After a decade of designing websites for a living, I've had a lot of experiences in dealing with different clients with different tastes and preferences.
At first, I was very compliant with the client's wishes. Since they pay me good money to develop a website, I do everything they wish without thinking of anything else. My opinion wasn't needed, anyway.
Later on, as we developed our process and refined our skills, I noticed that we were completely neglecting some parts of web design, or we were just negligent because it was unbeknownst to us that we were missing out the opportunity to reach for the handicapped audience.
How Accessible is Accessibility?
Those who are in this industry know that a well-designed site has many advantages:
- Professional Design
- Valid Markup
- SEO Friendly
- Cross Browser Compatibility
- Faster Loading Sites
However, in one way or another, one of these advantages can be in conflict with accessibility. There are some web design properties that can be in conflict with the usability of a website, thus creates friction and give us a website that doesn't give much love for the handicapped.
What is Accessibility?
Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the Web. More specifically, Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web, and that they can contribute to the Web. Web accessibility also benefits others, including older people with changing abilities due to aging.
Common Accessibility Problems in Web Design
Although we were aware of the general principles of web design and development, we never tested our sites for accessibility. Thanks to today's technology, screen readers are now available to assist our handicapped brothers, especially those with visual and hearing difficulties.
These are the major problems related to web design as viewed with screen readers, discovered through a survey by WebAIM in 2015:
- Inaccessible Adobe (Macromedia) Flash content - there are a lot of problems with Flash and its compatibility with screen readers. While Google itself is leaving Flash behind and saying hello to HTML5, isn't about time that we do, too?
- Links or buttons that do not make sense - Again, clean coding practices should be followed. If you're having problems or if you want to brush up on your basics, consider looking for a CSS generator or design cheat sheets. The best thing to do is to avoid these kinds of incidents.
- Screens or parts of screens that change unexpectedly.
- Complex or difficult forms. - Forms should be thoroughly A/B tested.
- Too many links or navigation items.
- Lack of "skip to main content" or "skip navigation" links.
We tried too much to please our customers, without regard to accessibility issues. Thanks to the different laws passed on accessibility, we have seen an increase in awareness on website accessibility issues.
Majority of the respondents on the WebAIM survey patronize these screen readers:
- JAWS
- NVDA
- VoiceOver
- Window-Eyes
- ZoomText
- System Access or System Access To Go
- ChromeVox
And surprisingly, mobile screen readers are also in, with Apple leading ahead.
What Does This Tell Us?
Technology doesn't only improve for the sake of those who are abled, but it is also improving the wellness of our handicapped brothers and sisters.
Recently, a web accessibility group helped make Penn State more inclusive. Their secret?
"Accessibility might not be the first thing you think of when creating a PDF or PowerPoint presentation for students," Vinten-Johansen said. "But these materials need to work with screen readers, too. So we're reaching out and working with faculty to help them improve their content."
Vinten-Johansen stresses that everyone at Penn State is welcome and encouraged to reach out to the group about anything accessibility-related.
"We're here for anyone at the University," said Vinten-Johansen. "We want everyone to know that whether they have a question about accessibility or want us to help them with a website or purchasing decision, we're here to help."
So let us make an effort to design websites that aren't only awesome, but also accessible.