Web accessibility a concept that allows users have access to and interaction with website content regardless of abilities. It is vitally important to prioritize web accessibility when designing web pages or creating applications.
Proper HTML markup is essential for ensuring accessibility. For example, using logical headers helps screen readers distinguish the layout of your web pages. It is advised to also use descriptive link text and provide enough contrast between colors.
WCAG Guidelines
HTML0 — The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are web standards to ensure accessibility of development applications. These standards are used by front-end developers testers, QA, and others on the web team to ensure that websites meet the minimum accessibility requirements for websites. WCAG includes 13 guidelines arranged around four fundamental principles: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust, known by the acronym the POUR. Each guideline includes testable criteria for success that are used to assess conformance.
Unilever, an international company that makes 400 brands sold in over 2 billion homes around the world, maintains a website which is a balance of web accessibility and an aesthetic design. Its site is compliant with WCAG guidelines regarding color and contrast as well as keyboard navigation and head structure.
The most notable feature of the site is its use of visual indicators that indicate which elements on the page have keyboard focus. This makes the users able to browse through and comprehend the contents of pages without a mouse, in addition to screen readers as well as other text-to-speech programmers. This approach is also recommended for websites that have only keyboard navigation.
Semantic HTML
Alongside keeping content and style separate semantic HTML helps make your website easier for assistive technologies to understand. When a browser processes well-written, semantic HTML, the information presented is transmitted onto assistive technologies such as screen readers for interpretation as well as converted into formats people require.
Also an appropriate use of landmarks -a collection of HTML tags used to mark specific the areas on your site to ensure crucial areas are easily accessible for screen reader and text-to-speech user. Also, ensure that you include brief explanations of pictures (also known as alt attributes) in case you are unable to discern or understand visual images.
Keyboard Friendly Web Interfaces
Certain people browse the web via the keyboard instead of using the mouse. They can be expert “power” keyboard users, or have motor impairments which prevent them from performing the exact movement required to operate the mouse. The key is to create interactive and navigation elements readily accessible through tabbing them and then displaying an indicator on the screen that shows that the keyboard is currently focused.
For example, if there are input fields that allow typing text, a form or drop-down menus ensure that these elements can be tabbed on and that they provide a clear indication of the current status. Screen readers as well as screen magnifying software make use of the focus indicator in order for determining which object is present at any given time.
It’s crucial that all content that appears on a web page should be clearly accessible and easily read. This is one of the most important aspects of web accessibility web application development, especially for those who have hearing or vision impairments or who are blind or rely on assistive technologies to navigate the site.
Color Contrast
Utilizing colors that have adequate contrast, all users, including those with color blindness are able to comprehend and navigate through web-based content. Many people suffering from dyslexia benefit from contrasty texts as well.
Roles and Properties for the ARIA are used to describe the condition of widgets used to assistive technology, like screen users. For example the role “search” is used to identify a field on a form for an search feature. Roles are permanent and don’t alter when a widget is upgraded, but properties are dynamic, and they change whenever a user interacts a widget.