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Links and repetitive content – Accessibility Guidelines

Links are commonly used to quickly navigate a site when someone is using assistive technology. Often, screen reader users won’t read through an entire page to find what they are looking for.

Flashing – Section 508 Accessibility Guidelines

Accessibility GSA Section 508

Three Flashes or Below Threshold> Three Flashes or Below Threshold # Web pages do not contain anything that flashes more than three times in any one second period, or the flash is below the general flash and red flash thresholds.

Contrast – Accessibility Guidelines

Accessibility GSA Section 508

Contrast (Minimum)> Contrast (Minimum) # The visual presentation of text and images of text has a contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1, except for the following: Large Text: Large-scale text and images of large-scale text have a contrast ratio of at least 3:1.

When the ADA Requires Web Content to be Accessible

Accessibility ADA

The Americans with Disabilities Act applies to state and local governments (Title II) and businesses that are open to the public (Title III). State and local governments (Title II)> State and local governments (Title II) # Title II of the ADA prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in all services, programs, and activities of state and local governments.

What is Section 508?

Accessibility GSA Section 508

The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) is tasked under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act to provide technical assistance to help federal agencies comply with Section 508 requirements, and ensure that covered ICT is accessible to, and usable by, individuals with disabilities.

Accessibility in Context

Accessibility W3C WAI

The Web is fundamentally designed to work for all people, whatever their hardware, software, language, location, or ability. When the Web meets this goal, it is accessible to people with a diverse range of hearing, movement, sight, and cognitive ability.

Resizable Text – Accessibility Guidelines

Accessibility GSA Section 508

Except for captions and images of text, text can be resized without assistive technology up to 200 percent without loss of content or functionality. Development Considerations Web pages should be designed to be “responsive” to the size of the display on which they are viewed.

Timeouts – Accessibility Guidelines

Accessibility 18F GSA

If timeouts are used, you must give the user at least 20 seconds to easily request more time. Testing> Testing # Identify any timeouts on the page. Contact the developer to find these.

Forms – Section 508 Accessibility Guidelines

Accessibility GSA Section 508

Info and Relationships> Info and Relationships # Information, structure, and relationships conveyed through presentation can be programmatically determined or are available in text. Content/Design Considerations The border around the grouped fields can be hidden programmatically if it conflicts with the design.

Language – Section 508 Accessibility Guidelines

Accessibility GSA Section 508

Language of Page> Language of Page # The default human language of each web page can be programmatically determined. Language of Parts> Language of Parts # The human language of each passage or phrase in the content can be programmatically determined except for proper names, technical terms, words of indeterminate language, and words or phrases that have become part of the vernacular of the immediately surrounding text.

CAPTCHA – Accessibility Guidelines

Accessibility GSA Section 508

If the purpose of non-text content is to confirm the content is being accessed by a person rather than a computer, then text alternatives that identify and describe the purpose of the non-text content are provided, and alternative forms of CAPTCHA using output modes for different types of sensory perception are provided to accommodate different disabilities.

Multimedia – Accessibility Guidelines

Accessibility 18F GSA

When using multimedia, we must provide means for everyone to consume the media. Multimedia is anything that uses audio and video. Captioning> Captioning # Videos with audio require synchronized captioning. Captioning can be either closed, meaning they can be turned off, or open captioning, meaning it is baked into the video.

Evaluating Accessibility

Accessibility W3C WAI

When developing or redesigning a website, evaluate accessibility early and throughout the development process to identify accessibility problems early, when it is easier to address them. Simple steps, such as changing settings in a browser, can help you evaluate some aspects of accessibility.

Stylesheet – Accessibility Guidelines

Accessibility GSA Section 508

Non-Text Content> Non-Text Content # All non-text content that is presented to the user has a text alternative that serves the equivalent purpose. Content/Design Considerations Avoid using meaningful images as background images.

Page titles – Accessibility Guidelines

Accessibility 18F GSA

Page titles are important because they help a user navigate their browser. Most users have multiple tabs open at once. It’s easier to jump between pages if each page title is unique.

Forms – Accessibility Guidelines

Accessibility 18F GSA

Making forms accessible is a simple process. Each form element should be associated with its instructions and errors, and everything should be accessible via the keyboard. Testing> Testing # Identify each form element.

Language – Accessibility Guidelines

Accessibility 18F GSA

Setting the language of your site allows assistive technology to interact with your content correctly. Assistive technology will read foreign languages, but it needs to know the main language of the page and when any content’s language differs from the default language for the page.

Accessibility is Important for Individuals, Businesses, Society

Accessibility W3C WAI

The Web is an increasingly important resource in many aspects of life: education, employment, government, commerce, health care, recreation, and more. It is essential that the Web be accessible in order to provide equal access and equal opportunity to people with diverse abilities.

Color and contrast – Accessibility Guidelines

Accessibility 18F GSA

There are two main accessibility concerns for color, contrast and color dependence. Color contrast is the ratio of the foreground color(text) and the background color. Text should have a ratio of 4.

WCAG Conformance Requirements

Accessibility GSA Section 508

Requirement 1: Alternate Pages> Requirement 1: Alternate Pages # Development Considerations To meet the requirements of a conforming alternate version, it must: Conform to all Level A and AA criteria, and Provide all of the same information and functionality in the same human language, and Be as up to date as the non-conforming content, and At least one of the following is true: The conforming version can be reached from the non-conforming page via an accessibility-supported mechanism, or The non-conforming version can only be reached from the conforming version, or The non-conforming version can only be reached from a conforming page that also provides a mechanism to reach the conforming version.