Web Axe: web accessibility podcast and blog
Podcast and blog on practical web design accessibility tips.
What is web accessibility? | Email: web axe [at gmail] NOSPAM! dot com
Current Posts
Want to be on Web Axe?
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Dennis is looking for an Accessibility guru who wants to be part of at least one podcast on Web Axe. If interested just send Dennis an email at web axe at gmail dot com. Topic ideas welcomed.Labels: accessibility, administrative, podcast
Accessible PDF (Acrobat) Files
Sunday, October 23, 2005
We all know that PDF files (Adobe Acrobat) are very common in the workplace and on the web. Learn how to make them Accessible in this tenth podcast of Web Axe.Download Web Axe Episode 10
Links:
- Adobe on PDF Accessibility
- WebAim's PDF Techniques
- A List Apart on PDF Accessibility
- Make Accessible Plug-In for Acrobat 5
Labels: accessibility, acrobat, pdf, podcast, web
Ten Reasons Clients Don't Care About Accessibility
Tuesday, October 18, 2005
I found a great article from Digital Web on the frustrations of getting the client to understand the need for web accessibility.10 Reasons Clients Don't Care About Accessibility
What are your thoughts?
Tab Order and Accesskey
Monday, October 17, 2005
Techniques and discussion on setting the tabbing sequence and creating access keys for elements on your HTML page.Download Web Axe Episode 9
- W3C Checkpoint 9.4 (Priority 3)
- W3C Accesskey Attribute
- W3C Tab Index Attribute
- WebAim on Keyboard Accessibility Enhancement
<label for="txtuser" tabindex="1" accesskey="u">user name</label>
<input type="text" name="txtuser" id="txtuser">
<a tabindex="2" accesskey="c" href="http://www.yoursite.com/contents.html">table of contents</a>
Labels: accessibility, accesskey, code, podcast, tab, web
Testing for Accessibility
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
So, you've done all you can to make your site fully accessible. And now you have to test it! There are many different methods and opinions of what the best way is, as Dennis explains, and auto-checker applications are only a small piece of the pie.Download Web Axe Episode 8
Great tools for testing web accessibility:
- Cythia Says
- A-Prompt
- Watchfire WebXACT
Firefox Web Developer ToolbarAccessibility Toolbar (IE 5+)- Testing with Screenreaders from WebAim
- WAVE from WebAim
- ATRC Web Accessibility Checker
- Opera 8
Labels: accessibility, podcast, testing, web, webaim
Terminology Explained
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Clearing up a few strange terms related to accessibility.Download Web Axe Episode 7
- A user agent is the client application used with a particular network protocol.
- Device independent means a user can perceive and interact with the Web through any type of apparatus (mobile phones,
PDAs, interactive television systems, etc.). Device independent on Wikipedia Assistive Technology (AT) is a generic term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices and the process used in selecting, locating, and using them. A deprecated element or attribute is one that has been outdated by newer constructs.
Labels: accessibility, podcast, terms, web
Skip-Nav Technique
Wednesday, October 05, 2005
The "skip-nav" technique is a method for the online cursor to jump over a group of navigation links, usually a site's main menu.Download Web Axe Episode 6
Links:
Sample code:
<body>
<a href="#maincontent">Skip navigation</a>
...[header and navigation links]...
<a name="maincontent" id="maincontent"></a>
<h1>Heading</h1>
<p>This is the first paragraph</p>
Labels: accessibility, code, navigation, podcast, web
Abbreviation and Acronym Issue
Monday, October 03, 2005
Using the ABBR and ACRONYM tags is a great technique that is simple and works very well---with standards-compliant browsers, that is. Until IE complies to world web standards, coders must hack the functionality in. I despise hacking for IE and try to avoid it. But, we have to admit that around 85% of users are still on IE and we should try to go out of our way sometimes to gratify them. If this is you, please try a standards-compliant browser such as Firefox or Netscape.The ABBR and ACRONYM tags give the user the full text for an abbreviation and acronym. For example, ID would have "identification" associated with it. Example:
<abbr title="identification">ID</abbr>But this won't work in IE due to its lack of standards-compliancy. The method I've used the for word "ID" above so that it works in IE also is as follows: (the CSS would be in a global stylesheet, of course):
<abbr title="identification"><span title="identification" style="border-bottom: 1px dotted #000;">ID<span></abbr>Is this the best method for now? Should we coders be using these methods at all?
Labels: abbreviation, accessibility, acronym, standards, web
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Previous Posts
- Podcast #76: Web Accessibility Disasters
- Roundup: Accessibility Links on Twitter
- Accessible YouTube Sites
- Free Browsers for Visual Impairment
- Colorblind, Law, and Lightboxes
- Podcast #75: Jeremy Keith Interview, Google Wave
- ATIA Chicago 2009
- Accessibility Round-Up from Twitter
- Podcast #74: Awards, Events & Back to Basics
- Accessible Twitter Wins Award, Slidedeck
Related Sites
- Web Overhauls - tune-up your web site!
- Accessible Twitter - superior alternative to Twitter.com.
- 3.7crea.tv - web design and marketing blog.
- Refresh Detroit - regional group for web professionals.
- Detroit Podcasters Network.
- Website Design - seo friendly web design company.
About the Hosts
About Dennis
Dennis Lembree is the founder of web development company Web Overhauls, which specializes in web usability, standards, and accessibility. Follow Dennis on Twitter: @dennisl
About Ross
Ross Johnson runs a web design company (3.7 Designs) that takes a wholistic view on the web and art of constructing pages. They strive to be creative and unique. Follow Ross on Twitter: @3pointross