Tag Archives: screen reader

Feb 23

Sub-headers are navigation

This is a great article by David Hamill from Good Usability about the effective use of sub-headings in your website copy.

It’s well written and makes some very good points. David also uses well-constructed sub-headings within the article to cleverly illustrate his point.

Original article: http://www.goodusability.co.uk/2008/10/sub-headers-are-navigation/

Using good sub-headers will help your users find the information they are looking for. It’s like navigation but without the clicking and the cool roll-over effects.

Summary

  • Sub-headers help users decide whether to stay
  • A good sub-header describes the text below it
  • Sub-headers help screen readers
  • Try writing your sub-headers first
  • Improve further with bold text

Original article: http://www.goodusability.co.uk/2008/10/sub-headers-are-navigation/

Dec 22

WCAG 2.0 – revised Accessibility guidelines

Found an interesting article on the BBC website relating to version 2 of the new Web Content Accessibility Guidelines published recently.

One of the most interesting things about the article is the video footage of people using the JAWS screen reading software.

Typically, when we think about website accessibility we tend to focus on providing assistance for the visually impaired. However, the users in this BBC article demonstrate a number of different forms of disability, including visual impairment, dyslexia, cognitive problems and RSI-like motor dysfunction.

The article’s videos serve as a useful reminder that there are other types of disabilities we need to be considering. They also demonstrate some practical considerations for designers and developers to make the most out of the JAWS software.

Article extract:

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has announced a new standard to make sites more accessible to older and disabled people.

Version 2.0 of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) will apply to text, images, audio and video.

It also covers web applications and is said to give developers more flexibility than the old guidelines.

According to the consortium, WCAG 2.0 should also be easier to understand and use

Full article here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7789622.stm