Web Accessibility 101
Sharron Rush and Jessica Looney, Knowbility
August 9, 2016
. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved2
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Presenters
Assisting with chat: Susan Hope Bard, TechSoup
Becky Wiegand
Webinar Program Manager
TechSoup
Sharron Rush
Executive Director, Co-Founder
Knowbility
Jessica Looney
Community Programs Director
Knowbility
. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved5
Objectives
• Gain a high-level understanding of
web accessibility – what is it, why it
matters
• Review essential techniques to
increase your website’s accessibility
• Learn about what’s next – OpenAIR
• Answer questions
6
About TechSoup
. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved7
The Need Is Global – And So Are We
TechSoup’s mission is to build a dynamic bridge that enables civil society
organizations and social change agents around the world to gain effective access to
the resources they need to design and implement solutions for a more equitable
planet.
Countries Served TechSoup Partner Location NetSquared Local Group
Where are you on the map?
. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved8
www.TechSoup.Global
. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved9
Our Impact
Together, we build a stronger, more resilient civil society.
$5.2B
in technology products
and grants employed
by NGOs for the
greater good
35
languages used to
provide education
and support
100+
corporate and
foundation partners
connected with the
causes and
communities they
care about
6.2M
annual visits to
our websites
600,000
newsletter
subscribers
empowered with
actionable
knowledge
79%
of NGOs have improved
organizational efficiency
with TechSoup Global's
resource offering*
*Source: survey conducted among TechSoup members in 2013
. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved10
Participant Poll
What is your role in ensuring an accessible website?
- I didn't build it, I don't maintain it
- maintain the website, didn't build it
- I upload content
- I'm the ED
I'm the network admin/accessibility pro
Quick Tips to Get Started
Our goals today
• Take a snapshot of web accessibility – what is it,
why does it matter?
• Identify essential techniques
• Point to what’s next – OpenAIR
• Answer questions
Facilitated by…Knowbility
• National non-profit making the web accessible since 1999
• Sharron Rush, co-founder, Executive Director, Knowbility
• Invited Expert since 2006 for W3C Web Accessibility
Initiative (WAI)
• Currently co-chair for Education and Outreach Working
Group (EOWG)
• Author Maximum Accessibility (2002)
• Jessica Looney, Community Programs Director, Knowbility
Hi there!
The Web is meant to transcend
barriers
Regardless of differences …
• platform
• operating system
• formats
• browser
• device
• distance
• ability
• language
‘Accessible’
Means...
People with disabilities
…can acquire the same information
…participate in the same activities
…actively produce as well as
consume online content
S that is available to all other Web
users.
SS
Universal Design…
• supports all people
• supports all technology
• improves experience for all
• “Good design IS accessible design”
~ Dr. John Slatin
Participant Poll
• Are you aware of your legal responsibility to be
concerned with around accessibility?
• Yes
• No
Why advocate for accessibility?
Legal
Technical
Humanitarian
Market
Visionary
UN Convention on Rights of people
with Disabilities
• Explicitly references technology access as
basic human right in modern world
• Ratified by more than 100 nations
• Additional accessibility laws in European
Union, Canadian Government, Australia,
Japan, others
US Federal Law
• Section 508 of Rehabilitation
Act
• ADA –notice of intention to
extend the ADA to the web
• Oct 2010, President signed
21st Century Accessible
Technology bill
Disability is a market force
• Nearly 20% of US population has disability
• Numbers growing as population ages
• Your organization is likely to have large
representation
Growing
constituency
• Fortune: “$1 trillion annual market”
• $200 B in discretionary spending
• 55 million Americans
• 750 million worldwide
• More as population ages
It’s all about People
WAI Accessibility Perspectives:
Keyboard Compatibility
Watch more from the WAI Accessibility Perspectives on
their website -- https://www.w3.org/WAI/perspectives/
Participant Poll
• What do you think the biggest barrier is to equal
access that you have to address?
• - technical requirements
• - getting developers to understand/build it
• - money
• - buy-in from leadership
• - legacy software
• - other
• - I don't know
Four Principles of accessible content
Perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. Cartoon shows four colorful characters. First is a man with dark glasses saying “I
can perceive it.” Next a fellow with one arm in a sling who says “I can use it,” then a woman with a lightbulb over her head saying “I
can grasp it,” and finally a woman holding a smart phone saying “I can access
There are 4 Major Principles
of Accessibility
Common Barriers
• Structure
• Reading and focus order
• Keyboard
• Text alternatives
• Color and contrast
• Link text
• Multi-media
Structure
To help users orient themselves on web pages, the content and different
areas need to be structured to help assistive technology identify them.
• Use semantic structures as
intended
• Logical nested headings
• Semantic meaning not visual
presentation
• List markup for related information
• Explicit form ID and label
• Identify row and column headings
in data grids (tables)
• Outline structure with HTML5
regions or ARIA landmarks
Reading and focus order
Reading, tab and focus order should be the same as
the display (visual) order. Sequence in which page
items receive focus should reflect intent of the content.
• Provide page titles that are
meaningful to orient users
among a set of pages
• Skip links as needed
• Create logical tab order
through links, form controls,
and interactive elements
Visible Keyboard Operation
Keyboard focus should be visible (ex: highlighted text)
and follow a logical order.
• Ensure users can access all features of a Web
page through the use of a keyboard alone
• Make keyboard focus as clearly visible as
mouse hover states
Text alternative basics
Users experiencing visual impairment will need a verbal
description of any images, otherwise known as alt text.
• Provide text alternative (alt attribute of img
element) for meaningful images
• Empty alt attribute <alt=“”> to decorative images
• Identifies target of linked images
• Fully describe complex images like
• charts, graphs
• WAI Tutorial alt text
decision tree
Ex Alt Text: Box of chocolates
Color and contrast
Some users have trouble perceiving low contrast, while
others have difficulty taking in high contrast.
• Avoid using color as ONLY
method to denote a state or
requirement
• Provide contrast of text
against background of 4.5 to 1
or higher
Link text
When navigating from link to link, screen readers will read ‘link’ before the
link text so link text must be descriptive.
• Specify link target, such as where the link goes or
what it does. (Ex: The WAI Homepage)
• Text should make sense out of context (not “More” or
“Click here”)
– OR –
• Be uniquely associated with a heading level (usually
h2 or h3 or higher)
• Use aria-described by to make the association
Media
Providing video captions for the hearing impaired and
audio descriptions for the visually impaired are crucial if
you want to convey the information in your video to the
widest audience.
• Keyboard operable media player
• Caption audio content of video
and synchronize to onscreen
actions
• Describe meaningful video
content in audio description
track or text transcript.
Going forward
• Next steps within your organization
• Online resources w3.org/WAI
• Community programs
• Ways to get involved
Participate …
• OpenAIR: Accessibility Internet Rally – accessible web
development contest benefits global nonprofits
• The OpenAIR competition provides nonprofits with an
opportunity to get a new, fully accessible website,
designed with the help of some of the leading
accessibility developers in the country.
OpenAIR: The basics
• When: Get your nonprofit together and
registered by September 15th. The competition
kicks off October 11th at Google Fiber and
ends with an awards ceremony December 8th.
• What: A six week competition in which a team
of developers and an accessibility mentor will
work together to build a new website for your
company.
• How: Find more information and register your
company or team on the air-rallies website.
Thank you!
Sharron Rush
srush@knowbility.org
Jessica Looney
jlooney@Knowbility.org
39
Questions?
. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved40
Learn and Share!
Chat in one thing that you
learned in today’s webinar or will
try to implement.
Will you share this information
with your colleagues and within
your network?
Please complete the post-event
survey that will pop up once the
webinar ends!
. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved41
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Media Numbers
9/8: Get to Know GrantStation
9/13: Building a Powerful Grants Strategy for 2016 - 2017
Explore our webinar archives for more!
. © TechSoup Global | All rights reserved42
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For more information: www.techsoup.org/readytalk
Please complete the post-event survey that will
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Thank You to Our Webinar Sponsor!

Webinar - Web Accessibility 101 - 2016-08-09

  • 1.
    Web Accessibility 101 SharronRush and Jessica Looney, Knowbility August 9, 2016
  • 2.
    . © TechSoupGlobal | All rights reserved2 Using ReadyTalk • Chat to ask questions • All lines are muted • If you lose your Internet connection, reconnect using the link emailed to you. • If you lose your phone connection, re-dial the phone number and re-join. • ReadyTalk support: 800-843-9166 Your audio will play through your computer’s speakers. Hear an echo? You may be logged in twice and will need to close one instance of ReadyTalk.
  • 3.
    . © TechSoupGlobal | All rights reserved3 You Are Being Recorded… This webinar will be available on the TechSoup website along with past webinars: www.techsoup.org/community/events-webinars You can also view recorded webinars and videos on our YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/TechSoupVideo You will receive an email with this presentation, recording, and links within a few days. Tweet us @TechSoup or using hashtag: #tswebinars
  • 4.
    . © TechSoupGlobal | All rights reserved4 Presenters Assisting with chat: Susan Hope Bard, TechSoup Becky Wiegand Webinar Program Manager TechSoup Sharron Rush Executive Director, Co-Founder Knowbility Jessica Looney Community Programs Director Knowbility
  • 5.
    . © TechSoupGlobal | All rights reserved5 Objectives • Gain a high-level understanding of web accessibility – what is it, why it matters • Review essential techniques to increase your website’s accessibility • Learn about what’s next – OpenAIR • Answer questions
  • 6.
  • 7.
    . © TechSoupGlobal | All rights reserved7 The Need Is Global – And So Are We TechSoup’s mission is to build a dynamic bridge that enables civil society organizations and social change agents around the world to gain effective access to the resources they need to design and implement solutions for a more equitable planet. Countries Served TechSoup Partner Location NetSquared Local Group Where are you on the map?
  • 8.
    . © TechSoupGlobal | All rights reserved8 www.TechSoup.Global
  • 9.
    . © TechSoupGlobal | All rights reserved9 Our Impact Together, we build a stronger, more resilient civil society. $5.2B in technology products and grants employed by NGOs for the greater good 35 languages used to provide education and support 100+ corporate and foundation partners connected with the causes and communities they care about 6.2M annual visits to our websites 600,000 newsletter subscribers empowered with actionable knowledge 79% of NGOs have improved organizational efficiency with TechSoup Global's resource offering* *Source: survey conducted among TechSoup members in 2013
  • 10.
    . © TechSoupGlobal | All rights reserved10 Participant Poll What is your role in ensuring an accessible website? - I didn't build it, I don't maintain it - maintain the website, didn't build it - I upload content - I'm the ED I'm the network admin/accessibility pro
  • 11.
    Quick Tips toGet Started
  • 12.
    Our goals today •Take a snapshot of web accessibility – what is it, why does it matter? • Identify essential techniques • Point to what’s next – OpenAIR • Answer questions
  • 13.
    Facilitated by…Knowbility • Nationalnon-profit making the web accessible since 1999 • Sharron Rush, co-founder, Executive Director, Knowbility • Invited Expert since 2006 for W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) • Currently co-chair for Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG) • Author Maximum Accessibility (2002) • Jessica Looney, Community Programs Director, Knowbility Hi there!
  • 14.
    The Web ismeant to transcend barriers Regardless of differences … • platform • operating system • formats • browser • device • distance • ability • language
  • 15.
    ‘Accessible’ Means... People with disabilities …canacquire the same information …participate in the same activities …actively produce as well as consume online content S that is available to all other Web users. SS
  • 16.
    Universal Design… • supportsall people • supports all technology • improves experience for all • “Good design IS accessible design” ~ Dr. John Slatin
  • 17.
    Participant Poll • Areyou aware of your legal responsibility to be concerned with around accessibility? • Yes • No
  • 18.
    Why advocate foraccessibility? Legal Technical Humanitarian Market Visionary
  • 19.
    UN Convention onRights of people with Disabilities • Explicitly references technology access as basic human right in modern world • Ratified by more than 100 nations • Additional accessibility laws in European Union, Canadian Government, Australia, Japan, others
  • 20.
    US Federal Law •Section 508 of Rehabilitation Act • ADA –notice of intention to extend the ADA to the web • Oct 2010, President signed 21st Century Accessible Technology bill
  • 21.
    Disability is amarket force • Nearly 20% of US population has disability • Numbers growing as population ages • Your organization is likely to have large representation
  • 22.
    Growing constituency • Fortune: “$1trillion annual market” • $200 B in discretionary spending • 55 million Americans • 750 million worldwide • More as population ages
  • 23.
  • 24.
    WAI Accessibility Perspectives: KeyboardCompatibility Watch more from the WAI Accessibility Perspectives on their website -- https://www.w3.org/WAI/perspectives/
  • 25.
    Participant Poll • Whatdo you think the biggest barrier is to equal access that you have to address? • - technical requirements • - getting developers to understand/build it • - money • - buy-in from leadership • - legacy software • - other • - I don't know
  • 26.
    Four Principles ofaccessible content Perceivable, operable, understandable and robust. Cartoon shows four colorful characters. First is a man with dark glasses saying “I can perceive it.” Next a fellow with one arm in a sling who says “I can use it,” then a woman with a lightbulb over her head saying “I can grasp it,” and finally a woman holding a smart phone saying “I can access There are 4 Major Principles of Accessibility
  • 27.
    Common Barriers • Structure •Reading and focus order • Keyboard • Text alternatives • Color and contrast • Link text • Multi-media
  • 28.
    Structure To help usersorient themselves on web pages, the content and different areas need to be structured to help assistive technology identify them. • Use semantic structures as intended • Logical nested headings • Semantic meaning not visual presentation • List markup for related information • Explicit form ID and label • Identify row and column headings in data grids (tables) • Outline structure with HTML5 regions or ARIA landmarks
  • 29.
    Reading and focusorder Reading, tab and focus order should be the same as the display (visual) order. Sequence in which page items receive focus should reflect intent of the content. • Provide page titles that are meaningful to orient users among a set of pages • Skip links as needed • Create logical tab order through links, form controls, and interactive elements
  • 30.
    Visible Keyboard Operation Keyboardfocus should be visible (ex: highlighted text) and follow a logical order. • Ensure users can access all features of a Web page through the use of a keyboard alone • Make keyboard focus as clearly visible as mouse hover states
  • 31.
    Text alternative basics Usersexperiencing visual impairment will need a verbal description of any images, otherwise known as alt text. • Provide text alternative (alt attribute of img element) for meaningful images • Empty alt attribute <alt=“”> to decorative images • Identifies target of linked images • Fully describe complex images like • charts, graphs • WAI Tutorial alt text decision tree Ex Alt Text: Box of chocolates
  • 32.
    Color and contrast Someusers have trouble perceiving low contrast, while others have difficulty taking in high contrast. • Avoid using color as ONLY method to denote a state or requirement • Provide contrast of text against background of 4.5 to 1 or higher
  • 33.
    Link text When navigatingfrom link to link, screen readers will read ‘link’ before the link text so link text must be descriptive. • Specify link target, such as where the link goes or what it does. (Ex: The WAI Homepage) • Text should make sense out of context (not “More” or “Click here”) – OR – • Be uniquely associated with a heading level (usually h2 or h3 or higher) • Use aria-described by to make the association
  • 34.
    Media Providing video captionsfor the hearing impaired and audio descriptions for the visually impaired are crucial if you want to convey the information in your video to the widest audience. • Keyboard operable media player • Caption audio content of video and synchronize to onscreen actions • Describe meaningful video content in audio description track or text transcript.
  • 35.
    Going forward • Nextsteps within your organization • Online resources w3.org/WAI • Community programs • Ways to get involved
  • 36.
    Participate … • OpenAIR:Accessibility Internet Rally – accessible web development contest benefits global nonprofits • The OpenAIR competition provides nonprofits with an opportunity to get a new, fully accessible website, designed with the help of some of the leading accessibility developers in the country.
  • 37.
    OpenAIR: The basics •When: Get your nonprofit together and registered by September 15th. The competition kicks off October 11th at Google Fiber and ends with an awards ceremony December 8th. • What: A six week competition in which a team of developers and an accessibility mentor will work together to build a new website for your company. • How: Find more information and register your company or team on the air-rallies website.
  • 38.
  • 39.
  • 40.
    . © TechSoupGlobal | All rights reserved40 Learn and Share! Chat in one thing that you learned in today’s webinar or will try to implement. Will you share this information with your colleagues and within your network? Please complete the post-event survey that will pop up once the webinar ends!
  • 41.
    . © TechSoupGlobal | All rights reserved41 Upcoming Webinars and Events 8/18: Office Productivity in the Cloud 8/23: Training Your Staff on Technology: TechSoup Resources 8/24: What Can Libraries Count? Getting a Grip on Social Media Numbers 9/8: Get to Know GrantStation 9/13: Building a Powerful Grants Strategy for 2016 - 2017 Explore our webinar archives for more!
  • 42.
    . © TechSoupGlobal | All rights reserved42 ReadyTalk offers dedicated product demos for TechSoup organizations 4 times per week. For more information: www.techsoup.org/readytalk Please complete the post-event survey that will pop up once you close this window. Thank You to Our Webinar Sponsor!