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

Podcast #32: Testing for Web Accessibility

Monday, October 30, 2006

All about testing for web accessibility -- the tools, methods, hows and whys.

Download Episode 32 (Testing for Web Accessibility)

[Transcript for Web Axe 32]

News

• IE7 Final Release
• Firefox 2
• New Image Replacement - Monday by Noon
• MSU's Fourth Annual Usability & Accessibility Event

General

• (Generally) Follow guidelines by WCAG, WebAIM, Accessify, this podcast
• Follow any guidelines required by law (ADA, Section 508, DDA [UK])
• Ensure multimedia and PDF are accessible
• Use web standards
• What CANNOT be tested by most automated tools:
• Color contrast
• Simple language
• Tab order (tabindex)

Methods

• Automated tools
• Review site with keyboard only
• Review site with screenreader, if available
• Have impaired users test your site
• Headings used appropriately

Tools

Cynthia Says

• by HiSoftware
• Returns long table, listed by checkpoint, if web page passed that checkpoint or not
• Select WCAG levels or Section 508
• Included in Firefox Developer Toolbar

A-Prompt

• Adaptive Technology Resource Centre, University of Toronto
• Computer application--Windows only
• Performs automatic repairs
• Select WCAG levels or Section 508

Watchfire WebXACT

• Used to be known as Bobby
• Besides accessibility checks, it gives:
• Page download size
• Metadata summary
• Broken links
• Browser compatibility

Firefox Web Developer Toolbar

• turn on/off CSS
• validate XHTML and CSS
• disable javascript
• hide images, display alt tags
• resize browser
• edit CSS
• much, much more!

Accessibility Toolbar

• IE only
• validate XHTML and CSS
• resize browser
• toggle javascript, images/alt
• heading structure

WAVE from WebAim

• four ways to use Accessibility checker
• Method 1: Submit the URI of a page
• Method 2: Upload a page
• Method 3: Install WAVE toolbar in browser
• Method 4: Add WAVE bookmarklet to browser

Lynx viewer

• by Yellowpipe Internet Services
• Just enter URL and give your Lynx text-only rendering
• Also can download and install Lynx application

Opera

• "User Mode" with text browser emulator and more
• Easily turn off images
• Screen sizing

Firefox Speech Browser Extensions

• Foxy Voice - http://foxyvoice.kenche.info/
• Fire Vox http://www.firevox.clcworld.net
• Fangs - Emulator (uses text)
• http://sourceforge.net/projects/fangs

Mobile Web Emulators

• Openwave Phone Simulator
• Nokia Emulator
• Pocket PC - Mobile Windows emulator

Labels: accessibility, podcast, testing, toolbar, web

0 comments

New Guidelines for Accessibility Launched

Saturday, October 28, 2006

The National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) based in Boston, Massachusetts, has released "Accessible Digital Media - Design Guidelines for Electronic Publications, Multimedia and the Web".

The CPB/WGBH National Center for Accessible Media (NCAM) is a research and development facility dedicated to the issues of media and information technology for people with disabilities in their homes, schools, workplaces, and communities.

The guidelines offer a step-by-step approach to making a variety of electronic media accessible to users with sensory disabilities.

1 comments

Interview with Paul Boag from Boagworld

Sunday, October 22, 2006

If you don't know him yet, Paul Boag is a web standards and accessibility enthusiast from the UK who runs a very popular web site boagworld.com (blog, forum, and podcast). Paul is a founding partner of Headscape development company. He is speaking at the Refresh06 conference next month in Orlando, Florida.

Download Episode 31 (Interview with Paul Boag)

Links:

• Practical Web Design Podcast
• .net magazine
• Get Vanilla!
  
• Accessify
  

Labels: accessibility, boag, expert, interview, standards, web

0 comments

Federal judge sustains discrimination claims against Target

Monday, October 16, 2006

Federal judge sustains discrimination claims against Target; precedent establishes that retailers must make their websites accessible to the blind under the ADA

A federal district court judge ruled yesterday that a retailer may be sued if its website is inaccessible to the blind. The ruling was issued in a case brought by the National Federation of the Blind against Target Corp. The suit charges that Target’s website is inaccessible to the blind, and therefore violates the Americans with Disabilities Act. (ADA), the California Unruh Civil Rights Act, and the California Disabled Persons Act.

Hoorah!

0 comments

The Title Attribute

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Dennis and Ross discuss the powerful "title" attribute including how it works, the benefits to accessibility, title vs. alt, SEO, and other cool uses.

Download Web Axe Episode 30 (The Title Attribute)

[Transcript of Web Axe 30]

Links:

• Providing a frame title (Priority 1 WCAG guideline)
  
• Sweet Titles
• SEO and Accessibility
• Don't Neglect the title Attribute
  

Labels: accessibility, alt, attribute, podcast, seo, title, web

1 comments

CSS Validator color warnings are not errors

Tuesday, October 10, 2006

A highly accessible web site uses web standards, which means XHTML and CSS. When using the W3C CSS validator to validate your CSS, many times the following warnings come up: "You have no color with your background-color" and "You have no background-color with your color". In his blog posting, Roger Johansson explains why CSS Validator colour warnings are not errors. He states:

Those particular warnings are there for accessibility reasons and to remind you that you need to take care when specifying colours. The validator is trying to help you reduce the risk of your author stylesheets interfering with user stylesheets or system-wide colour settings.

0 comments

Interview with Author Christian Heilmann

Tuesday, October 03, 2006

Chris Heilmann is the author of Beginning JavaScript with DOM Scripting and Ajax: From Novice to Professional. He's also a co-author of Web Accessibility: Web Standards and Regulatory Compliance. He's writes an excellent blog Wait Till I Come and has contributed many articles in web development including several articles to A List Apart and SitePoint. He is also a member of the Web Standards Project.

Download Web Axe Episode 29 (Interview with Christian Heilmann)

• Web Accessibility: Web Standards and Regulatory Compliance
• Beginning JavaScript with DOM Scripting and Ajax: From Novice to Professional

Labels: accessibility, ajax, author, dom, expert, interview, javascript, standards, web

2 comments

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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

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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

 

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Web Axe was nominated for "Podcast of the Year" in .net magazine's 2008 and 2009 Best of the Web awards.

To learn more about Dennis Lembree, the founder and main host of Web Axe, visit his web site at www.DennisLembree.com.