Test With People
If you’re creating inclusive websites, it’s crucial that you expand your user pool of testers to include individuals with disabilities or, at a minimum, subject matter experts versed in the many nuances of navigating the digital world with assistive technologies (AT), such as screen readers. [pullquote]At best, automated testing tools can only detect about one third of the potential issues[/pullquote] One of the most common misperceptions about accessibility is that, if you use an automated testing tool, you can find out everything that is wrong with your site. At best, automated testing tools can only detect about one third of the potential issues. Even in the case of the WebAIM Million study, the number of issues uncovered only consisted of automatically detectable issues. It’s safe to assume, the number of issues that actually exist on the web pages evaluated in the study are largely understated. Accessibility testing might seem simple on the surface, but usability testing leveraging assistive technologies is complex and multi-faceted. Motor, visual, cognitive and auditory impairments can all impact user experience, as can the specific AT and browser combination being used. To gain a true understanding of how usable your site is with these tools, you can’t just rely on automated testing.If All You Plan To Do Is Implement A Toolbar, Think Again
Doing something is certainly better than doing nothing, and we should all applaud anyone that is taking steps to improve the accessibility of their digital assets. But if you think that adding a free accessibility toolbar, alone, is doing enough, you should take note. It’s not.
Toolbar providers that don’t test your site with people or couple their offering with custom, human-informed fixes that correct accessibility violations, do next to nothing to reduce compliance risk. Despite many of the claims they tend to make about their AI and ML technologies achieving full compliance by simply embedding a single code into your website, most overlay solutions do not have a material impact in improving website accessibility compliance. Unfortunately, fully autonomous website accessibility isn’t a thing. Be wary of those making bold, sweeping claims to the contrary. Outsourced accessibility providers will continue to fall short without a broader, more holistic approach.
[pullquote]fully autonomous website accessibility isn’t a thing[/pullquote]
Not all toolbar (or “overlay”) solutions are alike, though. A trusted provider will be backed by an expansive customer base of enterprise-grade clients who have vetted the integrity and, perhaps most importantly, the security of the service. At the end of the day, unless they are having a meaningful impact in improving conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), they aren’t moving the needle toward compliance, which is very much focused on adhering to these internationally recognized standards and, more importantly, removing digital access barriers for individuals with disabilities.
Stay Current With The Latest Standards
Speaking of WCAG, for the last several years, the talk of the town, when it came to website accessibility, has been WCAG 2.0 Level AA Success Criteria. WCAG 2.1 (which incorporates 2.0) was actually released back in 2018. Since the latter half of 2019, plaintiffs and claimants have begun to reference WCAG 2.1 AA. When benchmarking, be sure to reference WCAG 2.1, which includes 12 new level AA testable success criteria, which are heavily focused on cognitive disabilities and requirements for mobile/responsive design. If you really want to stay ahead of the curve, keep pace with the W3C’s progress on evolving the standards. Check out WCAG 2.2, which will be here before you know it.Think Different For Those Who Might Think (And Navigate) Differently
A lot of the discussion around digital accessibility tends to lean toward vision and hearing disabilities. The vast majority of lawsuits filed are from blind individuals relying on screen reader compatibility or hearing impaired individuals requiring video captioning. But, the size of these demographics pales in comparison to the number of individuals impacted by cognitive and ambulatory disabilities, the two most prevalent disabilities in the United States. There are several accommodations designers and developers can take to improve usability for individuals with cognitive and learning disabilities. Reading level aligns with the higher level, AAA, WCAG conformance, but making sure your content isn’t written for a rocket scientist to understand is always a good idea. Something below a lower secondary education level is optimal for lower-literacy users. Breaking up, or chunking, site content into digestible snippets is also proven to improve retention and understanding, especially for those site visitors with shorter attention spans or individuals with Attention Deficit Disorder. Providing options to change fonts and letter and paragraph spacing has proven to offer a similar benefit. [pullquote]the more accessible your website, the better your search results[/pullquote] For individuals with mobility impairments, optimizing for keyboard navigation has many benefits and it’s easy and fun to test. Harnessing the power of the tab key and putting yourself in the shoes of a user who relies solely on the keyboard to engage and interact with your site should become an essential tool in your accessibility testing arsenal. You’ll quickly understand and become fanatic about keyboard focus indicators, skip navigation links, and if you’ve implemented infinite scroll, you might just pull your hair out. Your users will likely be better off with easy-to-follow triggers, like a “Load more results…” button. There are a considerable number of additional factors that must be taken into account when striving to ensure a fully accessible website experience. Video transcription and captioning, audio description, color selection, layout, structure, animation and effects are just a few examples. When you start examining your website through the lens of accessibility, you’ll quickly realize that the potential pitfalls are many, but the potential to transform your site — and expand your access as a result — is significant. Simply put, designing for accessibility is good business. Accessibility is directly proportional to SEO friendliness; the more accessible your website, the better your search results and the wider the net cast around your potential audience. When usability is good, clean and simple, reach and impact are also increased. And no one can argue with the cost-benefit analysis of that. Featured image via Unsplash.WDD Staff
WDD staff are proud to be able to bring you this daily blog about web design and development. If there's something you think we should be talking about let us know @DesignerDepot.
Read Next
10+ Best Resources & Tools for Web Designers (2024 update)
Is searching for the best web design tools to suit your needs akin to having a recurring bad dream? Does each…
By WDD Staff
3 Essential Design Trends, April 2024
Ready to jump into some amazing new design ideas for Spring? Our roundup has everything from UX to color trends…
How to Plan Your First Successful Website
Planning a new website can be exciting and — if you’re anything like me — a little daunting. Whether you’re an…
By Simon Sterne
15 Best New Fonts, March 2024
Welcome to March’s edition of our roundup of the best new fonts for designers. This month’s compilation includes…
By Ben Moss
LimeWire Developer APIs Herald a New Era of AI Integration
Generative AI is a fascinating technology. Far from the design killer some people feared, it is an empowering and…
By WDD Staff
20 Best New Websites, March 2024
Welcome to our pick of sites for March. This month’s collection tends towards the simple and clean, which goes to show…
Exciting New Tools for Designers, March 2024
The fast-paced world of design never stops turning, and staying ahead of the curve is essential for creatives. As…
Web Tech Trends to Watch in 2024 and Beyond
It hardly seems possible given the radical transformations we’ve seen over the last few decades, but the web design…
By Louise North
6 Best AI Productivity Apps in 2024
There’s no escaping it: if you want to be successful, you need to be productive. The more you work, the more you…
By Simon Sterne
3 Essential Design Trends, February 2024
From atypical typefaces to neutral colors to unusual user patterns, there are plenty of new website design trends to…
Surviving the Leap from College to Real-World Design
So, you’ve finished college and are ready to showcase your design skills to the world. This is a pivotal moment that…
By Simon Sterne
20 Mind-Bending Illusions That Will Make You Question Reality
Mind-bending videos. Divisive Images. Eye-straining visuals. This list of optical illusions has it all. Join us as we…
By Max Walton