Hi!

Because I’m making the Subcultures and Sociology website more accessible, I’m learning a lot about accessibility. Here’s a post to refer to when checking for accessibility that I’ll continue updating as I find out more.

The Fundamentals:

• accessScan: Checks if a website is compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
• Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Overview (WCAG): Internationally recognized set of instructions on how to make accessible websites. Their website has an abundance of resources on why these guidelines exist, how to implement them, and what navigating the web is like for elders and people with disabilities.
  • Guidelines At a Glance
  • Accessibility Principles
  • How People With Disabilities Use the Web
• Accessibility 101: Who is Affected by the Accessibility of Websites?: An article by the University of Minnesota describing the many groups of people who benefit from accessible websites.

Tools

• Google Lighthouse: Automated tool that can run tests on a website to check for accessibility, best practices, safety, and more.
• aXe Developer Tools (for Chrome | for Firefox): Accessibility checker that points out issues and potential solutions.
• Funkify Disability Simulator: Simulates what interacting with a website is like for people with different disabilities (e.g.: colorblindness, tremors, dyslexia).
• Web AIM Contrast Checker: Checks the contrast between two colors to ensure that it is high enough for colorblind people to differentiate between them.
• WAVE Accessibility Extension (for Chrome | for Firefox): An accessibility checker similar to aXe, but with more visual guides. Less software-developer oriented.

Resources

• Accessibility of State and Local Government Websites to People with Disabilities: The government website about the American with Disabilities Act (ADA). This page has a visual guide showing useful accessibility features and best practices.
• Web Accessibility: The Ultimate Guide: Accessible web design guide with examples of real websites that implement best practices.
• Accessible Web Design | DO-IT: Concise guide by the University of Washington that gives an overview of access challenges, principles, and impact.

Questions

• How easily can I reach each button using only the keyboard?
• Can I get to and click on every link using the keyboard?
• Does the text color contrast with the background color? How about with the button colors?
• Do all non-decorative images have alternative text?
• Is the alt text specific? If I were only reading it without looking at the image, would I get all the information I needed?
• Is there a skip navigation link so users can move quickly to the content?
• Do link texts make sense on their own? (e.g.: “Click Here” doesn’t clarify where the link will take the user, whereas “Contact Information” makes that clearer).
• Is it perceivable? Is it operable? Is it understandable? Is it robust?