Episode 65 Resources: Web Accessibility in a Nutshell

Table of Contents

• Archives
• Description
• “Basics” – Getting Started, Why?, Legal & Policy
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
• “Background” –  User Experience & Perspectives
• “Barrier” Content Areas
• Test & Evaluate
• Beyond the Web
• Spanish/ En Español

Archives

• Audio: SoundCloud ADA Live! Episode 65: Web Accessibility in a Nutshell
  Link: soundcloud.com/adalive/
• Transcript for Episode 65 (PDF file)
  Transcripción en español Charla 65- La accesibilidad web en resumen (PDF file)
• Video (captioned): Facebook Southeast ADA Center – ADA Live! Episode 65
  Link: facebook.com/pg/southeastadacenter/videos/
• ADA Live! Episode 12: Web Accessibility
  • More Web Accessibility Resources from ADA Live! Episode 12
    Link: adalive.org/episode12_resources

Description

Use of the Internet is increasingly enmeshed and vital in education, business, and daily life. However, various barriers prevent equal access and limit equal opportunity to the Web for people with disabilities. This episode of ADA Live! will highlight the basics of web accessibility including: why it is important, the ADA and other laws, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), and common barriers to web access. Discover some tips and best practices to help you get started in providing more accessible and usable web applications and digital materials to a diverse audience.

“Basics” – Getting Started, Why?, Legal & Policy

Introduction/Overview

• Accessibility Fundamentals – Introduction to Web Accessibility
  Link: w3.org/WAI/fundamentals/accessibility-intro/
• Resources for Roles – Web Accessibility
  Link: w3.org/WAI/roles/
• Quick Reference: Web Accessibility Principles
  Link: webaim.org/resources/quickref/
• Infographic: Web Accessibility for Designers
  Link:  webaim.org/resources/designers/

Statistics & Business Case

• Infographic: Disability Impacts All of Us
  Link: cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/infographic-disability-impacts-all.html
• Business Case for Digital Accessibility
  Link: w3.org/WAI/business-case/
• U.S. Disability Statistics by State, County, City, and Age
  Link: disabled-world.com/disability/statistics/scc.php#state

Legal

• Senator Duckworth and Representative Sarbanes Introduce Bill to Make Websites and Mobile Applications Accessible to Individuals with Disabilities
  Source: American Council of the Blind (ACB) (September 29, 2022)
  Link:  acb.org/senator-duckworth-and-representative-sarbanes-introduce-bill-to-make-web-applications-accessible
• Guidance on Web Accessibility and the ADA
  DOJ’s guidance on web accessibility and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It explains how state and local governments (entities covered by ADA Title II) and businesses open to the public (entities covered by ADA Title III) can make sure their websites are accessible to people with disabilities in line with the ADA’s requirements.
  Source: The Department of Justice (DOJ)
  Link: beta.ada.gov/web-guidance/
• Web Accessibility Worldwide: Why Standards Vary, and How International Brands Should Respond
  The ultimate goal of web accessibility is to deliver an equal experience to every user. It’s what we ought to strive for, but how do we make it happen?
  Source: American Marketing Association (AMA)
  Link: ama.org/marketing-news/web-accessibility-worldwide-why-standards-vary-and-how-international-brands-should-respond/
• DOJ Confirms Websites are Covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act
  Source: Partnership on Employment & Accessible Technology (PEAT)
  Link: peatworks.org/blog/2018/dec/doj-confirms-websites-are-covered-americans-disabilities-act
• Web Accessibility Laws & Policies
  Link: w3.org/WAI/policies/
• ADA Title II Action Guide for State and Local Governments
  (Topics:Web Accessibility, Administrative Requirements)
  Link: adaactionguide.org/ada-title-ii-requirements
• U.S. Access Board website section for Communications & IT
  Link: access-board.gov/guidelines-and-standards/communications-and-it
• Section508.gov
  Source: GSA Government-wide IT Accessibility Program
  Link:  section508.gov
• Webinar Series: Section 508 Best Practices
  Recent: Archives of Webinars – Section 508 Best Practices
  Link: accessibilityonline.org/cioc-508/schedule
• Accessibility Legal Updates, Laws and Regulations
  Source:Law Office of Lainey Feingold
  Link: lflegal.com/category/accessibility-laws-and-regulations/
• ADA Title III News & Insights
  Source: Seyfarth & Shaw
  Link: adatitleiii.com
• “ADApt your Website”: Key Takeaways from the Domino’s Website litigation
  Source: JD Supra
  Link: www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/adapt-your-website-key-takeaways-from-97555

Accessibility Statements & Policies

Best practice is to have in the footer a link named “Accessibility” that goes to a webpage, which contains information on accessibility of content and to contact.

•  Developing an Accessibility Statement
  Link: w3.org/WAI/planning/statements/
• Generate an Accessibility Statement
  Link: w3.org/WAI/planning/statements/generator/#create
• Planning and Policies on Web Accessibility
  — Developing Organizational Policies on Web Accessibility
  Link: w3.org/WAI/planning/org-policies

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)

• Video: Introduction to Web Accessibility and W3C Standards [4:08 min., captioned]
  Link:  w3.org/WAI/videos/standards-and-benefits/
• WCAG Standards/Guidelines
  Link: w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/
• WCAG 2.1 at a Glance
  Link:  w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/glance/
• W3C What’s New in WCAG 2.1
  Link: w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/new-in-21/
• Resources for Roles – Web Accessibility
  Link: w3.org/WAI/roles/
• How to Meet W3C WCAG 2.0 – Quick Reference
  Link: w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/quickref
• WebAIM WCAG 2.0 Checklist for HTML documents
  Link: webaim.org/standards/wcag/checklist
• Comprehensive Checklist for WCAG 2.0 [PDF, 4 pages]
  Link: blog.invervemarketing.com/hubfs/InVerve-SAPeters_WebContentAccessibilityGuidelines_Checklist.pdf?t=1504290925991
• W3C WCAG 2.0
  Link: w3.org/TR/WCAG20

“Background” –  User Experience & Perspectives

• Video: Web Accessibility Perspectives [YouTube, captioned, 7:36 min.]
  Source: YouTube – W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
  Link: youtube.com/watch?v=3f31oufqFSM
• Web Accessibility Perspectives
  Link: w3.org/WAI/perspective-videos/
• How People with Disabilities Use the Web
  Link: w3.org/WAI/people-use-web/
• Eye Disease Simulations
  Source: National Eye Institute (NEI)
  Link: nei.nih.gov/health/examples/

“Barrier” Content Areas

Images and Alternative Text

• Accessible Images
  Link: webaim.org/techniques/images/
• Alternative Text Basics
  Link: webaim.org/techniques/alttext/
• Alt-Text: The Ultimate Guide
  Link: axesslab.com/alt-texts/
• Accessible Comics
  Link: axesslab.com/accessible-comics/

Links

• Links and Hypertext
  Link: webaim.org/techniques/hypertext/
• Link Contrast Checker
  Link: webaim.org/resources/linkcontrastchecker/

Color & Contrast

• Color Contrast Checker
  Source: Web Accessibility in Mind (WebAIM)
  Link: webaim.org/resources/contrastchecker

Captioning, Audio, Video

Keep in mind:

• Under the ADA, the responsibility to provide effective communication, non-discrimination, equal opportunity, equal access.
• YouTube and other “automatic” or machine-generated caption tools are continually improving in accuracy and may be a good start in saving time and money. But, the captions and transcripts must be reviewed to ensure providing “effective communication” – otherwise may be “craptions”
• WCAG 2.0 Guideline 1.2 Time-based Media: Provide alternatives for time-based media
  Link:  w3.org/TR/WCAG20/#media-equiv
• CADET (Caption and Description Editing Tool)
  Link: ncamftp.wgbh.org/cadet/
• YouDescribe (Free tool to add audio description to YouTube videos)
  About: Video Tutorial: What is YouDescribe?
  Link: youdescribe.org
• YouTube Captions and Translation
  Link: support.google.com/youtube/topic/3014331

Writing

• Plain Language Guidelines, Examples, & Resources
  Link: plainlanguage.gov
• Writing Clearly and Simply
  Link: webaim.org/techniques/writing/
• Style Guide on Disability
  Source: National Center on Disability and Journalism (NCDJ)
  Link: ncdj.org/style-guide/
• Guidelines for Writing About People With Disabilities
  Source: ADA National Netowrk
  Link: /adata.org/factsheet/ADANN-writing
• People First Language and People First Language Guidelines [PDF]
  Source: Georgia Council for Developmental Disabilities (GCDD)
  Link: gcdd.org/news-a-media/people-first-language.html

Forms

• Creating Accessible Forms
  Link: webaim.org/techniques/forms/

Test & Evaluate

Quick Checks

• Easy Checks: A First Review of Web Accessibility
  Link:  w3.org/WAI/test-evaluate/preliminary/
• Quick Reference: Testing Web Content for Accessibility
  Link:  webaim.org/resources/evalquickref/
• Change and Check Text Size in Web Browser
  Link:  adata.org/accessibility
• Web Accessibility First Aid: Approaches for Interim Repairs
  Link:  w3.org/WAI/planning/interim-repairs/

Tools

• WAVE – web accessibility evaluation tool
  Source: WebAIM
  Link: wave.webaim.org
• Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools Overview
  Source: W3C WAI
  Link: w3.org/WAI/test-evaluate/tools/
• Webinar Archive: Free Web Evaluation Tools: What They Can (and Can’t) Do
  Source: Accessible Technology Webinar Series – Great Lakes ADA Center and ADA National Network
  Link: accessibilityonline.org/ada-tech/archives
• Readability Test
  Source: Juicy Studio
  Link: juicystudio.com/services/readability.php

NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access)

• Download: NVDA from NV Access
  Link: nvaccess.org/download
• Using NVDA to Evaluate Web Accessibility
  Link: webaim.org/articles/nvda/
• Keyboard Shortcuts for NVDA
  Link: webaim.org/resources/shortcuts/nvda

Beyond the Web

Microsoft Office Accessibility

• Create Accessible Office documents
  Link: support.office.com/en-us/article/create-accessible-office-documents-868ecfcd-4f00-4224-b881-a65537a7c155
• Outlook email accessible
  Link: support.office.com/en-us/article/make-your-outlook-email-accessible-71ce71f4-7b15-4b7a-a2e3-cf91721bbacb
• Word documents accessible
  Link: support.office.com/en-us/article/make-your-word-documents-accessible-d9bf3683-87ac-47ea-b91a-78dcacb3c66d
• Excel spreadsheets accessible
  Link: support.office.com/en-us/article/make-your-excel-spreadsheets-accessible-6cc05fc5-1314-48b5-8eb3-683e49b3e593
• PowerPoint presentations accessible
  Link: support.office.com/en-us/article/make-your-powerpoint-presentations-accessible-6f7772b2-2f33-4bd2-8ca7-dae3b2b3ef25

PDF Accessibility

For maximum accessibility, start with an accessible source document before creating the PDF file.

• Acrobat XI User Guide
  Link: helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/11/user-guide.html
• PDF Accessibility, Tags, and Reflow in Acrobat XI
  Helpful for converting documents to PDFs, or creating PDFs using Pro
  Link: helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/11/user-guide.html?topic=/acrobat/11/morehelp/accessibility_tags_and_reflow.ug.js

InDesign Accessibility

• Webinar Archive: Creating Accessible Documents with Adobe InDesign
  Source: Accessible Technology Webinar Series – Great Lakes ADA Center and ADA National Network
  Link: accessibilityonline.org/ada-tech/archives/

• Adobe InDesign accessibility
  Link: adobe.com/accessibility/products/indesign.html

Social Media

• Toolkit: Improving the Accessibility of Social Media in Government
  Link: digital.gov/resources/improving-the-accessibility-of-social-media-in-government/
• Best Practices for Resizing Photos for Your Social Media Platforms
  Link: civicplus.com/blog/ce/best-practices-for-resizing-photos-for-your-social-media-platforms

Training & Presentations

• Make Your Presentations Accessible
  Link: w3.org/WAI/teach-advocate/accessible-presentations/
• Webinar Series: Accessible Technology
  Source: Great Lakes ADA Center and ADA National Network
  Link: accessibilityonline.org/ada-tech/schedule

Spanish/ En Español

• Transcripción en español Charla 65- La accesibilidad web en resumen (PDF file)
  en inglés: Transcript in Spanish for Episode 65 – Web Accessibility in Summary
• Introducción a la Accesibilidad Web
  en inglés: Introduction to Web Accessibility
  Fuente: La Iniciativa de Accesibilidad Web (WAI) del World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
  Sitio Web: w3c.es/Traducciones/es/WAI/intro/accessibility
• Introducción a las Pautas de Accesibilidad al Contenido en la Web (WCAG)
  en inglés: Introduction to the Guidelines for Accessibility to Web Content
  Fuente: La Iniciativa de Accesibilidad Web (WAI) del World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
  Sitio Web: www.w3c.es/Traducciones/es/WAI/intro/wcag
• W3C España
  Fuente: El World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Spain
  Sitio Web: w3c.es

Términos Comunes en Accesibilidad Web

• accesibilidad web –
  en inglés: web accessibility
• El World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) El W3C
  en inglés: The World Wide Web Consortium, The W3C
• La Iniciativa de Accesibilidad Web (WAI) del World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)
  en inglés: The Web Accessibility Initiative of the World Wide Web Consortium
• Las Pautas de Accesibilidad al Contenido Web (WCAG)
  en inglés: The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
• Las Pautas de Accesibilidad al Contenido en la Web (WCAG)
  en inglés: The Guidelines for Accessibility to Web Content
• Los Estándares del W3C
  en inglés: The W3C Standards