Isn't this horrible for people with disabilities?

Webnauts · 12-15-2006, 01:16 AM

First ever global accessibility survey reveals only 3% of websites tested reach minimum levels.
More: http://www.nomensa.com/news/at-nomen...d-nations.html

What does that have to do with you? http://elgg.net/stevelee/weblog/142346.html

waffles · 12-15-2006, 09:18 PM

Not as much as it seems. There are some sites made for a group of people that the designer knows. If I make a site for just me and my brother and the people we play Risk with on Friday nights, and I know that none of us has a disability that effects our use of the internet, there's no reason to meet any sort of standard for it.

Some sites don't have that directly known audience in mind, but are made for an audience that normally would not worry about this sort of thing. Things like flash cartoon sites come to mind. There's no reason to have a caption show up if I can't view the cartoon.

It's still bad. The numbers just need to be taken in context.

jeet · 12-15-2006, 11:48 PM

I tell you it's getting really difficult surfing... Specially "INDIAN sites". And you won't believe, but these are all corporates, big million dollar corporates with designers from gutters,(I suspect), who validate form inputs on "finance" websites using JS...(Think how open these websites would be to sql injection)...

Somethings which make it even more difficult, (accessibility point of view), are:

* No ALT information, and the image is also named like top1.gif, top2.gif. Most screen readers can read filename if an ALT is not there. In this case an a "contact link image" will read as
"Graphic link top2.gif", which is useless information for people on screen reader...

* No heading, or even a little something which indicates "start of content". So when a blind person clicks a link, they have to read the entire navigation again before reading the content of the next page. Generally if there's a heading, one can hit the "H" key to go directly to it... "G" for graphic etc... (A blind person tries to notice things like these before the content, so they can use shortcut keeys). The article site in my signature uses "G", (Yahoo bookmark graphic) just before the content starts, and navigation ends. (Using "JAWS", hit "G" key, and you go that graphic.)

* Multiple instances of flash, specially in loops. Worse when flash has text content in it. Some screen readers tend to jump to text. When put in flash, in loop, the next time the loop runs, the focus of the screen reader goes to the flash, despite the fact that the person was reading some other text and now has to scroll back to where he/she was.... Loop runs again...

Fortunately, Microsoft allowed turning of flash plugin in IE6. I'm telling you it's god sent!

In previous versions, once you have downloaded the plugin, you could not have deactivated it. So no matter what, you will see the flash, which messes up with other reading on the page. But now, see an important message in flash and then deactivate the plugin, read normally! "Thanks microsoft"

* Ajax, although a very useful integration, sometimes fails to provide appropriate information. Example I click a button which activates an Ajax function, which shows results just below the button. Good for those who can see, but this new information is not available with the screen reader... One will have to go to "top of page", and then start reading all over again to read that 1 line... (Completely blind people will totally miss because they didn't know that there was a change on the page because of the click of a button). Think when Ajax are used in "simple contact forms". A blind person will sit there waiting for the script to process the form, although it is already processed, but this time, the "ok" message was not read by the submitter. Frustrating...
(Better use Ajax with lesser important stuff...)

* Adding some sort of sign in prefix, (PHPLD best example), for items in "drop down" boxes. Now one has to go item by item. (PHPLD uses a "|" sign as prefix).
Another Example: Instead of hitting "U" to select USA in a country list, one has to read one by one all other countries from A to U.

There are so many other problems, but who cares, cause they can SEE...

Webnauts · 12-16-2006, 04:43 PM

I hope you are all aware that creating accessible web sites improve dramatically your web site's visibility in search engines too.

waffles · 12-16-2006, 05:56 PM

What if that's not important to me? If I'm making a site for my soccer team to look at there's no reason for the search engine to like it.

All I'm saying is that not everyone has to think about making the site so everyone can see it right.

jeet · 12-17-2006, 04:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by waffles

All I'm saying is that not everyone has to think about making the site so everyone can see it right.

That decision is totally upto you. It's your site, and you have all possible rights to decide about how it looks, what technology it uses, who can use it, who cannot...

But it's quite possible that someone else, a fan of the same team, although impaired, missed something important there on the site...

Plus if you look at it, it's "not at all difficult" to make it so "everyone" could use it

All you need to do is fit in proper ALT tags, and a heading, or some indicator (even a jump link) at the start of the content (stylised doesn't matter), keep important information in regular text than flash. Use flash to add styles, animations to your site to make it look attractive. No Problem!
Do Ajax, do as much as you can, but use it for "lesser" important stuff, than filling contact forms or similar...
Avoid giving important information in sound, (Deaf people). And if you do, just a little text, or a short summarry in text would be useful! BTW, avoid auto play of sound...
A sitemap always helps.

It's pretty easy to maintain usability, and still make a very flashy, and latest tech website, isn't it?
Bye

waffles · 12-17-2006, 08:26 AM

Alt tags I'll go for. And I'm not saying that sites shouldn't be made with disabilities in mind at all. Just that some don't need to worry about it as much.

Ancodi · 12-18-2006, 11:18 PM

I am totally against Disabillity Discrimination, I personally think its worse than Racism, Sexism ect. But, what I can't understand is, the sites don't need ramps, and I know somebody who is mentally disabled, and they can read sites fine. I think all they need is new technology to replace Keyboards, Mouses (Or are they mice? 0.0) and so on, so that people with poor motor skills can use it. I don't think it has anything to do with website accesability, but I'll read the page, then I'll tell you if my mind has changed.

For the visually impared people, isn't there some sort of program that can read out text?

And being disabled doesn't really mean you can't download the Java plug-in.

My site has clashing colours (Flourescent green, flourescent pink and black) with the green on the black background, so there should be an option to darken back grounds and lighten text.

Programs can stop pop-up blockers. And, didn't they say that JAVASCRIPT couldn't be used by 10% of the people. The Pop-ups Javascript, most of them are, any way.

---

So everything on there has been disproved, yeah, most sites aren't accesable to disabled people, but it alll can be solved by new softwares and hardwares.

waffles · 12-19-2006, 07:22 AM

That's the thing, if you don't make the site well enough the screen reader will read you a bunch of garbage, or the menu everytime. And those things are a pain in the ass anyway.

1more · 01-08-2007, 02:14 AM

my website is designed to be a marketplace to buy motorcycles. i hope to god no blind people are interested in visiting it

that said, what parts about making it 'accessable' do search engines look at? mainly 'alt' tags?

NothingButNet · 01-08-2007, 07:52 AM

Is there anywhere you can go to check to find out how accessible your site is to disabled (particularly visually impaired I suppose) people?

1more · 01-08-2007, 12:11 PM

http://www.w3.org/WAI/report/

1st result from google

Izzmo · 01-08-2007, 12:18 PM

First result for which term(s)?

1more · 01-08-2007, 12:21 PM

website accessability report

**LazyJim** · 01-13-2007, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1more

my website is designed to be a marketplace to buy motorcycles. i hope to god no blind people are interested in visiting it

that said, what parts about making it 'accessable' do search engines look at? mainly 'alt' tags?

yeah beacause they wouldn't want to buy their favourite nephew I special birthday present would they?

As people have pointed out some sites are seeminly target away from visually impaired users, hoever:

It's not as easy as you think to decide if any given site should be made accessible;
it's not that much extra work; and
it offers more benifits besides allowing "disabled access"

1more · 01-13-2007, 02:13 PM

if anyone is buying there favorite nephew a 4-10k motorcycle, i'd be worried.

like said, if anyone can point out where making the site more 'visually impared friendly' would help things like pr, alexa ranking, etc, i'd be more than down. if not...it probably won't change.

**LazyJim** · 01-13-2007, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1more

if anyone is buying there favorite nephew a 4-10k motorcycle, i'd be worried.

like said, if anyone can point out where making the site more 'visually impared friendly' would help things like pr, alexa ranking, etc, i'd be more than down. if not...it probably won't change.

I'm sure people have already pointed these out around here, try also the marketing forums.