Jeremy’s Recommended Training

What is Web Accessibility?

Web accessibility ensures that websites, tools, and technologies are designed and developed so that all people, including those with disabilities, can use them effectively.

Why is it Important?

• Inclusivity: Everyone deserves access to information and online resources.
• Legal Reasons: Many regions have laws mandating accessibility.
• Wider Audience: Accessibility often leads to better design for all users.

Key Principles:

1. Perceivable

Users must be able to perceive the information being presented.

• Provide text alternatives for images.
• Use sufficient contrast between text and background.
• Offer resizable text without loss of content.

2. Operable

Users must be able to interact with the site.

• Ensure all features are navigable by keyboard.
• Provide enough time for users to read and complete tasks.
• Design navigation in a logical and predictable way.

3. Understandable

Users must be able to understand both the information and operation of the user interface.

• Use clear, simple language.
• Provide clear error messages and guidance.
• Be consistent in navigation and layouts.

4. Robust

Content must be accessible to a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies.

• Use valid HTML and CSS.
• Test with multiple devices, browsers, and assistive tools.
• Use ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) where necessary.

Tools and Resources:

• W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI): Provides guidelines and resources.
• WebAIM: Offers tools, training, and evaluations.
• Color Contrast Checkers: To ensure your color choices are accessible.
• Screen Readers: Such as NVDA or JAWS, to test how content is read aloud.

Quick Tips for Immediate Improvement:

• Alt Text: Always provide meaningful alt text for images.
• Focus: Ensure keyboard focus is visible and logical.
• Forms: Label all form elements properly.
• Headings: Use a clear hierarchy.
• Multimedia: Provide captions for videos and transcripts for audio.

Conclusion:

Web accessibility is essential for creating an inclusive digital world. By understanding its principles and implementing best practices, we can ensure everyone has equal access to the web’s vast resources.

Below is Jeremy’s recommended training resources to give you a good understanding of citations and citation management.

This series of short videos will open up your understanding of Accessibility and how you can progress your learning and more.

The basics and the 13 fundamental guidelines of accessibility are all covered in this expert quick guide. This will give you a great overview to get you started.

Live Google Business Profile Audit with Colan Nielsen | BrightLocal

Understanding ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications)

Imagine you’re at a new and innovative playground, full of unusual equipment. While most kids seem to instinctively understand how to use each piece of equipment, some kids find it confusing and aren’t sure what to do. Now, imagine if there were special guides at the playground that helped those kids understand and enjoy the equipment just as much as everyone else.

ARIA for web accessibility is a bit like those special guides.

In the online world, websites are often built with all sorts of fancy features. These might look great and work smoothly for many users, but for people with disabilities, they can be confusing or downright unusable.

ARIA is a set of special instructions that developers can add to their websites. These instructions don’t change how the website looks to most users, but they make it “speak” more clearly to assistive technologies like screen readers. This way, users with disabilities can understand and navigate websites more easily.

In short, ARIA helps make sure that the exciting playground of the internet is enjoyable and accessible to everyone!

When producing accessibility reports it is very common to find a large amount of ARIA errors or missing ARIA code. Because of this, it is worth getting a good understanding of ARIA and how to fix or manage it.

What Is Aria And Why It’s Important

Understanding Semantic HTML

ARIA falls within the realms of semantic HTML. So it’s important you understand semantics in accessibility. Learn how to use Semantic HTML tags in this full tutorial. HTML5 semantic elements convey both meaning and structure for our web pages. Applying proper semantics to your web pages helps both browsers and assistive technologies interpret your pages.

Why Do Semantics Matter