ARIA Implementation – Moving Beyond the Basics

Presented at 2:30pm in Westminster III on Monday, November 14, 2016.

#5806

Speaker(s)

  • Jared Smith, , WebAIM

Session Details

  • Length of Session: 3-hr
  • Format:
  • Expertise Level: Expert
  • Type of session: Pre-conference

Summary

ARIA has great potential to improve accessibility, but abuse, misuse, and overuse of ARIA is instead resulting in less accessible web content. This session will explore common misuse of ARIA and provide guidance for proper implementation of ARIA in complex web applications.

Abstract

Complex web applications often have distinct accessibility challenges that cannot be adequately addressed with HTML alone. ARIA can help bridge the gap to ensure highly accessible web content and application, but only if implemented correctly. ARIA abuse, misuse, and overuse often causes web content to be less accessible than if ARIA had not been implemented at all. Understanding the proper implementation of ARIA is vital to ensuring that it helps, not hinders, application accessibility. This session will present scenarios of inaccessibility and how to use ARIA to properly address those issues.

Keypoints

  1. Learn areas in which ARIA is often misused or overused.
  2. Learn proper implementation of ARIA to address content accessibility issues.
  3. Identify resources that can help aid developers in using ARIA correctly.

Disability Areas

Mobility, Vision

Topic Areas

Web/Media/App Access

Speaker Bio(s)

Jared Smith

Jared Smith is the Associate Director of WebAIM. He is a highly demanded presenter and trainer and has provided web accessibility training to thousands of developers throughout the world. With a degree in Marketing/Business Education, a Masters Degree in Instructional Technology, and over 16 years experience working in the web design, development, and accessibility field, he brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that is used to help others create and maintain highly accessible web content. Much of his written work, including a broad range of tutorials, articles, and other materials, is featured on the WebAIM site.