1. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Accessibility and Usability For Web Sites: An Introduction to Web Accessibility Brian Kelly UKOLN University of Bath Bath Email B.Kelly@ukoln.ac.uk URL http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/ UKOLN is supported by: http://www.ukoln.ac.uk/web-focus/events/workshops/eemlac-2005-01/

2. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Background To The Web World Wide Web developed by Tim Berners-Lee to: Provide universal access to digital resources Avoid problems of  Device dependencies: data islands on PCs, Apple Macintoshes, Unix systems, …  Application dependencies: data islands between MS Word, WordPerfect, Wordstar, … users)  Vendor dependencies: monopoly stifling competition and raising prices; patent holders seeking licence fees (cf. GIF)  User dependencies: data islands due to disabilities – e.g. visual impairments, hearing impairments, lack of motor skills, …

3. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Background To Web Accessibility "The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect." Tom Berners-Lee, W3C (the consortium responsible for Web standards) set up WAI (Web Accessibility Initiative) to enhance accessibility of the Web. Key deliverables include: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG): guidelines on creating accessible resources Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG): guidelines on writing authoring tools which will help to create accessible resources User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG): guidelines on writing browsers which provide accessibility support

4. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Quick Tips For Web Accessibility Images & animations: Use the alt attribute to describe the function of each visual. Image maps: Use the client-side map and text for hotspots. Multimedia: Provide captioning and transcripts of audio, and descriptions of video. Hypertext links: Use text that makes sense when read out of context. For example, avoid "click here." Page organization: Use headings, lists, and consistent structure. Use CSS for layout and style where possible. Graphs & charts: Summarize or use the longdesc attribute. Scripts, applets, & plug-ins: Provide alternative content in case active features are inaccessible or unsupported. Frames: Use the noframes element and meaningful titles. Tables: Make line-by-line reading sensible. Summarize. Check your work: Validate. Use tools, checklist, and guidelines at http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG See

5. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Accessible Web Sites Accessible Web sites should: Use compliant HTML: if a page is valid it is more likely to be displayed sensibly on a range of devices Use CSS to define the appearance of HTML tags: this has several benefits: Users can use their own style sheet or switch off the style sheet (e.g. colour scheme or text sizes cause difficulties in reading) Web site owner can define appearance in small number (1) of CSS files and can easily change this file Pages can change appearance on devices such as PDAs, digital TVs, etc Provide textual descriptions of multimedia (e.g. ALT tags for images) Comply with the letter and spirit of W3C standards: avoid proprietary extensions (e.g. BLINK, FRAME, etc.); avoid file formats (e.g. PDF, Flash, …), …

6. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Doesn't Everyone Use IE? How do people with disabilities access the Web? Zooming In: Many people with disabilities have some sight and may need to zoom in in areas of a Web browser. It is therefore essential that Web sites don’t use fixed fonts, for example (even if this allows users to change a corporate look-and-feel). Speaking Browsers: Blind users may use a speaking browser which speaks words on the page. Note that speaking devices can't understand text contained in images – so avoid this (or give appropriate ALT text for images). Special pointing & selection tools: Users with physical disabilities may not be able to use a mouse. Therefore Web sites should be usable without a mouse. For example, a Web form should be designed so that tabbing moves the cursor in a sensible order. PDAs, Mobile Devices, Digital TVs, …: Users with physical disabilities may prefer use of PDAs or other mobile devices. And digital TV access may help a widening participation agenda And everybody doesn't use IE – increasing numbers are moving to Firefox (which featured in a leader column in the Guardian in Nov 2004)

7. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Checking Compliance You need to be able to check that your Web site is accessible: For auditing existing Web sites To identify problems in your workflow processes For acceptance testing Techniques for checking compliance include: Use of automated tools such as Bobby, WAVE, … Manual testing NOTE Automated tools are not able to verify that Web sites are accessibility – only that they are not accessible. For example Bobby can report if images do not have ALT tags, but not that the ALT tag is meaningful. NOTE Automated tools are not able to verify that Web sites are accessibility – only that they are not accessible. For example Bobby can report if images do not have ALT tags, but not that the ALT tag is meaningful. >

8. A centre of expertise in digital information managementwww.ukoln.ac.uk Any Questions?