NewEgg - Accessibility in Action

Pete Prestipino — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 19:00:00 GMT

Last week online-only retailer Newegg.com announced that it had made its site fully accessible to users with disabilities and was recognized as accessible by the National Federation of the Blind. Why is this noteworthy? Because Newegg did this voluntarily, not as the result of litigation.

Dr. Marc Maurer, president of the organization, said: "The National Federation of the Blind is pleased that Newegg.com is setting an example for the industry by providing an unprecedented level of access to its website for blind shoppers. We are pleased to award Newegg.com our gold level Nonvisual Accessibility Web Certification, which has never before been achieved by an online retailer."

The improvements and enhancements NewEgg made for the visually impaired include the implementation of special software programs that allow users with sight issues to navigate the site quickly and easily. Changes include an advanced Screen Access program and a specially designed magnification program that allows users to choose multiple settings to adjust size, font color and other visual attributes that can improve the online shopping experience for the visually impaired.

"Newegg.com is fiercely committed to making our customer experience the very best it can possibly be for all our users -- and that includes the more than 11.3 million Americans who live with vision-related disabilities,” said Newegg's vice president of marketing and merchandising, Bernard Luthi.

The NFB's Nonvisual Accessibility Web Certification Program (NFB-NVA) is conducted in partnership with software company Deque. The program brings Internet companies and developers together with leading experts in the field of web accessibility for the blind to ensure equal access, including equal transaction speeds, for the visually impaired.

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Part 1

Pete Prestipino — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 19:15:00 GMT

The W3C announced the formalization of its Accessibility standards this week. The project has been ongoing for several years and the aim is to help Web designers and developers create sites that better meet the needs of users with disabilities and older users. Drawing on extensive experience and community feedback, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 improve upon W3C's initial standard for accessible Web content, apply to more advanced technologies, and are more precisely testable.

The official guidelines themselves read much like a cross between a legal document and a technical manual for an extraterrestrial spaceship, so let's look at some of the basic principles and guidelines and what you as a designer and developer can, or perhaps should, consider if accessibility is top of mind for you and the site or applications you are developing. Keep in mind that this is only part one of a two part series on accessibility, and that portions of this article may be used in our upcoming feature article in the February edition of Website Magazine. While you may already be using many of these accessibility tips, others may be new to you, so weigh the benefits and pitfalls of each accordingly based on your objectives.

Text Alternatives: The W3C recommends that information and user interface components must be presented to users in ways they can perceive. Guidelines include providing text alternatives for any non-text content so that it can be changed into other forms people need, such as large print, Braille, speech, symbols or simpler language.

Some compliance techniques for text alternatives include:

Providing different sizes for non-text content when it cannot have an equivalent accessible alternative
Using server-side scripts to resize images of text
Linking to textual information that provides comparable information
Providing more than two modalities of CAPTCHAs
Providing redundant text links for client-side image maps
Using CSS margin and padding rules instead of spacer images for layout design

Time-Based Media: Provide alternatives for time-based and synchronized media, which includes media that is audio or video only, captions and audio descriptions or prerecorded media alternatives.

Some compliance techniques for time-based media:

Providing a transcript of a live audio only presentation after the fact
Linking to textual information that provides comparable information
Providing a note saying "No sound is used in this clip" for video-only clips
Using SMIL 1.0 or 2.0 to provide captions for all languages for which there are audio tracks
Providing audio description in multiple languages in SMIL 1.0 or 2.0

Adaptable: The W3C recommends creating content that can be presented in different ways (for example simpler layout) without losing information or structure.

Some compliance techniques for adaptability include:

Using CSS to control visual presentation of text
Positioning labels to maximize predictability of relationships
Using Accessible RIA described by property to provide a descriptive, programmatically determined label and to identify form fields as required.
Organizing a page using headings
Using left-justified text for languages that are written left to right and right-justified text for languages that are written right-to-left
Providing a style switcher between style sheets that affect presentation order
Using an image with a text alternative for graphical symbols instead of a Unicode font glyph with the desired graphical appearance but different meaning

Distinguishable: Make it easier for users to see and hear content including separating foreground from background.

Some compliance techniques for distinguish-ability include:

Using readable fonts and making sure any text in images of text is at least 14 points and has good contrast
Providing a highly visible highlighting mechanism for links or controls when they receive keyboard focus
Using CSS to change the presentation of a user interface component when it receives focus
Providing a site-wide preference to turn off audio in addition to providing a control near the top of the Web page that turns off sounds that play automatically
Using a 3:1 contrast ratio or higher as the default presentation
Using colors that are composed predominantly of mid spectral components for the light and spectral extremes
Using server-side scripts to resize images of text

Keyboard Accessible: The W3C recommends that all functionally of the content is operable through a keyboard interface without requiring specific timings for individual keystrokes.

Some compliance techniques for keyword accessibility include:

Adding keyboard-accessible actions to static HTML elements
Avoiding use of common user-agent keyboard commands for other purposes
Using unique letter combinations to begin each item of a list

In part two of W3C Accessibility Compliance available in early January, Website Magazine will address providing users with enough time to read and use content, not designing content in ways that create seizures, providing ways to help users navigate, and making content readable and understandable.

'Net Features : accessibility

NewEgg - Accessibility in Action

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Part 1