Tags |
|
|
Links |
|
|
Actual for You - The Secret Benefit Of Accessibility: Part 1 - Increased Usability
I found this great article over at A List Apart, Avoid Edge Cases by Designing Up Front by Ben Henick. A list apart is one of the best online journals for finding information and articles about web design and programming written by seasoned professionals. A list apart is pretty strict about who is allowed to author articles, ensuring that each entry is very well written and provides tremendous value.Henick’s article was no different. In Avoid[ing] Edge Cases by Designing Up Front, Henick outlines, in great detail, a number of problems and solutions to planning for success when designing or beginning a large scale web project. What I found most amusing, and of import note was the following:[I]t has been my experience that too often, a graphic designer will begin a project by building composites or prototypes with the goal of creating an attractive site. While there’s nothing wrong with attractiveness, the look and behavior of a site need to be driven by i
By providing a transcript, broken up by sub-headings and with the key terms highlighted, non-disabled site visitors can skim through it and get a general idea of the content. They can then make a more informed decision about if they want to wait for the 3Mb audio file to download.
10. Screen flickering and movement avoided
Some epileptic web users must be careful to avoid screen flicker of between 2 and 55 Hz. Web users with reading and/or cognitive disabilities and those using screen magnifiers will struggle to keep up with scrolling text (if you do have scrolling text be sure to provide a mechanism to stop it).
In addition to being a bad idea for accessibility, neither flickering nor scrolling text are good for usability either. The former can be distracting when you're trying to read something and you see flashing out the corner of your eye; the latter isn't good either as you have to wait for the content to slowly appear. When you see scrolling text do you usually bother to stop what you're doing so you can read it as it gradually materialises? Or do you ignore it?
The other disadvantage of scrolling or changing text is that you might see something you want to click on, but before you know it it's gone. And now you have to wait 30 seconds for it to re-appear again!
Conclusion
With all th
Sales management careers should be fulfilling and fun and I have had the wonderful opportunity, or in fact privilege to sales manage and influence sales people. I see sales management as one of the most important obligations and responsibility of any sales leader. I have always tried to sales manage and lead with more emotion and passion for each individual as an individual and not just an instrument for generating profits.Social theorists and academics have suggested that the beliefs in people, their intellect, abilities, emotions and ethical values are the core of our social existence.One of these theorists is an individual by the name of Dr. Clayton J.C. Lafferty who had studied the management competency of humanistic-encouraging or what is now often referred to as emotional intelligence has defined it in the following way:“Humanistic-Encouraging measures an interest in people, a tendency to care about others, and the ability to encourage them to improve.”
At which point you must surely be asking, “So if I make my website accessible its usability will increase and I'll make more money out of it?”. Well, not quite. An accessible website is not automatically more usable but there are many areas of overlap:
1. Descriptive link text
Visually impaired web users can scan web pages by tabbing from link to link and listening to the content of the link text. As such, the link text in an accessible website must always be descriptive of its destination.
Equally, regularly sighted web users don't read web pages word-for-word, but scan them looking for the information they're after.
Link text such as 'Click here' has poor accessibility and usability as both regularly sighted and visually impaired web users scanning
the paragraph will take no meaning from this link text by itself. Link text that effectively describes its destination is far easier to scan and you can understand the destination of the link without having to read its surrounding words.
2. Prompt text assigned to form input
In order to make forms accessible we need to assign the prompt text to its form item. THis is especially useful when done with checkboxes and radioboxes, as the text becomes clickable too. Checkboxes and radioboxes are small and pernickety for even the steadiest of hands so by increasing the clickable region everyone benefits.
3. Large chunks of information divided up
There are a number of techniques that can be taken to increase the usability for visually impaired users, who have to listen to the information on each page and try to remember it. By structuring information into small, manageable groups, enhanced usability for these users can be achieved.
Methods to accomplish this can include using sub-headings to break up body content, grouping form items with the fieldset command and using lists. Breaking down groups of information is obviously highly useful for sighted web users too, as it greatly enhances our ability to scan the screen quickly.
4. Site map provided
Site maps can be a useful accessibility tool for visually impaired users as they provide a straightforward list of links to the main pages on the site, without any of the fluff in between. Site maps are of course useful for everyone as they provide us with a way of finding pages quickly and help us visualise the structure of the website.
5. Simple and easy language
From an accessibility point of view, this one's important for people with reading and/or cognitive disabilities and site visitors who's first language isn't the one you're writing in. From a usability point of view, well, it helps everyone. Reading from computer screens is tiring for the eyes and about 25% slower than reading from paper. As such, the easier the style of writing the easier it is for site visitors to absorb your words of wisdom. Wherever possible shorten your sentences. Use, ‘apply’ instead of ‘make an application’ or ‘use’ instead of ‘make use of’.
6. Consistent navigation
Having consistent navigation across pages is also important for maximising accessibility to people with reading and/or cognitive disabilities, but again everyone benefits. Each time you visit a new website it takes you a few seconds to adjust to the unique layout and user interface of that page. Well imagine if you had to do that every time you follow a link to a new page!
By having a consistent interface across a website we can instantly locate the navigation and page content without having to look around for it. In reality, most sites do have consistent navigation across most pages. The main culprit for falling foul of this guideline is the homepage, which some websites structure quite differently to the rest of the site. By having a consistent interface across the entire website we can instantly locate the page content without having to look around for it.
7. No unannounced pop-ups
For web users utilising screen readers pop-ups can be a real accessibility nuisance. Screen readers read out the content of whichever window is on top of the others. Pop-ups display over the top of the main website so will always be read out first. For visually impaired users this can be frustrating as they may not realise that what they're hearing isn't the ‘real’ website.
So, pop-ups are bad for accessibility. As for usability, well I'm sure you hate pop-ups as much as I do. Many toolbars, such as the Google toolbar, now come packaged with a pop-up blocker so allow you to surf the web without the irritation of new windows popping up.
8. CSS used for layout
CSS-based sites are generally have a greater ratio of content to HTML code so are more accessible to screen readers and search engines. Websites using CSS for layout can also be made accessible to in-car browsers, WebTV and PDAs. Don't underestimate the importance of this - in 2008 alone there'll be an estimated 58 million PDAs sold worldwide (source: http://www.etforecasts.com/pr/pr0603.htm).
As well as improved accessibility, CSS-based websites have one large usability benefit: increased download speed. Broadband isn't as widespread as you may think. In the UK for example, just one in four web users are hooked up to broadband (source: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/intc0504.pdf) so improving the download speed of your web pages could provide a great usability advantage over your competitors.
9. Transcripts available for audio
One group of web users with special accessibility needs that doesn't get much press is hearing impaired users, who need written equivalents for audio content. Providing transcripts is in fact highly beneficial to all users. Many of your site visitors probably can't be bothered to wait for your 3Mb audio file to download and start playing. They may prefer just a quick outline of what's contained in the audio content.
By providing a transcript, broken up by sub-headings and with the key terms highlighted, non-disabled site visitors can skim through it and get a general idea of the content. They can then make a more informed decision about if they want to wait for the 3Mb audio file to download.
10. Screen flickering and movement avoided
Some epileptic web users must be careful to avoid screen flicker of between 2 and 55 Hz. Web users with reading and/or cognitive disabilities and those using screen magnifiers will struggle to keep up with scrolling text (if you do have scrolling text be sure to provide a mechanism to stop it).
In addition to being a bad idea for accessibility, neither flickering nor scrolling text are good for usability either. The former can be distracting when you're trying to read something and you see flashing out the corner of your eye; the latter isn't good either as you have to wait for the content to slowly appear. When you see scrolling text do you usually bother to stop what you're doing so you can read it as it gradually materialises? Or do you ignore it?
The other disadvantage of scrolling or changing text is that you might see something you want to click on, but before you know it it's gone. And now you have to wait 30 seconds for it to re-appear again!
Conclusion
With all th
A radio station saleswoman, hair pulled back, suit well tailored, portfolio carried with a PDA peeking out, walks in and greets the store owner with a firm handshake, and announces that she wants to talk about his advertising. She is polite and on his side.The shopkeep says there is no point. Advertising doesn't work. He tried it. It failed. We don't do ads here.She is sympathetic and points out the ways in which advertising does work. He is steadfast. He tried and failed. No more advertising here. End of story.The saleswoman, in an attempt to show the store owner another perspective, agrees to give him a free commercial. It will cost him nothing. He's intrigued. The word free holds some intrigue, sometimes. The spot will begin running tomorrow morning and will make the following offer: Everything in the store, Free. All service calls, Free. The businessman protests immediately. He'll be ruined. Hundreds, if not thousands of people will flock to his store and
3. Large chunks of information divided up
There are a number of techniques that can be taken to increase the usability for visually impaired users, who have to listen to the information on each page and try to remember it. By structuring information into small, manageable groups, enhanced usability for these users can be achieved.
Methods to accomplish this can include using sub-headings to break up body content, grouping form items with the fieldset command and using lists. Breaking down groups of information is obviously highly useful for sighted web users too, as it greatly enhances our ability to scan the screen quickly.
4. Site map provided
Site maps can be a useful accessibility tool for visually impaired users as they provide a straightforward list of links to the main pages on the site, without any of the fluff in between. Site maps are of course useful for everyone as they provide us with a way of finding pages quickly and help us visualise the structure of the website.
5. Simple and easy language
From an accessibility point of view, this one's important for people with reading and/or cognitive disabilities and site visitors who's first language isn't the one you're writing in. From a usability point of view, well, it helps everyone. Reading from computer screens is tiring for the eyes and about 25% slower than reading from paper. As such, the easier the style of writing the easier it is for site visitors to absorb your words of wisdom. Wherever possible shorten your sentences. Use, ‘apply’ instead of ‘make an application’ or ‘use’ instead of ‘make use of’.
6. Consistent navigation
Having consistent navigation across pages is also important for maximising accessibility to people with reading and/or cognitive disabilities, but again everyone benefits. Each time you visit a new website it takes you a few seconds to adjust to the unique layout and user interface of that page. Well imagine if you had to do that every time you follow a link to a new page!
By having a consistent interface across a website we can instantly locate the navigation and page content without having to look around for it. In reality, most sites do have consistent navigation across most pages. The main culprit for falling foul of this guideline is the homepage, which some websites structure quite differently to the rest of the site. By having a consistent interface across the entire website we can instantly locate the page content without having to look around for it.
7. No unannounced pop-ups
For web users utilising screen readers pop-ups can be a real accessibility nuisance. Screen readers read out the content of whichever window is on top of the others. Pop-ups display over the top of the main website so will always be read out first. For visually impaired users this can be frustrating as they may not realise that what they're hearing isn't the ‘real’ website.
So, pop-ups are bad for accessibility. As for usability, well I'm sure you hate pop-ups as much as I do. Many toolbars, such as the Google toolbar, now come packaged with a pop-up blocker so allow you to surf the web without the irritation of new windows popping up.
8. CSS used for layout
CSS-based sites are generally have a greater ratio of content to HTML code so are more accessible to screen readers and search engines. Websites using CSS for layout can also be made accessible to in-car browsers, WebTV and PDAs. Don't underestimate the importance of this - in 2008 alone there'll be an estimated 58 million PDAs sold worldwide (source: http://www.etforecasts.com/pr/pr0603.htm).
As well as improved accessibility, CSS-based websites have one large usability benefit: increased download speed. Broadband isn't as widespread as you may think. In the UK for example, just one in four web users are hooked up to broadband (source: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/intc0504.pdf) so improving the download speed of your web pages could provide a great usability advantage over your competitors.
9. Transcripts available for audio
One group of web users with special accessibility needs that doesn't get much press is hearing impaired users, who need written equivalents for audio content. Providing transcripts is in fact highly beneficial to all users. Many of your site visitors probably can't be bothered to wait for your 3Mb audio file to download and start playing. They may prefer just a quick outline of what's contained in the audio content.
By providing a transcript, broken up by sub-headings and with the key terms highlighted, non-disabled site visitors can skim through it and get a general idea of the content. They can then make a more informed decision about if they want to wait for the 3Mb audio file to download.
10. Screen flickering and movement avoided
Some epileptic web users must be careful to avoid screen flicker of between 2 and 55 Hz. Web users with reading and/or cognitive disabilities and those using screen magnifiers will struggle to keep up with scrolling text (if you do have scrolling text be sure to provide a mechanism to stop it).
In addition to being a bad idea for accessibility, neither flickering nor scrolling text are good for usability either. The former can be distracting when you're trying to read something and you see flashing out the corner of your eye; the latter isn't good either as you have to wait for the content to slowly appear. When you see scrolling text do you usually bother to stop what you're doing so you can read it as it gradually materialises? Or do you ignore it?
The other disadvantage of scrolling or changing text is that you might see something you want to click on, but before you know it it's gone. And now you have to wait 30 seconds for it to re-appear again!
Conclusion
With all th
Jerry Seinfeld didn't call it quits because his audience wanted him to end his TV series. No, the comic turned TV star decided it was time to go.In an interview before the final "Seinfeld" episode, Katie Couric posed this question: "You’re the number-one sitcom, the leading program for a network and the most-watched show on television. Why hang it up?""The audience is a child, and you’re responsible for the child," said Seinfeld. "Sometimes that means not giving the child what the child wants. The child isn’t happy at the time, but perhaps later the child will understand."In other words, Seinfeld was saying "enough" to his devoted fans, much in the same way a child is denied candy even though each piece tastes good.Regardless of what you thought of "Seinfeld" -- a show about nothing, narcissistic, the funniest sitcom ever -- the producers, writers and actors knew their audience, and they delivered dead-on comedy to that audience for nearly a decade.ter screens is tiring for the eyes and about 25% slower than reading from paper. As such, the easier the style of writing the easier it is for site visitors to absorb your words of wisdom. Wherever possible shorten your sentences. Use, ‘apply’ instead of ‘make an application’ or ‘use’ instead of ‘make use of’.
6. Consistent navigation
Having consistent navigation across pages is also important for maximising accessibility to people with reading and/or cognitive disabilities, but again everyone benefits. Each time you visit a new website it takes you a few seconds to adjust to the unique layout and user interface of that page. Well imagine if you had to do that every time you follow a link to a new page!
By having a consistent interface across a website we can instantly locate the navigation and page content without having to look around for it. In reality, most sites do have consistent navigation across most pages. The main culprit for falling foul of this guideline is the homepage, which some websites structure quite differently to the rest of the site. By having a consistent interface across the entire website we can instantly locate the page content without having to look around for it.
7. No unannounced pop-ups
For web users utilising screen readers pop-ups can be a real accessibility nuisance. Screen readers read out the content of whichever window is on top of the others. Pop-ups display over the top of the main website so will always be read out first. For visually impaired users this can be frustrating as they may not realise that what they're hearing isn't the ‘real’ website.
So, pop-ups are bad for accessibility. As for usability, well I'm sure you hate pop-ups as much as I do. Many toolbars, such as the Google toolbar, now come packaged with a pop-up blocker so allow you to surf the web without the irritation of new windows popping up.
8. CSS used for layout
CSS-based sites are generally have a greater ratio of content to HTML code so are more accessible to screen readers and search engines. Websites using CSS for layout can also be made accessible to in-car browsers, WebTV and PDAs. Don't underestimate the importance of this - in 2008 alone there'll be an estimated 58 million PDAs sold worldwide (source: http://www.etforecasts.com/pr/pr0603.htm).
As well as improved accessibility, CSS-based websites have one large usability benefit: increased download speed. Broadband isn't as widespread as you may think. In the UK for example, just one in four web users are hooked up to broadband (source: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/intc0504.pdf) so improving the download speed of your web pages could provide a great usability advantage over your competitors.
9. Transcripts available for audio
One group of web users with special accessibility needs that doesn't get much press is hearing impaired users, who need written equivalents for audio content. Providing transcripts is in fact highly beneficial to all users. Many of your site visitors probably can't be bothered to wait for your 3Mb audio file to download and start playing. They may prefer just a quick outline of what's contained in the audio content.
By providing a transcript, broken up by sub-headings and with the key terms highlighted, non-disabled site visitors can skim through it and get a general idea of the content. They can then make a more informed decision about if they want to wait for the 3Mb audio file to download.
10. Screen flickering and movement avoided
Some epileptic web users must be careful to avoid screen flicker of between 2 and 55 Hz. Web users with reading and/or cognitive disabilities and those using screen magnifiers will struggle to keep up with scrolling text (if you do have scrolling text be sure to provide a mechanism to stop it).
In addition to being a bad idea for accessibility, neither flickering nor scrolling text are good for usability either. The former can be distracting when you're trying to read something and you see flashing out the corner of your eye; the latter isn't good either as you have to wait for the content to slowly appear. When you see scrolling text do you usually bother to stop what you're doing so you can read it as it gradually materialises? Or do you ignore it?
The other disadvantage of scrolling or changing text is that you might see something you want to click on, but before you know it it's gone. And now you have to wait 30 seconds for it to re-appear again!
Conclusion
With all th
Many people are astonished at the cost of outsourcing tasks in their Internet business. However, every smart entrepreneur knows that outsourcing is crucial to the success of an online business. If you do everything yourself, you may just burn out yourself and not achieve all that you can!However, there have been a few horror stories where entrepreneurs have been scammed by freelancers. Freelancers either don’t provide the work they were paid for, or provide shabby work that is not fit to be published.An Internet entrepreneur still needs to remain in control of the process unless the freelancer is doing the work. After all, it’s the entrepreneur’s business and not the freelancer’s business. A ghostwriter’s name, for example, often does not appear on the finished work, but the work will be represented by your business.Communication is crucial in the outsourcing process. You need to be clear about what you want your project to be like. Decide how much control yo
So, pop-ups are bad for accessibility. As for usability, well I'm sure you hate pop-ups as much as I do. Many toolbars, such as the Google toolbar, now come packaged with a pop-up blocker so allow you to surf the web without the irritation of new windows popping up.
8. CSS used for layout
CSS-based sites are generally have a greater ratio of content to HTML code so are more accessible to screen readers and search engines. Websites using CSS for layout can also be made accessible to in-car browsers, WebTV and PDAs. Don't underestimate the importance of this - in 2008 alone there'll be an estimated 58 million PDAs sold worldwide (source: http://www.etforecasts.com/pr/pr0603.htm).
As well as improved accessibility, CSS-based websites have one large usability benefit: increased download speed. Broadband isn't as widespread as you may think. In the UK for example, just one in four web users are hooked up to broadband (source: http://www.statistics.gov.uk/pdfdir/intc0504.pdf) so improving the download speed of your web pages could provide a great usability advantage over your competitors.
9. Transcripts available for audio
One group of web users with special accessibility needs that doesn't get much press is hearing impaired users, who need written equivalents for audio content. Providing transcripts is in fact highly beneficial to all users. Many of your site visitors probably can't be bothered to wait for your 3Mb audio file to download and start playing. They may prefer just a quick outline of what's contained in the audio content.
By providing a transcript, broken up by sub-headings and with the key terms highlighted, non-disabled site visitors can skim through it and get a general idea of the content. They can then make a more informed decision about if they want to wait for the 3Mb audio file to download.
10. Screen flickering and movement avoided
Some epileptic web users must be careful to avoid screen flicker of between 2 and 55 Hz. Web users with reading and/or cognitive disabilities and those using screen magnifiers will struggle to keep up with scrolling text (if you do have scrolling text be sure to provide a mechanism to stop it).
In addition to being a bad idea for accessibility, neither flickering nor scrolling text are good for usability either. The former can be distracting when you're trying to read something and you see flashing out the corner of your eye; the latter isn't good either as you have to wait for the content to slowly appear. When you see scrolling text do you usually bother to stop what you're doing so you can read it as it gradually materialises? Or do you ignore it?
The other disadvantage of scrolling or changing text is that you might see something you want to click on, but before you know it it's gone. And now you have to wait 30 seconds for it to re-appear again!
Conclusion
With all th
It is a shame that we waste so much of our time on the Net dealing with spammers. Many forums become the target of spam robots (bots) that find a forum to attack and then start registering users with the intent of posting spam to the user's account. Once they are registered users, they post spam which contains links that point to their website. This is to create a high link count and cause the site to rank high with the search engines.As with all other aspects of the Internet, the forums are subject to receiving spam and receive tons of it. If you read the forums for forum administrators, you will see that prevention of spam is an ongoing discussion topic.Most of the volume spammers are robots (bots) that find a forum that does not have the proper security provisions installed and then start pumping out registrations and postings to the forum.From personal experience, I established a forum with very little previous knowledge of forums. I set the options to wh
By providing a transcript, broken up by sub-headings and with the key terms highlighted, non-disabled site visitors can skim through it and get a general idea of the content. They can then make a more informed decision about if they want to wait for the 3Mb audio file to download.
10. Screen flickering and movement avoided
Some epileptic web users must be careful to avoid screen flicker of between 2 and 55 Hz. Web users with reading and/or cognitive disabilities and those using screen magnifiers will struggle to keep up with scrolling text (if you do have scrolling text be sure to provide a mechanism to stop it).
In addition to being a bad idea for accessibility, neither flickering nor scrolling text are good for usability either. The former can be distracting when you're trying to read something and you see flashing out the corner of your eye; the latter isn't good either as you have to wait for the content to slowly appear. When you see scrolling text do you usually bother to stop what you're doing so you can read it as it gradually materialises? Or do you ignore it?
The other disadvantage of scrolling or changing text is that you might see something you want to click on, but before you know it it's gone. And now you have to wait 30 seconds for it to re-appear again!
Conclusion
With all this overlap between web usability and web accessibility there's no excuses for not implementing basic accessibility on to your website. Outside of the ethical argument there are many reasons to make your website accessible, one of the main one being that its usability will be improved. No one can argue with that.
HTTP = HTML link (for blogs, profiles,phorums):
<a href="http://www.actual4u.com/article/87654/actual4u-The-Secret-Benefit-Of-Accessibility--Part-1--Increased-Usability.html">The Secret Benefit Of Accessibility: Part 1 - Increased Usability</a>
BB link (for phorums):
[url=http://www.actual4u.com/article/87654/actual4u-The-Secret-Benefit-Of-Accessibility--Part-1--Increased-Usability.html]The Secret Benefit Of Accessibility: Part 1 - Increased Usability[/url]
Related Articles:
The Advantage of Using Teams for Residential Cleaning
In Summary - What Is Major Account Management All About?
Bulk Vending Machines – The Most Popular Ones With Vendors And Customers
Bookmark it:
|