WCAG 2.0 for writers

WCAG 2.0 for writers A brief overview of accessible content WANAU Melbourne September 2009

Accessibility? What’s that?

… but that’s for blind people and we don’t have any here

I thought the web team did all that stuff

… and so it came to pass that their new accessible website was ruined by their web writers!

Potential impact of web writers
Document file types
Accessibility supported technologies
Writing style
Structure and formatting
Design elements
Link text
Page titles

Document file types
WCAG 2.0 is technology neutral
PDF, Word, RTF, PowerPoint files heavily used online
If used as the only format, they must:
Be ‘accessibility supported’
Meet the WCAG 2.0 success criteria

‘ Accessibility supported’ means
a) Format can be made accessible, AND
b) Content in the format can be accessed by:
Assistive technologies
Accessibility features of user agents (browsers and plug-ins)
No one has yet done the work to test (a)
What level of AT/UA support is needed for (b)?

Is PDF ‘accessibility supported’?
Older versions of Acrobat not capable of making accessible PDF documents; newer versions better
Only newer versions of screen readers can make use of this support
Is PDF accessibility supported? No definitive answer yet
Even if it is, PDFs must meet WCAG 2.0 requirements (so must Word, RTF, PowerPoint) if use as only format

Document file types
Writing style
Readability, shortened forms, instructions, non-literal use of words, foreign language, pronunciation
Design elements
Link text
Page titles

Readability
SC 3.1.5 (AAA)
Content is written at lower secondary level or has supplementary content or an alternative
Techniques for 3.1.5 Understanding 3.1.5

Shortened forms
SC 3.1.4 (AAA)
Abbreviations, acronyms or initialisms are expanded

Instructions
SC 1.3.3 (A)
Instructions for using/understanding content do not rely on shape, size, location, orientation or sound

Non-literal or specialised use of words
SC 3.1.3 (AAA)
Idioms, metaphors, jargon are explained

Foreign language
SC 3.1.2 (AA)
Foreign language terms are able to be understood by different UAs and ATs

Pronunciation
SC 3.1.6 (AA)
A pronunciation is provided for words where the meaning would otherwise be ambiguous

Document file types
Writing style
Headings, tables, lists, special text elements
Design elements
Link text
Page titles

Headings (1 of 3)
SC 2.4.10 (AAA)
Headings are used to organise the content

SC 2.4.6 (AA)
Headings are descriptive
Headings (2 of 3)

How descriptive is this heading?
“ Important information”
Your clues:
On a page from the University of Canberra
Page is in the “Students with disabilities” section
It is the main heading on the page (H1)

Headings (3 of 3)
SC 1.3.1 (A)
Headings can be recognised as such by different UAs and ATs

Tables, lists, quotations, citations …
SC 1.3.1 (A)
Special elements marked up so they can be recognised by different UAs and ATs

Document file types
Writing style
Design elements
Images, text as images, colour, contrast
Link text
Page titles

Images (1 of 2) SC 1.1.1 (A) Images have an equivalent text alternative Techniques for 1.1.1 Understanding 1.1.1

Equivalent text alternatives
Role of the image
Decorative or informative?
Use in context of the page?
Used as a link? (next topic)
Techniques
Blank text alternative
Short text alternative
Short and long text alternative

Images (2 of 2)
SC 1.4.5 (AA)
Text is not presented as an image (except in logos)

Colour
SC 1.4.1 (A)
Colour is not used on its own to show meaning

Contrast (1 of 2)
SC 1.4.3 (AA)
Text and background colours have a contrast ratio of 4.5:1 or 3:1 for large text ( also applies to images of text)

Contrast (2 of 2)
SC 1.4.6 (AAA)
Text and background colours have a contrast ratio of 7:1 (also applies to images of text)

Document file types
Writing style
Design elements
Link text
Page titles

Link text (1 of 2)
SC 2.4.4 (A)
Link purpose can be understood from the link and context

Link text (2 of 2)
SC 2.4.9 (AAA)
Link purpose can be understood from the link text alone

Document file types
Writing style
Design elements
Link text
Page titles

Page titles
SC 2.4.2 (A)
Page title describes the content or purpose

Some final thoughts on WCAG 2.0
Some techniques better than others
Need to use good judgement
Some guidelines lower the standards
Readability (was level A, now level AAA)
Clear link text (was level A, now level AAA)
Headings (was level AA, now level AAA)
Note that AAA is now ‘optional’!

WCAG 2.0 for writers

by Dey Alexander Consulting on Sep 24, 2009

Accessibility

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WCAG 2.0 for writers — Presentation Transcript

http://paper.li	12
http://dboudreau.posterous.com	4