Improving Web Accessibility for the Visually Impaired
| Pages | 29-31 |
| Date | 01 September 2006 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/07419050610713709 |
| Published date | 01 September 2006 |
| Author | John Walsh |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science |
Improving Web Accessibility for the
Visually Impaired
John Walsh
LIBRARY HITECH NEWS Number 8 2006, pp. 29-31, #Emerald Group Publishing Limited, 0741-9058, DOI 10.1108/07419050610713709 29
Introduction
The American Disabilities Act
(ADA) mandates that libraries make
their services accessible to the disabled.
Titles II and III of the ADA require
governments and the business sector to
provide effective access to information
and communication through the
internet. The ruling specifically points
out access must be provided for visually
impaired users who use screen reading
software (Waddell, 1998). The internet
is assimilating itself into everyday life,
and web accessibility is increasingly
important. Accessibility, in its broadest
sense, is designing a web page in such a
way as to ``ensure all users have access
to the information on the page,''
including the visually or print impaired
(Waddell, 1998). ``Of all the disability
communities concerned by inaccessibility
to the web, people with visual
disabilities probably rank first''
(Paciello, 2000). The following paper
presents recommendations for
improving web accessibility for the
visually impaired. The paper concludes
with examples of how designers are
using sound and tactile displays to
make web sites more accessible to the
blind.
Web accessibility for the visually
impaired
People are becoming more reliant on
the internet for dissemination of
information. In its infancy, the internet
was mostly a text-based medium
(Chong, 2002), easily parsed by screen
reader software. This software is
designed to read the text on a web page
and provide an auditory response in a
synthesized to the user. The visually
impaired could surf the web as easily as
anyone (Lewis, 2002). Moving the
cursor across the text or hyperlinks on a
web page, and hearing the content read
to them There was really no need to
worry about accessible web design, it
was already well designed for access by
the blind. Since then the internet has
become more graphic. Web designers
are also using different access
technology, like java appletts and plug-
ins that are inaccessible to screen
readers.
As time and technology progressed,
the environment became increasingly
graphic. Many navigational points are
now depicted with icons, images, and
illustrations. Information streams
across the screen or data pops up in
different media formats, all unreadable
by the screen reader software. With
governments and businesses becoming
dependent on the convenience of the
internet for delivery of their goods and
services, a significant percentage of the
population is being denied the same
opportunities to access. Web developers
must approach design by looking at the
needs of visually impaired users
(Chong, 2002). By learning from blind
users exactly what their needs are to
successfully navigate a web site,
designers will make the content on their
pages accessible to all users. Below are
some recommendations that increase
accessibility for the visually impaired.
Screen reader software searches a
web page for American Standard Code
for Information Interchange (ASCII)
text. This is a character encoding that
computers and other digital devices use
to communicate with each other. It is
the only text the software can work
with. Web site designers should use
ASCII on all features of the page;
``links, document content, push buttons,
drop down menus, and graphical
images'' (Chong, 2002). Use of bit-
mapped text should be avoided. A text
based equivalent should be provided for
all non-text elements (W3C, 1999).
Most visually impaired users
navigate a page by jumping link to
link using the tab button. This
method is only adequate when
designers label each link with clear
and concise information defining
exactly what the link will access
(Chong, 2002). Graphical objects
should all be labeled with an HTML
alt tag so the graphic can be easily
identified.
Every service and membership
online is accompanied with some type
of online form. These forms should be
organized in a manner that facilitates
navigation by staggering the fields in
tiers and not adjacent to one another. A
screen reader will read a line of first,
last and middle name as one line and
just add three edits at the end of the
sentence. Each field should be tagged
with ``LABEL'' so the user realizes
when the field has changed (Chong,
2002).
Java Applett, JavaScript, and plug-
ins all restrict access to the blind user
surfing with a screen reader. This type
of access tool should be avoided, but if
required for the design of the page,
other alternative access should be
provided.
Avoid using frames in the design.
Frames are used in design to split a
user's browser window into separate
parts, like content windows and
navigational windows. For sighted
individuals frames organize a page and
provide direction. For visually impaired
frames can be disorientating and hard to
maneuver (W3C, 1999).
In a nutshell if the design conveys
data in images, illustrations, menus, or
color, a text alternative should be
described in the html file so screen
reader software will recognize it (Loo,
2003). Generally, developers have been
unaware of web accessibility for the
visual impaired. Human Computer
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