Posts Tagged ‘HTML’

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 [...]

W3Conf is the W3C’s annual conference for web professionals. I was asked by Doug Schepers to talk about accessibility, so I took my Design like you give a damn! post and turned it into a presentation. Slide deck Design like you give a damn! (PPT, 18Mb) Useful links HTML5 Accessibility NVDA screen reader Using ARIA [...]

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 [...]

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?

Several screen readers now support ARIA landmark roles. Some screen readers such as NVDA and Jaws are also improving support for HTML5 elements. This means that it’s important to put your ARIA roles in the right place.