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Evaluating Web Accessibility: How Hard Can it Be?

Handouts

Presented at 11:45am in Gov Square 10 on Friday, November 19, 2021.

#34531

Speaker(s)

  • Jonathan Whiting, Director of Training & Evaluation, WebAIM

Session Details

  • Length of Session: 1-hr
  • Format: Lecture
  • Expertise Level: Beginner
  • Type of session: General Conference

Summary

There are many things that anyone can do to evaluate the accessibility of a webpage. However, a thorough evaluation requires much more than a quick test with an accessibility tool or two. During this workshop, discover the many steps needed to evaluate something as simple a single checkbox, and learn where you can find resources to help you evaluate your own web content.

Abstract

A through web accessibility evaluation takes time and expertise. Even the evaluation of something as straightforward as a single checkbox may require several steps across multiple tools. The evaluator may need to check the HTML, CSS, ARIA, and possibly JavaScript during their tests.

During this session, participants will step through the thorough evaluation of a single checkbox as they work to answer several questions, including the following:

-Can the user easily interact with a mouse? A keyboard? Touch? Their voice? -Does the checkbox and text label have enough contrast? -Is any information presented using color alone? -Is all relevant information presented to screen reader users (including the type of form control, a text label, and other important prompts or descriptions)? -What happens if the user changes text size or spacing, or zooms content in the browser? -How about the accessibility of any error feedback?

Participants will be presented with techniques and tools to aid in the evaluation process and will learn where to find resources to aid them in their own evaluation efforts.

Keypoints

  1. A through web accessibility evaluation requires time and expertise.
  2. As demonstrated during the session, the evaluation of even a single element may require dozens of checks.
  3. Tools and resources are available to guide evaluators in their efforts.

Disability Areas

Cognitive/Learning, Mobility, Vision

Topic Areas

Other, Uncategorized, Web/Media/App Access

Speaker Bio(s)

Jonathan Whiting

Jonathan Whiting is the Director of Training at WebAIM, based at Utah State University. His main passion is helping others learn to make the web more accessible to people with disabilities. Jonathan is also currently involved in the GOALS Project, a program to assist institutions of Higher Education in improving their accessibility system-wide. With a Master's Degree in Instructional Technology and over 18 years of experience in the field of web accessibility, Jonathan has published dozens of articles, tutorials, and other instructional resources. He has traveled extensively to train thousands of web developers and other professionals who develop or maintain web content.

Handout(s)