Archive for the ‘Web life’ Category

Most current screen readers support ARIA to one extent or another, and many now support some features of HTML5 as well. With ARIA and HTML5 making increasing amounts of semantic data available to screen reader users, it’s really easy to inadvertently overload people with too much information. Let’s take an example that crops up from [...]

The Image Description extension re-introduces the longdesc attribute to HTML. Although most people recognise that longdesc is flawed, finding a viable alternative has proved surprisingly difficult. For now longdesc is the best solution we have, but in the interests of finding a better option perhaps it’s helpful to take a step back and look at [...]

HTML5 includes a handful of section elements that give documents a robust semantic structure. The header, footer, nav, article, section and aside elements give different regions of a document meaning. Amongst other things, that meaning can be understood by screen readers, and the information used to help blind and partially sighted people orient themselves and [...]

The main element extension specifies a way to markup the primary content area of a web page in HTML5. There are several good reasons for introducing the main element, including a more reliable way for screen readers to pinpoint the start of the primary content area on the page.

When a form is used to update information on the page, it can be troublesome for screen reader users. Unless the screen reader is focused on the relevant bit of the page, the update goes by un-noticed. ARIA live regions are a simple way to improve the experience for screen reader users.

HTML5 has changed the way we build websites and online applications. It introduces lots of new features, many of which make inclusive design much more achievable. Happily you can start making your HTML5 more inclusive with a minimum of effort. One simple way is to make your forms easier for people to complete by using [...]

ARIA landmark roles provide a useful way for screen reader users to navigate through web pages, and to understand the purpose of different sections of content on the page. With just a little bit more ARIA you can make landmarks even more helpful to blind and partially sighted people.

Tabbed interfaces are increasingly common on web pages. They make good use of space, and they can be visually intuitive. Using tabs with a screen reader is a different experience though.

HTML5 introduces the nav element for marking up sections of a page that contain navigational links. Used wisely the nav element is a big help to screen reader users, as well as a step forward in semantic meaning.

HTML5 headings make it easy to syndicate and reuse content, without breaking the heading hierarchy. Using HTML5 headings and keeping the heading hierarchy backwards compatible proves unexpectedly complicated though. The HTML5 specification has a solution, but is it the right one?