Addressing accessibility problems on your website may seem intimidating. How do you start? Where do you go? What tools do you use? These are all questions you may ask yourself. But did you know that many accessibility issues on a website are things that can be relatively easy to address? This webinar will give you an understanding of how to implement basic techniques that will help you avoid these mistakes in the future to ensure your websites are fully compliant and accessible to all.

1. | 1
Is my website accessible?
Common mistakes
(and how to fix them)
October 15, 2020

2. Open Source
Expansion Partner

3. Our Mission
To bring together the most talented team
members to improve technology for our
clients

4. Today’s
Team
David Barrentine
Developer
Jason Thompson
Developer

5. This Session is For
| 5
Developers General Audience Content Managers
People in charge of content
who would like to know a
few common accessibility
issues to preemptively
avoid.
For anybody who is
interested in learning how
to make a more accessible
website and the steps
needed to start.
Developers interested in
learning beginning skills in
tracking accessibility issues.

6. Learning a general
understanding on
the importance of
accessibility
Learning how to use
automated tools to help
track and manage
accessibility errors
Learning why both
automated and manual
testing are important
Goals of the Session
| 6
Goal 1 Goal 2 Goal 3

7. Today’s
Agenda
1. Why is Accessibility Important
2. What do all these things mean? (WCAG,
508, A, AA, & AAA)
3. Available Tools to Identify Problems
4. Tracking Issues and Recommended
Remedies
5. Fixing Common Mistakes
6. Next Steps and Q&A

8. | 8
Why is Web Accessibility
Important?
| 8

9. | 9
26%US Adults identify as
having a disability
8%Males are color blind
10k+Disparity in median earnings
between those with
and without disabilities
~1/2the number of the disabled
population earned a
Bachelor's Degree or higher
(compared to non-disabled)
10%+Increase in the US
obesity rate for people
with disabilities
21%+US civilians with disabilities
of working-age were
living in poverty
51%US civilians who identify
as disabled are between
the ages of 18-64

10. | 10
The ramps, or “curb cuts”, on
street corners were originally put
in as accessibility features but
they ended up benefiting more
than the intended audience.
The same can happen when
applying accessibility features to a
website.
Accessibility
Benefits
Everyone

11. | 11
Accessibility Benefits Everyone

12. 1. WCAG: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines a
series of web accessibility guidelines published by
the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) of the World
Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the main international
standards organization for the internet.
2. 508 Compliance: Section 508 is a federal law
mandating that all electronic and information
technology be accessible to people with disabilities.
Historically this has been limited to federal or
federally funded institutions but with cases such as
Winn-Dixie in 2017, it is a legal concern for many
businesses.
Terms to Know

13. | 13
Compliance Options
Level A Level AA Level AAA
25 Criteria 25 Level A criteria PLUS
13 additional
25 Level A criteria, 13 Level AA
criteria, PLUS 23 additional
Sets minimum level of
accessibility Emphasis on color contrast not
as applicable in Level A
Very specialized sites
may aim for this level

14. GOOD NEWS!

15. | 15
● Missing title tag
● Images missing ALT text
● Poor header structure
● Non-descriptive link text
● Color contrast issues
● Inputs missing labels
● Visually reordered content
● Removed focus styling
Common Accessibility
Problems

16. | 16
Accessibility Tools

17. Time to Test

18. | 18

19. | 19
● Errors
● Contrast Errors
● Alerts
Introducing
the WAVE tool

20. | 20
● Summary gives an idea
of how many issues
were found.
● Details Give a brief idea of
what those issues are.
Summary and
Details

21. | 21
● Missing Alternative Text
● Alternative text is important for people who
rely on screen readers to understand the
content they are listening to.
Documenting Our
First Error

22. | 22
What You See

23. | 23| 23
Results Spreadsheet

24. | 24
The Contrast Error
● Poor contrast hurts those with poor vision
● Not pointed out, but still as important is the logo is using the same color.

25. | 25
What You See

26. | 26| 26
Results Spreadsheet

27. | 27
Headers Out of Order
Skipped headings can cause confusion for trying to navigate a website using
alternative means.

28. | 28
What You See

29. | 29
Which One Works Best?

30. | 30| 30
Results Spreadsheet

31. | 31
Non-Descriptive
Link Text
Screen readers need context for
what they are reading.
Non-Descriptive text doesn’t give
anything meaningful.

32. | 32
What You See

33. | 33| 33
Results Spreadsheet

34. | 34
Automated Testing
Vs.
Manual Testing
| 34

35. | 35
Visual & Manual Flow

36. | 36| 36
Results Spreadsheet

37. | 37
Key Takeaways
Perform accessibility tests on your website every few months
Make sure your accessibility levels are meeting the 508 compliance standards
Document errors in a way that makes it easy to fix them
Make accessibility a priority at your organization and involve various teams
Experiment with accessibility tools to find which work best for your organization

38. | 38
Learn the essential fundamentals
of website accessibility and apply
them to your website.
http://bit.ly/accessibility-best-practices
Accessibility
Best Practices for
Non-Developers

39. Does something resonate with you today? Get in touch with us.
mediacurrent.com/contact-us
mediacurrent.com/resources
Questions

40. Thank you!
@Mediacurrent
Mediacurrent @Mediacurrent
MediacurrentDrupal
Mediacurrent.com
@Mediacurrent