Re: Home Page behavior. It is interesting that 46% of respondents, on 1st accessing a new site read through the Home page. Maybe that is the only way to test a site and find out how difficult or easy it will be to navigate it. Why waste time struggling to make sense of it when you can listen to the whole thing at least once? In addition, I noticed in observing a screen reader user that the voice speed is incredibly fast, as she is used to it, so, as the article notes, an experienced user will have the speed set very high. I could not possibly follow the speed of the user I observed. However, when I try to learn to use a screen reader, such as NVDA, I will use the same approach, and simply listen to an entire Home Page.
Re: Headers. Interesting that study participants were not asked about first reading Lists (which would cover menus); along with the noted omission of not asking whether people first read Headers, which many probably do.
As for the 2nd most frequent 1st action reported as being to navigate through or listen to the links on the Home page, that may make sense because often when visiting a page, the purpose is to find something you expect to find there. That may often be a link to something. In addition, as the survey did not include "lists" as a possible 1st thing to read, the "links" choice would cover menu lists.
The questions and answers about "skip" links are interesting because although I have heard of them as important to screen reader users, I did not know what they mean. Looking it up, I found an article, also on WebAIM: http://webaim.org/techniques/skipnav/ It is what it sounds like, a method of skipping past top header information and menus at the top and/or left (menu) of a page. It is a link to an anchor in the main content provided to reduce the number of keystrokes required to get to the main content. There are methods for using both visible and invisible "skip navigation" links, usually placed at the top of a page. In addition, tab order may be used to reduce the number of keystrokes necessary to reach either the skip navigation link or the main content. According to the Survey of Preferences article, the percent of respondents who use skip navigation 'always if available' or 'often' is 51%, and the total who use it at least sometimes is 82%. That means that it is of real value to a user who is using a screen reader and/or has physical limitations and appreciates fewer keystrokes.
Re: Finding the Search box. The fact that the highest percent of respondents jump to the first text/edit field or to the first form element on a page, is an indication of the value of adopting some style conventions, such as placing a search box at the upper right of a page. Unfortunately, this survey did not ask how often a search yields anything useful. Everyone seems to know how to find it, but based on my own disappointing experiences, I do wonder whether search should be improved on many sites so that it can be of value. Similarly, the low numbers of people surveyed who use Site Maps, may be an indication of how useless they are, and/or how rare they are. Even though as web designers we learn that a site map is necessary (for SEO, if nothing else), I rarely find one that is up to date, if there at all.
I relate to the comments about Flash and about Text-only versions of pages, because I am involved with web content that is often multi-media. I am often trying to decide what is the best format for accessibility. I think these survey results as well as many other features of Flash all point to great difficulty with it, and I think it should be a last resort for presenting multi-media. Clearly, it should not be used for menus and for entire sites. Similarly, Text-only versions are very important in my work environment because they may be the only way to offer accessible alternatives to multi-media PPT files that have not been produced to be accessible. I was also told by one person I interviewed that she always prefers a text-only version of a page if it is available. On the other hand, the survey remarks note that text page version may not be well done, either. If Headers are not used, for example, then the screen reader does not have that high-level organization available to help "scan" the contents of a page. I have seen bad text-only content. There is no easy solution.
What an eye-opener Glenda Watson Hyatt's blog post "The iPad as an Affordable Communicator: Initial Review" is. I had no idea that the iPad could be so valuable a tool to anyone, and have thought of it as a fun luxury for those who can afford every new gadget. It appears that one of the most valuable features of the iPad is the access to utilities such as the Prologue2Go app that have literally changed the life of Glenda Watson Hyatt.
Glenda is highly qualified to judge tools that aid in communication for those with limitations in speech or movement. Not only is she in need of the aides such as the text-to-voice app, and the text enlarging app she uses on the iPad -- but, she is also clearly a sophisticated technical user. Her opinions and experience are reliable and valid. If I had money to spare I would go right out and get an iPad just in order to know exactly what the experience is like.
I will definitely return to Glenda's blog, as her insights and experiences are fascinating, and I look forward to learning more about how she interacts with the world. She seems quite expert at most aspects of it, so I think there is a great deal to be learned by seeing a little of the world through Glenda's blog!
Web accessibility means making content available to everyone. In order to accomplish this web content creators and site developers/coders must understand the possible limitations that site viewers/visitors may have. Addressing the range of possible limitations requires being sure that content can be:
read using a range of possible assistive technology
heard through alternatives to sound, if sound contributes to the content delivered
navigated with tools other than just mouse or keyboard
comprehended by people with a wide range of cognitive abilities
Why does accessibility matter? Web accessibility helps both site owners and their clients. More clients who can use a site means more potential customers to do business with.Pages that are designed and coded for accessibility are smaller in file size, load faster and are more maintainable. Using less markup can increase the ratio of keywords to other text, helping achieve better SEO. Coding for accessibility means satisfying the current definitions of quality for web page coding. Higher quality pages rank higher in SEO, and better quality coding is a selling point for developers.
What is "Section 508"? Section 508 refers to the US Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and amended in 1998. The law requires that federal agencies make access to electronic information accessible to all employees and the public with disabilities. Although it applies to all federal web/electronic content, it also impacts private industry that does business with the federal government by requiring that work produced meet the standards of Section 508.The IT Accessibility & Workforce Division in the US General Services Administration's Office of Governmentwide Policy is responsible for the education of Federal employees and maintaining resources to support its implementation See: http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?fuseAction=AboutUs for a full definition.
Some Section 508 requirements include:
provide a text equivalent for non-text elements
caption multimedia
do not rely on color alone to distinguish content
provide basic markup that can be read without a style sheet
use client-side image maps where possible
provide row/column headers in data tables and indicate nested row/columns
title frames
avoid flicker/blink
provide a text-only page when there is no other way to meet the requirements
provide text indication of a script ("this is a script")
provide links to required plugins
forms must be usable with Assistive Technology
permit skipping repetitive navigation links
alert users when time-limited actions are running out of time
What is WCAG? Web Content Accessibility Guidelines are standards set by the w3c organization. Most non-US site developers conform to the WCAG standards, rather than the US-based Section 508. The WCAG consists of 14 guidelines along with priority levels indicating which are most important (priority 1). The 14 guidelines are:
1. Provide alt tags to auditory and visual content
2. don't rely on color alone
3. use markup and style sheets and do so properly
4. clarify natural language usage
5. create tables that transform / restructure well in various devices
6. ensure that pages featuring new technologies transform well in various devices
7. ensure user control of time-sensitive content changes
8. ensure direct accessibility of multimedia interfaces
9. design for device-independence
10. use interim solutions
11. Follow current W3C technologies and guideline
12. provide context and orientation info so that a user knows where in a site and page s/he is
13. provide clear navigation mechanisms
14. ensure text content is clear and simple
The WCAG and Section 508 requirements are very similar. A site that is developed to meet either set of standards will be high quality and accessible to the vast majority of users.
