| |
| |
|
Web Development Information |
|
|
|
Ten Quick Tests To Check Your Website For Accessibility
The Disability Discrimination Act says that websites must be made accessible to disabled people. So how can you check that your website is up to par? There are a number of basic tests you can make to address some of the main issues that provide a good start in increasing accessibility to your site visitors: 1. Check informational images for alternative text Place the cursor over an informational image, for example, the organisation logo. Does a yellow box appear with a brief, accurate description of the image? For users whose browsers do not support images, this alternative text is what they will see (or hear) in place of the image. 2. Check decorative images for alternative text Place the cursor over a decorative image that does not have any function other than to look nice. Does a yellow box appear with a description of the image? It should not. There is no reason for users whose browsers do not support images to know that this image is there, as it serves no purpose. Be careful though as this is not a foolproof test. If a yellow box does not appear, this could mean one of two things: - The alternative text of the image is assigned a null value, which means that it will be ignored by browsers that do not support images. This is the ideal scenario. - The alternative text of the image is simply not set at all, which means that users whose browsers do not support images will be alerted to its existence but will be unable to find out what purpose it carries - something which is very frustrating! This is certainly not the desired outcome. 3. 'Listen' to any video or audio content with the volume turned off If you turn your speakers off, you are clearly unable to listen to, or follow, any audio content. This situation is faced by a deaf person on a daily basis. Ensure your website supplies written transcripts, so that deaf people can understand the message that your website is conveying. 4. Check that forms are accessible Usually there is prompt text next to each item in a form. For example, a contact form might have the prompt text 'name', 'e-mail', and 'comments', each one next to a box where your site users will enter the information. When you click on the prompt text, does a flashing cursor appear in the box next to that text? If not, your forms are inaccessible. 5. Check that text can be resized In Internet Explorer (used by over 90% of Internet users) go to View > Font size > Largest. Does the text on your website increase in size? If not, then your website is inaccessible to web users with poor visibility. 6. Check your website in the Lynx browser The Lynx browser is a text-only browser and does not support many of the features that other browsers such as Internet Explorer have. You can check how your site looks in this browser with the Lynx Viewer, available at http://www.delorie.com/web/lynxview.html. If your website makes sense and can be navigated through the Lynx browser, then it will be fulfilling many of the web accessibility guidelines. 7. Check that you can access all areas of your website without the use of a mouse Can you navigate through your website using just tab, shift-tab and return? If not, then neither can keyboard- and voice-only users. 8. Check that there is a site map Can you find a site map? If not, then neither can people who are lost on your website. 9. Ensure link text makes sense out of context Blind Internet users often browse websites by tabbing from one link to the next. Does all the link text on your website make sense out of context? 'Click here' and 'more' are two common examples of non-descriptive link text. 10. Check your web pages with an automated program Two programs available for free on the Internet are Bobby ( http://bobby.watchfire.com ) and Wave ( http://www.wave.webaim.org ). They are unable to provide you with all the information that you need, as some checks must be done by humans, but they can tell you some of the areas where your site might be going wrong. This article was written by Trenton Moss. He's crazy about web usability and accessibility - so crazy that he went and started his own web usability and accessibility consultancy ( Webcredible - http://www.webcredible.co.uk ) to help make the Internet a better place for everyone.
MORE RESOURCES:
Web-Development - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Benefits Of An Accessible Website: Part 2 - The Business Case The DDA (Disability Discrimination Act) states that service providers must not discriminate against disabled people. A website is regarded as a service and therefore falls under this law, and as such must be made accessible to everyone. Improve Conversion Rates - Load Times Your site is getting traffic, but conversion rates are horrible. Everything seems to be working, so what's wrong? Your site may simply be to slow. Ever Wondered What Challenges Other People With Their Web Site? Have you ever wondered what challenges are faced by other webmasters and owners in the design and promotion of their websites, well I certainly have and so I decided to try and find out.I created a short survey which asked the following questions:1. Optimal Website Design Optimal website design is the art of logical navigation.It will offer consistency while providing useful, quality information that is attractive to the eye and easy to understand. HTML Editors 101 - Smaller Is Better SiteSpinnerSiteSpinner is a user-friendly web site development tool that includes many advanced features such as drag-and-drop positioning, built in FTP to publish directly to your web site, an image editor and graphics creation all in one. With SiteSpinner, objects can be placed wherever you want them with your mouse. Planning A Usable Website: A Three-step Guide A website is like an information flow, with you as the provider and your site visitors as the receivers of the information. If you don't plan your website with this in mind right from the start, you could find yourself with a brand new website that solves all your immediate needs. Nonsense! Why Do I Need a Website? "I don't sell anything online, I don't advertise online, in fact I don't really even know how to use a computer.. How One Word Or Even One Letter Can Boost Conversion Rates By Over 400%! Recently I was reviewing the keyword specific conversion rate data of a consulting client of mine. I have been working with this client for a few months now, helping her improve the sales conversion rate of her website and we have had very good results, taking average conversion rates at her site from below 1% to just over 4. Tips to Protect Your Downloads or Products 1. Upload robots. 7 Ways to Gain a Professional Online Reputation A professional online reputation is essential to the flourishing of any business big or small. Many business owners spend countless hours on the core operations of their business forgetting the importance their website has. Improving Usability for Screen Reader Users Simply ensuring your website is accessible to screen reader users is unfortunately not enough to ensure these users can find what they're looking for in a reasonably quick and efficient manner. Even if your site is accessible to screen reader users, its usability could be so incredibly poor that they needn't have bothered coming to your site. The Most Important Aspect of Writing Web Copy There is an ongoing debate about web copy. Some say that it should be similar to direct mail copy. How to Listen on the Web When building a relationship, listening is more important than talking.A website can reveal a great deal about your business, even answer questions about whom you have done work for in the past. Ten Major Tips to Develop a Multilingual Web Site to Work If you are living in a country that its native language is something rather than English language, then you may like to develop your website to offer content in the language of your own country.There are millions of websites on the Internet that are all in English language but there are billions of people on the earth that speak in a different language and are not familiar with English language. Thinking Of Taking Money Online? Whats Best For Merchants? PayPal, WorldPay or Something Else? It's now easier than ever to take payments on the web. As people selling their wares take pot shots at eCommerce providers in an ever-increasing battle to sabotage their "competitors'" success it gets harder and harder to find an honest unbiased opinion. 10 Things You Should Be Monitoring On Your Website Every business needs to know how it is doing. That's the idea behind exit surveys, customer feedback forms, suggestion boxes and other devices. Profitable Websites for Exclusive Industries In the region where my company is located, South Bend, Indiana, the demand for web design and associated services could be described as: leery. It's not that the locale is horribly lacking evolvement technologically; rather that so many proprietors in this area are very uncertain as to what the internet can do and how they can go about forming profitable web sites for their exclusive industries. Websites: You Get What You Pay For! So you finally decided to invest in a web presence or upgrade your current site? There are many available choices in "web designers" to choose from. This decision is an important one! You may have a relative or friend of a friend who will do your web site at a very low cost from the comfort of their house. Content Management More and more businesses are recognizing the importance of content management when it comes to their websites. Website content is more important than ever before, and as the Internet matures and changes, it is likely be become even more important. Your Website Reflects Your Business Some left shoes are in isle 5, while the right shoes are in isle 3. Shoe hills are in random places.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 Webhosting-Service.com - All Rights reserved. - GetWeb Media Webdesign Muenchen |