For Site Owners
The Final Countdown
Brace yourself. If your business or not-for-profit has 50 or more employees, the time is running out to get your website ready for the looming AODA deadline. What’s the deadline again? In a nutshell, your website and all the content (posted from 2012 on) needs to be accessible by January… Read More about “The Final Countdown”
Update on WordPress and Gutenberg Accessibility
Last year, we talked about the launch of the Gutenberg editing experience in WordPress. At the time, WPCampus, commissioned an accessibility audit of Gutenberg and released the final review to the public. The audit showed less that Gutenberg offered a less than ideal editing experience. Since then, the WordPress team… Read More about “Update on WordPress and Gutenberg Accessibility”
WordPress, Gutenberg and Accessibility
In December 2018, WordPress version 5.0 was released with a completely new editing experience known as Gutenberg. Gutenberg replaces the typical text editor screen that most WordPress users are familiar with. While Gutenberg opens a whole new way to build and publish content with WordPress, it’s not without its detractors…. Read More about “WordPress, Gutenberg and Accessibility”
A long road to web accessibility
Making a website accessible. People often ask how difficult it is to do. Actually, it’s not as difficult as most people think. All websites are accessible from the get-go if they’re built with well-structured, semantic HTML. If you add colours with good contrast, fonts that are easy and big enough… Read More about “A long road to web accessibility”
It’s official. Time to add WCAG 2.1 Guidelines to your workflow
After many years of development, WCAG 2.1 is now an official recommendation. (Remember to add WCAG 2.1 guidelines to your workflow!) The new guidelines focus on a few key areas: improving user interaction on mobile improving visual perception for users with low vision making things clearer for users with cognitive… Read More about “It’s official. Time to add WCAG 2.1 Guidelines to your workflow”
Quick and Easy Accessibility Check
Many website owners thinking that checking the accessibility of their website can only be done by experts. While it’s true that a full and comprehensive audit is best left to professionals, anyone can do this test quickly, easily and at no cost. Put your mouse away Keyboard navigation is usually… Read More about “Quick and Easy Accessibility Check”
Designing for Accessibility – Quick Tip
Understanding all the nuances of designing an accessible website can be overwhelming. If you’re just getting to know the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), it can be even harder to grasp. Posters for Dos and Don’ts Thankfully, the Digital Office for the UK has developed a series of posters that provide easy to… Read More about “Designing for Accessibility – Quick Tip”
Web Accessibility Audits – Quick vs Comprehensive
Web accessibility audits let you know how well your site complies with WCAG standards. They provide a snapshot of the current state of your website and give you a guide to what you might need to fix. Web audits can vary from quick to comprehensive. The kind of audit you… Read More about “Web Accessibility Audits – Quick vs Comprehensive”
What’s your strategy for your accessible documents on your website?
Now that AODA is in full effect for larger organizations (those with over 50 employees), the question of dealing with accessible content is becoming important. And although making documents like PDFs accessible seems a bit daunting, it can be done. Choosing an approach: Start with an inventory of the documents… Read More about “What’s your strategy for your accessible documents on your website?”
What’s involved in making websites accessible?
It’s not unusual for people to think that making a website accessible requires complex code, fancy tricks, boring design and a lot of money. In fact, making websites accessible is straightforward once you know what’s involved. The World Wide Web Consortium (affectionately known as W3C) has developed Web Content Accessibility… Read More about “What’s involved in making websites accessible?”
PDF Accessibility Testing
The 3rd Annual Accessibility Camp Toronto was held this past weekend at OCAD University. For anyone interested in digital accessibility, it’s a must attend event. If your organization uses PDFs to any extent, either on your website or internally, you’ll want to watch the presentation given by Denis Boudreau. In this… Read More about “PDF Accessibility Testing”
Accessible websites are part of the next phase of AODA legislation
Staring January 1, 2014 if your organization has 50 or more employees, you’ll need to start thinking about the accessibility of your website. What’s required? If you’re going to be launching a new website, relaunching an existing site or publishing new content (yes, that includes PDFs), after January 1 2014… Read More about “Accessible websites are part of the next phase of AODA legislation”
Short sighted? Does your website unknowingly ignore key decision makers?
“Why not just create a second version of a website to accommodate people with disabilities?” “Why would an auto manufacturer need an accessible website? People with vision impairments don’t drive after-all.” These are questions that came from an audience member attending a session about website accessibility. Is that type of… Read More about “Short sighted? Does your website unknowingly ignore key decision makers?”
There is no quick fix for web accessibility
We often come across service providers who offer tools they say will make your web site accessible. These tools usually require software or a plugin to be downloaded and installed by the end user. More often than not, these tools will only work on Windows but not a Mac. While… Read More about “There is no quick fix for web accessibility”
Quick Tip: Web Accessibility. Test with automated tools but …
It’s always good practice to test your pages or WordPress templates for accessibility before you release them to the world. There are all kinds of great tools for checking your site’s web accessibility. Test your site with WAVE from Web AIM, check the colour contrast of your site. These tools are effective… Read More about “Quick Tip: Web Accessibility. Test with automated tools but …”
Misconceptions about Web Accessibility
Despite the best efforts of so many web accessibility champions, there still exist many misconceptions – and much misunderstanding – about what it all means. Just this week, I had a conversation with a colleague who needed to include accessibility in the scope of the project. “We need to make… Read More about “Misconceptions about Web Accessibility”
Webinar Scheduled for NTEN and Ontario 211 Network Members
If you’re a member of NTEN or the Ontario 211 Network and want to learn more about web accessibility, please join Cindy Leonard and I on May 16, 2012 for a free webinar. Access for All: Basics of Website Accessibility provides a basic overview of web accessibility including requirements for Section… Read More about “Webinar Scheduled for NTEN and Ontario 211 Network Members”
Timelines for the Integrated Accessibility Standards
Now that you have your requirements in place for the Customer Service Standard, it’s time to start looking at your public-facing website as well as your Intranet (if you have one) to ensure you’ll be able to meet the deadlines set out in Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation. The Ministry developed… Read More about “Timelines for the Integrated Accessibility Standards”
Web accessibility starts with the design
An accessible website is made up of more than clean, well-written HTML, CSS and JavaScript. Yes, the code behind the scenes is important. If it’s not written with accessibility in mind, chances are the site won’t be accessible. However, the visual design of a site is just as important when… Read More about “Web accessibility starts with the design”
Latest version of AODA Integrated Accessibility Regulation available for review
When the Proposed Integrated Accessibility Regulation was released for review last September, it was a first step toward simplifying and streamlining the Information and Communication, Employment and Transportation Standards of the AODA legislation. But that first draft was not entirely well-received for a variety of reasons including it’s lack of clarity… Read More about “Latest version of AODA Integrated Accessibility Regulation available for review”
Olympic sites fail to deliver on accessibility & universal design
The winter Olympic games have been an exciting, and sadly tragic, viewing experience for fans around the world. The developers of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter games and CTV Olympics have built sophisticated websites offering a vast amount of information. They’ve also opened up new ways to follow the games… Read More about “Olympic sites fail to deliver on accessibility & universal design”
New Year’s Resolution – An Accessible Website
A new year feels like a fresh start for many of us. It’s a time for breaking old habits or starting new ones. And, it’s an opportunity to commit to doing things better. Has making your website accessible been added to your list of resolutions? An accessible website can be… Read More about “New Year’s Resolution – An Accessible Website”
3 Common Web Accessibility Mistakes that are Easy to Fix
I’ve been spending a fair bit of time this past week looking at websites – big and small – to see how accessible they are and where they tend to fall short. It hasn’t been a scientific survey but 3 common areas have stood out: Missing form labels Missing alternative… Read More about “3 Common Web Accessibility Mistakes that are Easy to Fix”
Web Accessibility vs. Usability
It can be very easy to get caught up in the process of making a website accessible. There are many technical details that a web developer needs to pay attention to and content writers need to consider. But web accessibility doesn’t always guarantee usability. Web accessibility is really a sub-set… Read More about “Web Accessibility vs. Usability”
3 Reasons for Ontario Organizations to make the move to an Accessible Website
For many Ontario organizations, the need to comply with the AODA (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act) and its Information and Communications Standard may seem like a back-burner to-do item. However, there are 3 good reasons to move it up the priority list and start working on improving your site… Read More about “3 Reasons for Ontario Organizations to make the move to an Accessible Website”
Font Size Switchers – Are they a good idea?
It’s not uncommon these days to see font size switchers (and other style switchers) on websites. They certainly make the task of increasing font sizes a bit less cumbersome. But, from an accessibility standpoint, do you add any value? I’d say that’s a discussion open for debate. On the plus… Read More about “Font Size Switchers – Are they a good idea?”
Final Information and Communications Standard Submitted
The final proposed Accessible Information and Communications Standard has been submitted to the Ontario Legislature. The proposed standard has been pared down considerably from its original version making it much less onerous for organizations to comply. While the standard is not in effect yet, we can anticipate the requirements for… Read More about “Final Information and Communications Standard Submitted”
WCAG 2.0 – The Simple Version
Trying to get a handle on the WCAG 2.0 from the W3C website can be an onerous task. The guidelines are quite comprehensive but it can take hours to wade through all the details. In a nutshell, here’s what you need to keep in mind when building or… Read More about “WCAG 2.0 – The Simple Version”
What you need to know about the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act
Understanding your responsibilities under any new legislation can be overwhelming. We’re going to try to make all of this a bit easier for you. What you need to know now The legislation focuses on 5 standards that all organizations – public, private or not-for-profit – need to address to ensure… Read More about “What you need to know about the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act”