Accessibility Best Practice - Topics A-Z
Topics A-Z listing of best practice examples of how to make your websites accessible.
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Accessibility Best Practice - Archive
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Articles and resources about best practice examples of how to make your website accessible.
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Audio describing videos - Accessibility Toolkit - Version 3 - 2009
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How to use Magpie 2.0 to create audio descriptions of all the visual content in online videos to make them more accessibility to people with disabilities.
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Blogging and Accessibility - Accessibility Toolkit - Version 3 - 2009
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Blogging is often just text or a combination of text, images and links. Therefore it is easy to make a blog accessible. However a blog has all the same potential accessibility issues as a web site does. Consequently blogs should always be tested against the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Version 1.0, Level AA.
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Captioning downloadable videos - Accessibility Toolkit - Version 3 - 2009
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How to use Magpie 2.0 to create captions for online videos to make them more accessibility to people with disabilities.
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Captioning Vodcasts - Accessibility Toolkit - Version 3 - 2009
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Vodcasts cannot be made fully accessible, but they can be made accessible to some people with disabilities; for example people who are hearing impaired or deaf. A vodcast is made accessible by: providing a transcript of the video in text or HTML; and providing captions of all the audio content in the video.
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Captioning YouTube videos - Accessibility Toolkit - Version 3 - 2009
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How to use Magpie 2.0 to create captions for YouTube videos to make them more accessibility to people with disabilities.
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Creating sites accessible to people with cognitive disabilities - Accessibility Toolkit - Version 3 - 2009
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People with cognitive, language and learning disabilities comprise the largest group of those with disabilities accessing the web.
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Differences between WCAG 1.0 and WCAG 2.0 (Accessibility OZ)
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Now that WCAG2 has been endorsed by federal, state and local Government, the time has come to review your department’s web sites and applications for compliance to the new guidelines. Gian Wild talks about WCAG2 and the main differences between this new set of guidelines and WCAG1. Presented Tuesday 29 November 2011 to the Victorian Government.
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Facebook and Accessibility - Accessibility Toolkit - Version 3 - 2009
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Facebook is a social networking site where users can keep in touch with their friends, post photos and videos and play games. Facebook uses a combination of technologies which make it inaccessible; however there is an HTML version of Facebook which can be used by screen reader users. However, Facebook is not accessible to other groups of people with disabilities
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Flash and Accessibility - Accessibility Toolkit - Version 3 - 2009
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Flash cannot be made fully accessible, but it can be made accessible to some people with disabilities; for example people using screen readers. A Flash file is made accessible by: Creating the Flash in a particular way; Inserting the Flash file in the site a particular way; and Providing a transcript of the Flash file in text or HTML.
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Frames and iFrames - Accessibility Toolkit - Version 3 - 2009
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According to the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), Version 1.0, frames are inaccessible and any information contained within a frame must be provided elsewhere (Checkpoint 1.1). Some assistive technologies do now interact with frames and iframes, however it is still important to provide equivalent, accessible content where they are used.
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Making a PDF accessible - Accessibility Toolkit - Version 3 - 2009
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This is a guide to creating accessible pdfs, however, PDFs cannot be made fully accessible, but they can be made accessible to some people with disabilities; for example people using screen readers. A PDF is made accessible by tagging certain elements within it, for example images. If a PDF is tagged properly then a person using a screen reader can often understand a PDF just as well as an HTML document. However PDF does not yet have all the features of HTML, and therefore an equivalent must always be provided.
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Making maps and Google maps accessible - Accessibility Toolkit - Version 3 - 2009
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Online maps are inaccessible to vision impaired people so a textual alternative (long description) must always be provided. It is also important to include accessibility features within the map so it is accessible to people with other disabilities e.g. by making the map non-reliant on JavaScript and keyboard accessible.
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Making Slideshare Accessible - Accessibility Toolkit - Version 3 - 2009
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Slideshare is a presentation sharing website where users can upload, view and share presentations. Presentations can be tagged and commented. It is also possible to embed presentations into a web site or download the presentation. Presentations can be shared publicly or privately. Slideshare uses a combination of technologies which make it inaccessible; however there is an accessible version of Slideshare that can be used instead. Slideshare can be made accessible by: Providing an alternative of the presentation in HTML, text or Word; and Providing a link to Easy Slideshare (accessible Slideshare).
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Mashups and Accessibility - Accessibility Toolkit - Version 3 - 2009
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It is difficult to categorically state that mashups are inaccessible; it really depends on the primary applications and how they have been put together. The best way to ensure that mashups do not exclude people with disabilities is to provide a transcript of the mashup in text or HTML.
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PDFs and Accessibility - Accessibility Toolkit - Version 3 - 2009
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Portable Document Format (PDFs) are inaccessible according to the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines version 1.0. There are methods that can make the actual PDF available to certain people with disabilities (for example, creating tagged PDFs ), however even if these documents are created in an accessible way the information still will not conform to the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines. The Australian Human Rights Commission has commented that Word documents are accessible: "When documents are only put on the Internet in PDF format, it usually results in inadequate or zero access for people with disability. "You can use HTML, Microsoft Word, or RTF formats", said the Commissioner. "It's particularly depressing to see documents created in word-processor formats, which provide very good access, being converted into PDF, which doesn't, then only being posted in PDF." " It is preferable, of course, to provide an HTML version.
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Twitter and Accessibility - Accessibility Toolkit - Version 3 - 2009
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It is important to provide a transcript of the Twitter content on your site, for people who cannot use the Twitter interface or do not have a Twitter account.
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Victorian Government Accessibility Toolkit - Version 2 June 2007
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Version 3 of the toolkit has been published in pdf and word formats. An accessible HTML version of the toolkit is currently being developed and will be published shortly. Until this occurs Version 2 of the toolkit is made available in HTML. This is Section 1 of the Victorian Government's Accessiblity Toolkit providing an overview of the contents of the toolkit.
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Videos and accessibility - Accessibility Toolkit - Version 3 - 2009
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Videos cannot be made fully accessible, but they can be made accessible to some people with disabilities; for example people using screen readers.
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Web Accessibility for Writers
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This seminar: Introduced web writers (and editors, approvers and content managers) to web accessibility; Provided an overview of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0, focusing on the guidelines that writers need to be aware of; and Showed how to make content more accessible using 'before and after' examples from a range of Victorian public sector websites.
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Melbourne Accessibility Week - February 2012
- The Victorian Government has set a December 2012 deadline for all Government websites to be Level A WCAG2 compliant. AccessibilityOz is launching Melbourne Accessibility Week. Register now! Dates - 6- 10 February, 2012 - Full Day Seminar; Microsoft Word Training (1/2 day); Adobe PDF Training (1 day); Writing Accessible Content (1 day); Developer Training (1 day).
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Quick Reference - Web Accessibility Principles
- Web Accessibility In Mind (WebAIM), Expanded and improved version - 2008. "Article Contents: Principles of Accessibility; Provide appropriate alternative text; Content is well structured and clearly written; Help users navigate to relevant content; Provide headers for data tables; Do not rely on color alone to convey meaning; Ensure users can complete and submit all forms; Ensure links make sense out of context; Caption and/or provide transcripts for media; Ensure accessibility of non-HTML content; Miscellaneous.
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Victorian Government Accessibility Toolkit - Version 3 - September 2009 - in pdf format (2898kb)
(This document requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader). Department of Business and Innovation, Information Victoria, September 2009 - Version 3.1.1 - March 2011 (minor edits). "The Victorian Government’s Accessibility Standard requires that: All websites must be Level AA compliant (W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Version 1.0); Where audience needs are specific, websites should become Level AAA as appropriate. This toolkit shows departments and agencies how to conform to this policy and the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, Version 1.0. The toolkit is designed for Victorian Government business managers and web site owners to enable them to effectively present the business case for accessibility and manage the processes involved..."
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CAPTCHA Under WCAG 2.0
- New Zealand Government Web Toolkit, Last modified: 13 June 2012. "Overview - Like it or hate it, CAPTCHA (which stands for "Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart") might be a website's first defence against the robot spider invasion. Questions to ask are does it work for users (accessibility) and does it work for you (security)?..."
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Document Accessibility Guide - Microsoft Word
- New Zealand Government Web Toolkit, October 8, 2012. "This guide is directed at people who use Microsoft Word. It provides a list of best practice techniques designed to increase the accessibility of Microsoft Word documents. Some of the accessibility suggestions in this guide are also designed to assist with the conversion of Word documents to PDF..."
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Access IQ
- Media Access Australia. Offers content, contacts and education that equip individuals and organisations with the information they need to ensure their websites, web applications and digital experiences are accessible.
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Access iQ aims to improve web sites' disability access
- By Stuart Corner. ITWire, 19 July 2012. "Media Access Australia, an independent not-for-profit organisation devoted to increasing access to media for people with disabilities, has launched Access iQ an initiative that will provide advice and services to web developers to help ensure that their web sites meet national accessibility standards.
The move comes in the run-up to the December 2012 deadline of the Federal Government's Web Accessibility National Transition Strategy (NTS) that requires all Federal Government agencies and third-party providers to government to make their online content accessible to people who have a disability by complying with international accessibility guidelines..."
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Creating Accessible PDFs
- HowTo.gov, Page Reviewed/Updated: September 25, 2011. "... Making your PDF documents accessible is important so that all users are able to access your agency's information—no matter its format. Not only is making your content accessible a best practice, agencies are also required by OMB to maintain accessibility and follow standards from Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act as amended in 1998..."
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The Hidden Nuggets of WCAG2: When Not to Use ALT Attributes
- By Gian Wild. SitePoint, December 7, 2011. "So, just when should you not use an ALT attribute?
Short answer: never.
You must always have an ALT attribute if you have an IMG element. Always. No ifs, no buts, no maybes..."
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Info and Relationships: Understanding SC 1.3.1
- Understanding WCAG 2.0 - W3C. "The intent of this Success Criterion is to ensure that information and relationships that are implied by visual or auditory formatting are preserved when the presentation format changes. For example, the presentation format changes when the content is read by a screen reader or when a user style sheet is substituted for the style sheet provided by the author..."
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The Hidden Nuggets of WCAG2: Information Relationships
- By Gian Wild. SitePoint, November 2, 2011. "The Information and Relationships Success Criterion is a very complex requirement. Unlike other success criterion, it is not sufficient to comply with only one or two of the listed techniques – it is important to comply with all the relevant techniques. This means that this success criterion covers a wide range of requirements – in fact it covers many WCAG1 checkpoints, such as table headers, headings, coding lists etc..."
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The Hidden Nuggets of WCAG2: An Introduction
- By Gian Wild. SitePoint, October 25, 2011. "WCAG2 – it's complicated. But just like climate change, that doesn't mean we can ignore it and hope it goes away. Just like climate change, there are proponents on both sides of the issue, and just like climate change, people are vehement about the subject.
But WCAG2 doesn't need to be that complicated. Yes – it is a long series of documents. Yes – sometimes it isn't clear exactly what is required. But I'm here to demystify the set of guidelines, and tell you the hidden bits and pieces that you really need to know about.
In this series of articles, I'll be talking about all the big issues in accessibility: images and alt attributes, video, keyboard accessibility, forms, tables, skip links and many more. I'll be including concrete examples, and actual code that you can implement as well as linking to useful how-to guides. I hope this series of articles serves to simplify some of the more confusing areas of WCAG2..."
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e-Publication accessibility
- By Andrew Arch - AGIMO Blog, 29 September 2011. "Recently the Australian Security Research Centre hosted an information sharing session on “i-documents & other e-publications”. It included information on a range of e-publishing trends including the use of EPUB and various other formats and their application in the government context. I spoke about accessibility and e-publications, and how the principles of accessible information apply to all e-publications..."
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PDF Techniques for WCAG 2.0 - W3C Editor's Draft
- W3C, 21 June 2011. "... The Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format for representing documents in a manner independent of the application software, hardware, and operating system used to create them, as well as of the output device on which they are to be displayed or printed. PDF files specify the appearance of pages in a document in a reliable, device-independent manner. The PDF specification was introduced by Adobe Systems in 1993 as a publicly available standard. In January 2008, PDF 1.7 became an ISO standard (ISO 32000-1)...
PDF includes several features in support of accessibility of documents to users with disabilities. The core of this support lies in the ability to determine the logical order of content in a PDF document, independently of the content's appearance or layout, through logical structure and Tagged PDF. Applications can extract the content of a document for presentation to users with disabilities by traversing the structure hierarchy and presenting the contents of each node. For this reason, producers of PDF files must ensure that all information in a document is reachable by means of the structure hierarchy..."
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Communicating data with colour
- Department of Planning and Community Development, April 2011. "... A guideline document, Communicating Data with Colour, highlights the issues confronting people who are colour blind when accessing information, and outlines practical methods and tools for achieving colour accessibility in publications and online..."
This category last updated: 8 October 2012