htm – www.juicystudio.com/services/colourcontrast.asp www.juicystudio.com/services/colourcontrast.asp Colour testing – colour blindness – www.vischeck.com www.vischeck.com – http://colorfilter.wickline.org http://colorfilter.wickline.org

20. Link Checkers Link checkers: non-existent URLs – http://validator.w3.org/checklink - free http://validator.w3.org/checklink – http://www.hisoftware.com/linkvalidate/index.html - free version available http://www.hisoftware.com/linkvalidate/index.html – http://www.linkalarm.com/ - free trial of some elements http://www.linkalarm.com/ – http://www.cyberspyder.com/cslnkts1.html - free trial http://www.cyberspyder.com/cslnkts1.html Cannot check for incorrect addresses

21. Code Validators HTML Validators – W3C: http://validator.w3.org/ – Web Design Group: http://www.htmlhelp.com/tools/validator/ CSS Validator – http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/ http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/

22. Site Testing by Assistive Technology Users Complements technical accessibility testing, but does not replace it – Purpose is to appreciate usability issues for users of assistive technology – User testing CANNOT determine if a site or online object works with all assistive technology User testers need to be skilled, but not expert with their technology Ref: Involving Users in Web Accessibility Evaluation www.w3.org/WAI/eval/users www.w3.org/WAI/eval/users

23. How to test: Understand the diversity of your audience Incorporate their needs Use some tools Engage an expert Undertake some user testing

24. When to test: Test early Test often Test for WGAC Test for usability Test for readability

25. Thankyou Andrew Arch Accessible Information Solutions Vision Australia 454 Glenferrie Road, Kooyong Vic 3144 03 9864 9282 Andrew.Arch@visionaustralia.org.au www.visionaustralia.org.au/ais/