Comments on A quick Web Accessibility Checklist

I came across the article A quick Web Accessibility Checklist (published last July) and have some feedback. Some points were great, but others needed some work. I was going to leave a comment, but thought the points would be good to share in a blog post.

• 'Skip-to' links help, but wouldn't put first on the list. Proper tag markup and ARIA are also big navigation helpers.
• Font resize widgets are unnecessary as they add weight to a site, add clutter to the screen, and the behavior should be done by the browser.
• A site map is not needed if navigation is done well and is accessible; the tip is more of a usability issue in my opinion.
• Don't know what 'links have descriptive screen text' means. If it means tool-tips (title attribute), then I highly recommend not doing most of the time.
• Yes, keyboard accessible dropdown menus are good, but remember that the whole site must be keyboard accessible.
• People still use frames? iFrames also relevant to list here, and more up-to-date.
• A good basic point missing is color; ensure sufficient color contrast, no content conveyed with color alone; etc.

Update, Jan 11:

I submitted a blog comment that linked to this page, and it did NOT get accepted!

Shortened URL to this page: http://weba.im/commquick

Free Online Books on Accessibility

Tweets were recently going around about free online/e-books relating to web accessibility. They point to the web page 6 free online books about web accessibility by Jitendra. I've repeated them here in a simple list and added a Microsoft book and an excerpted chapter by Shawn Lawton Henry from one of the books.

• Web Accessibility: Web Standards and Regulatory Compliance (Multiple authors, Friends of Ed, 2006)
• Understanding Web Accessibility (Shawn Lawton Henry, 2006) [Chapter 1 of book above]
• Engineering Software for Accessibility (Microsoft, 2009)
• Building Accessible Websites Serialization (Joe Clark, last updated 2007)
• Just Ask: Integrating Accessibility Throughout Design (Shawn Lawton Henry)
• Access by Design (Sarah Horton, 2005)
• Accessible Web Typography – an introduction for web designers (ScotConnect)
• Dive Into Accessibility (Mark Pilgrim, 2002)

On the HTML5 logo

The W3C has released a logo for HTML5. I’ve been broadly supportive of this since I was told about it last year, but can’t help feeling a little disappointed that wrapped up in there are references to CSS in there.

Mashable reports that

logo designer Michael Nieling said in a statement, “The term HTML5 has taken on a life of its own; there has been significant confusion…as to what exactly HTML5 is when the term is used outside of simply referring to the spec itself”

Quite.

In order to alleviate that confusion, let me point again to my video rant HTML5 != CSS3 rant:

But I’m not going to be churlish; I shall be putting the badge on this site too. And getting the new outfit that Cole Henley so kindly mocked up for me.

If you’d like HTML5 badges to appear by magic on sites with an HTML5 doctype, my friend and fellow Operative @ourmaninjapan has an Opera Extension. For those with other browsers, he has a Greasemonkey/UserJS.

The “Open Web Stack” – Snappy acronym needed

Chris Mills at the Web Standards project posted up an open letter to the W3C about the new “HTML5 logo“, which I commented on, but it seems comments are off. So here’s what I wrote:

Good points, and I certainly agree with not using HTML5 as the umbrella term.

However, I’m not sure Jeremy’s point that we didn’t need a catch-all term for “HTML4.01 plus JavaScript” is going to help. (We did have DHTML as an umbrella term. Ok, that is a tarnished example, but my point is that people still remember the acronym.).

Presumably the aim of the logo is to let (non-developers) know that a site is built with a certain set of technologies?

So the next question is: What should the umbrella term be?

I believe Eric Meyer has been using “Open web stack”, which is accurate and works with developers. However, I think we need something a little shorter and snappier (preferably an acronym of 6 letters or less that can be pronounced easily. Like AJAX.).

Something that combines W3C, open, web… the WOW stack? Maybe not, any other ideas?

We need something else, or HTML5 will become entrenched as the umbrella term.

25 Ways To Make Your Website Accessible

After a long delay, a comprehensive how-to article on web accessibility by Web Axe creator Dennis Lembree is finally published: 25 Ways To Make Your Website Accessible. (The Shortened URL is http://weba.im/25axs) Each method listed includes a succinct explanation and also an image to help convey the point. The points are:

1. Consistent Layout and Structure
2. Add Alternative Text to Images
3. Use Page Headings
4. Use Headings Properly
5. Skip Links
6. Link Content
7. Link Awareness
8. Be Careful With Title Attribute
9. Keep the Underline
10. Forms
11. Make All Links Accessible to Keyboard
12. Show Link Focus
13. Add ARIA Landmark Roles
14. Validate Mark-Up
15. The Three Tiers, and Progressive Enhancement
16. Use List Elements for Lists
17. Use More Than Color to Convey Meaning
18. [Sufficient] Color Contrast
19. Mark Up Data Tables Correctly
20. Make Changes to Content Clear
21. Now, About That Flash…
22. Provide Transcriptions
23. Add Captions
24. Appropriate Language
25. Test Through Multiple Methods

Hezarfen

Hezarfen: "Talented Supinfocom Arles team shows 'Hezarfen', their short film depicting an attempt at unpowered flight in Turkey.





"

HDR Light Studio 2.0

HDR Light Studio 2.0: "Version 2.0 is a major update to Hdr light studio but lets start with the first on, for me most useful one – LIVE LIGHT."