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refreshable Braille device which converts the text on the website into Braille.

Place form instructions before the form field

To improve accessibility and usability for screen reader users, form field requirements must be placed before the form field itself.

Provide a ‘skip to main content’ link Screen reader users benefit from a ‘skip to main content’ link as it enables them to jump over lengthy navigation to the main content of the web page, reducing the amount of content they have to listen to.

Ensure link text is descriptive Screen reader users using software such as JAWS can listen to the links on a web page through functionality known as a links list. If link text is not descriptive—solely using phrases such as “click here” or “more information”, for example—there is no way for screen reader users to determine where the link will take them.

Provide descriptive web page titles The first piece of information a screen reader user will listen to when they open a web page is the <title> assigned to the page. It is important, therefore, to use a title which reflects the content of the web page.

Provide descriptive headings It is important to provide descriptive headings

Screen reader users often listen to headings out of context from the main content

Provide audio descriptions and transcripts of video content Screen reader users depend on audio descriptions to provide additional information about important visual content displayed within a video.

Transcripts are written accounts of the video or audio content and can include additional information such as comments and descriptions

screen reader users cannot use a mouse

People with low vision will tend to use magnification software to make reading a website easier. Depending on the severity of their vision impairment, these users may combine magnification and screen reading software by using software products such as Supernova or ZoomText. For milder vision impairments, users may just increase the default size of text within their browser settings or change the colors to make the content more comfortable to read.

Avoid using images of text

Ensure text can be resized

Place key information in specific locations of the screen

ebsite search functionality is often located in the top-right corner of the web page

Juicy Studio color contrast analyzer.

it is possible to determine whether the colors chosen meet the minimum requirements specified in the WCAG Guidelines.

People with a hearing impairment tend not to use assistive software to improve their web browsing experience. Instead, they rely on the website being accessible by providing any audio content in alternative formats, such as captioning or transcripts.

By making audio content accessible for users with a hearing impairment, it also makes the content accessible for other users who find themselves in an environment where audio cannot be heard.

library with the sound turned down; they may be in a noisy environment where it is difficult to hear the audio; or they may be using a computer without speakers.

Provide captions for any video content

Provide transcripts of the spoken audio Where content is spoken without video, such as in a podcast, it is important to provide a transcript. It is recommended that the transcript be provided in plain accessible HTML to allow access by the widest possible audience, as opposed to a Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF document.

Physical disabilities range in severity from those who are temporarily disabled, for example having a broken arm, to those who are quadriplegic and have no use of any limbs. Depending on the severity of the physical disability, these users may access websites through voice recognition software such as Dragon Naturally Speaking.

However, what all users with a physical disability have in common is limited or no ability to use a mouse. This means that content within the website that requires a mouse click or fine motor control cannot be accessed by these users.

Ensure all content can be accessed via the keyboard

Users with a physical disability will have limited or no ability to use a mouse and as such will navigate websites using the keyboard.

Provide a focus state for links

Provide visible skip links Skip links are links that become visible when they receive focus, and are helpful for users with a physical disability. Keyboard users must tab through the web page to reach the particular link they are interested in—skip links allow lengthy navigation to be bypassed and reduce the number of key presses required to activate links in the main content.

Avoid moving targets Avoid using moving targets such as tickers, as users with a physical disability can find them very difficult to use.

Provide large clickable areas

provide sufficient whitespace between links

People with a cognitive or learning disability may have difficulties with memory, problem solving, perception, and conceptualization. In addition, people with a learning disability may have issues with reading and comprehension such as dyslexia.

To enhance the usability of the website for these users it is important that content is written in plain English, page layouts are simple in design, navigation is clear and consistent and there is no moving content to impede comprehension.

Provide the same look and feel throughout all pages of the website. Ensure that the navigation and main content are located in the same area of every page. Additionally, consider color coding different sections within the website. Users with cognitive or learning disabilities tend to find it easier to navigate around sections which are color coded.

Provide a site map A site map will enable users with a cognitive or learning disability to have a clear idea of the breadth of content contained within the website. The site map also enables users to directly access any page on the website, and helps if the user becomes lost.

Use a resizable sans-serif font which is left-aligned To increase readability for users with a cognitive or learning disability, use a sans-serif font which can be resized. Additionally, left-align content—justified text is more difficult to read due to the uneven spacing between words. Italicized and capitalized text should also be kept to a minimum to aid readability.

Provide helpful error messages

Offer speech output Organizations such as Browse Aloud and Textic enable content from a website to be spoken when highlighting the words on a web page. Offering this functionality is especially helpful for users who find it difficult to read large amounts of text.

Provide an Easy Read Version Consider providing an ‘easy read’ version of complex content. This combines plain text with images to aid understanding of the information. For an example of an easy read document see the Department of Health’s Making Lives Better for People with a Learning Disability.

Provide different color schemes People with cognitive or learning disabilities may benefit from different color scheme options. It is helpful if an easy read scheme such as a lemon background with dark text, and a hi-viz scheme such as a black background with yellow text, are provided.

it is not a visual problem but a word decoding, or recognition deficit.

Our ability to recognise words is thought to be based upon two slightly different “memory skills” — phonetic memory and lexical memory. Dyslexics may have a good phonetic memory — as evidenced by their tendency to spell many words phonetically — but a very poor lexical memory.

No two dyslexics demonstrate their disorder in the same manner. It can affect boys and girls equally, across all socioeconomic classes worldwide.

“A combination of abilities and difficulties that affect the learning process in one or more of reading, spelling and writing.

Accompanying weaknesses may be identified in areas of speed of processing, short-term memory, sequencing and organisation, auditory and/or visual perception, spoken language and motor skills. It is particularly related to mastering and using written language, which may include alphabetic, numeric and musical notation.”

the more complex the written language is, the greater the likely percentage of people who will have difficulty reading it.

As many as 1 in 10 people in the UK are dyslexic.

Worldwide, it is likely that the number of dyslexics is likely to be equal to, if not significantly larger than, the number of visually impaired people.

poor short-term memory and organisational skills will mean that site navigation and page organisation become more important.

high contrast text difficult or impossible to read. The phrases I’ve heard most often are “the text keeps moving” or “the words seem to dance on the page.”

percentages or ems.

If possible, use a sans-serif font. The decorative “hooks” on the main strokes of serif letters may create additional problems for dyslexic users.

If you have to use a corporate serif font, consider reducing the letter-spacing slightly so that the letters within a word lie closer together but increasing the word-spacing to create a slightly larger distance between individual words.

uneven word spacing disrupts that pattern recognition.

Unjustified text, although less attractive at first glance. is far easier to read.

When italic fonts are used on a web page, the individual letters can have a slightly jagged line compared to a non-italic font. This “pixelation,” coupled with their “lean to the left” makes them hard for a dyslexic person to read. The effect is compounded if the text is also small.

Use italics sparingly and consider bold text for important words. They’ll be far easier to read.

Photographs, charts and icons can convey a great deal of information regarding the topic of a page. Graphics can break the page up into smaller chunks. They can also provide visual memory aids and support comprehension for dyslexics.

Dyslexics often have poor organisational skills. Lists can help them by organising information into small, logical chunks.

Dyslexics tend to have poor information processing skills. So it is relatively easy to overload them by literally providing too much information on one page.

Within a page, use headings to sub-divide the page logically and visually. Adding coloured heading backgrounds or borders will act as further support.

Consider breaking complex pages down into two or three smaller pages.

Keep site navigation simple and logical. Make sure that the Home page is easily reachable from any part of the site. Try not to “hide” this important link in a logo.

break long sentences down into two or more shorter sentences

Many designers do not realise that some screen reader users can see perfectly well. It is not uncommon for dyslexics to use screen readers to support their reading. This may create problems where text has been positioned off screen.

If you do make use of off screen positioning, try to do so sympathetically. Consider the viewpoint of those who can both hear the screen reader and see the page. Ask yourself if you’re potentially creating confusion.

anecdotal evidence suggests that, as soon as you reduce the colour contrast, the reading difficulties suffered by dyslexics are alleviated, to some degree, across the board.

Contrasts that comply with the thresholds can, and do, create very real problems for dyslexics.

t has been my experience that just about every issue within accessible web design is about balance. Skew any one factor too much in favour of a particular user group and you risk disadvantaging another group with opposing needs.

What I am suggesting is that, if a colour theme is chosen that conforms to, or exceeds, the W3C colour difference threshold, an alternative, low contrast style sheet should be provided as standard.

I then suggested that “disability” be defined as an “inability to pursue an activity because of a medically determinable physical or mental impairment.”

suggest that adhering to the Hewlett-Packard colour difference threshold would represent a more balanced approach to the issue of colour contrast. To that end,

I’ve developed an alternative color contrast analyser for people to try.