When I started looking at guidelines for accessibility, I found it overwhelming. It was hard to navigate and absorb every success criterion. As well intentioned as I might be, I had to concede that all that information is not going to be supplemented in the research guide that I am building. I must do and learn as I go.
I decided to start with the basics. This video was a great start. It is a simple introduction to web accessibility and W3C standards.
The main points I learnt from this video are that to make the resource accessible it should be:
- Perceivable – users must be able to see and hear it
- Operable – users can engage with it by typing or voice control
- Understandable – presented in clear and simple language
- Robust – can be used in conjunction with different assisted technologies
I also watched another video about headings. Most of the pages on my research guide have multiple headings. However, it is not enough that I style it in big font and different colours. It must be coded as a heading. When a heading is coded properly, it becomes accessible to keyboard only users, screen users, and people with learning disabilities such as those with short- term memories. To satisfy this requirement, I used the table of contents option to make sure that my headings were visible. The presence of headings is also important. It must have a meaningful hierarchy.
The visual field of readers was also another important fact to consider. I used to think bigger fonts were better. But it is not always true as mentioned in this video. For people with tunnel vision their visual acuity is supported by small fonts, and tighter line spacing. I will have to explore how to make adjustable fonts on my website. There are big differences in user needs.
The accessibility poster set is another great resource. I learnt to use simple instructions, fonts and colours for the guide. I applied a consistent format across the pages for users on the autistic spectrum.
The final one I would like to mention is this accessible colour scheme builder. It helps you to test out the colour schemes on a website. It is such a handy tool. This video helps to explain how to use it. I use this now as a guide to make the colour scheme of features such as buttons and fonts on my research guide.
Like my elephant, ‘accessibility’ has many facets and perceptions. I am still learning for my elephant. In all its abilities.
References
Accessibility course. (2020). Low vision: Challenging assumptions and understanding differences (from Accessibility course). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JUfmCvdzqbM
Byrne, R. (2020). A Helpful Tool for Picking a Presentation Color Scheme. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTCqwCp7lGE
GitHub. (2022). GITHUB. https://github.com/toolness/accessible-color-matrix
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. (2017). Introduction to Web Accessibility and W3C Standards
. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=20SHvU2PKsM
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative. (2020). Checking Headings – Accessibility (from Digital Accessibility Foundations – Free Online Course). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JR5hCvifJVo