a general term used to describe the degree to which a product, device, service, or environment is available to as many people as possible. Accessibility is often used to focus on people with disabilities or special needs and their right of access to entities
7
votes
6answers
383 views
Is using the alt-attribute for text-as-graphics ok?
There are several ways to present text on your web page in exactly the font your designer decided; as an image, a flash hack, some javascript hack, dynamic fonts. But to this day, the only thing that ...
7
votes
4answers
863 views
What are the UX strengths and weaknesses of Google+? [closed]
Google Plus is a new product from Google that seems to be a Facebook-like social application. It also seems to supercede Google Buzz. It is sort of integrated into GMail.
It offers a number of UX ...
7
votes
1answer
674 views
User accessibility for mobile applications [closed]
What are key points of mobile UI accessibility?
What is a difference between mobile and desktop accessibility?
Is there any recommendations we can use?
7
votes
2answers
1k views
How can one improve accessibility of modal windows in a browser?
How do modal windows implemented using, for instance, jQuery plugins affect the accessibility of the website? If it leads to poor accessibility, can it be mitigated? Is the only way to avoid using ...
7
votes
2answers
1k views
Honeypot captchas and accessibility
I have been looking at ways to prevent spam bots from posting, regstering and performing actions on my site.
Initially, I thought about implementing ReCAPTCHA using its API. However, I have found ...
6
votes
1answer
239 views
Should images be given alt text if they contain no information?
Example: a biography page with a picture of the person. The image contains no useful information, yet it adds enough emotional value to the page that simply removing it is not the solution.
If you ...
6
votes
8answers
428 views
Accessible CMS software
My company needs to incorporate some CMS software into their public web site. We want software that produces semantic mark-up to maximise accessibility. Can anyone suggest any?
At the current time, ...
6
votes
5answers
108 views
Forms: Sample description- for label or field? what should be the placement?
I need to place example input text [abc@pqr.com] for a field or label.
Where should I place example (or sample) input description? Here, I have shown four examples of an email ID input for ...
6
votes
8answers
237 views
Alternative to color code in table cell
I am currently redesigning an LOB application that makes use of color coding in tables to 'categorize' each row of data.
For instance, in the picture above, the 'St' column (which stands for ...
6
votes
3answers
502 views
Accessibility for touch screen devices (e.g. iPad, iPhone)
By touch screen, I mean things like the iPhone and iPad.
How are touch screen devices being made accessible? Are there any development guidelines that should be adhered to? Could a blind person ...
6
votes
5answers
223 views
Accessibility in modern web applications
I'm currently part of a team that develops a complex web application for a German customer (sorry, cannot say anything about the project). We would like "to be a good citizen" and develop the ...
6
votes
3answers
312 views
Best way to link to PDFs/Word docs/etc?
I need to include links to PDFs, Word docs and other document types on a web page. A lot of sites display an icon for the file type, plus the file size. I'm inclined to remove both the icon and file ...
6
votes
2answers
195 views
Contact form on mobile vs. mailto: link?
I have decided to put a contact form in the footer for my portfolio site and opening the question up to include any site where the decision was to add a contact form on the desktop version...
Would ...
6
votes
4answers
774 views
Which fonts are designed for accessibility and good screen legibility?
Ideally I need something that has been specifically designed for easy reading on displays. Accessibility is key really.
Does anyone have a suggestion for a good webfont that looks fairly similar to ...
5
votes
5answers
614 views
What UX implications should I be aware of when designing an enterprise website/intranet on SharePoint
We are currently weighing up the for-and-against in relation to whether to use SharePoint or an arguably better suited ECMS.
I am looking to gather compelling evidence both for and against SharePoint ...
5
votes
2answers
148 views
What is the validity of contrast and colours tests?
I just ran a contrast and colour test (using checkmycolours.com in this case) on our corporate site (www.dotblue.net; if you care) and it reports quite some failures. However, I explicitly optimized ...
5
votes
3answers
391 views
Is high contrast mode really useful?
In most operating systems and on some websites there is a high contrast mode, intended for use by visually impaired people. I have doubts, however, whether using such mode makes any sense - from what ...
5
votes
1answer
82 views
Accessible way to override tab key in textarea
I'd like to create a textarea for code which would allow the user to press Tab and Shift + Tab to indent and outdent the content respectively, however I'm worried that overriding the Tab key would ...
5
votes
2answers
365 views
What size should I make my icons so that people with some degree of visual impairment can use my application?
My application has to cater for people with a degree of visual impairment.
Should I have larger icons throughout or have an option that allows the user to select the icon size (small, normal, large)?
...
5
votes
4answers
212 views
How to prove to client that blind users can also use his e-commerce website?
How to prove to client that blind user can use his e-commerce website too? I want to tell the importance of accessibility to the client who has and e-commerce website, that we should try to make it ...
5
votes
2answers
120 views
Should the input field accesskeys in my form be semantic or physically clustered?
I'm creating a form similar to the one below (with <label/> tags, input field accesskeys and logically-ordered tabindices). The form will be filled a handful of times in rapid succession by ...
5
votes
5answers
183 views
link color contrast with non-link text
I have read a lot about color contrast with regard to the text and background color (snook's tool), however is there a similar tool for validating the contrast of linked and non-linked text?
There is ...
5
votes
3answers
181 views
Accessibility for non-web desktop applications
For web-applications I'm used to using WCAG 2.0 as a specification to provide to developers and 3rd parties who are developing websites to use as a guide.
I now have a 3rd party supplying a Windows ...
5
votes
2answers
108 views
Is it good practice to have a change contrast or higher contrast buttons for users?
Is it good practice to have a change contrast or higher contrast buttons for users?
As depending on the vision problem users may need different contrast conditions for comfortable reading. Some sites ...
5
votes
2answers
114 views
Benefits and drawbacks of modal windows
I'm working on a web application and am a little stuck trying to figure out how I should implement signup forms, login forms, contact forms, and payment forms. I can implement all these in either:
...
5
votes
1answer
70 views
Best Practices in keyboard navigation of JavaScript Controls?
Apparently "best practice" when creating DHTML widgets, such as menus etc., is to allow users to navigate to the widget using the tab key, and navigate within the widget using arrow keys. This follows ...
5
votes
1answer
92 views
Media player and accessibility, beyond the big buttons
I have to layout a media player for a touchscreen in hospital. The main feature has to be the accessibility. The touchscreen is thought to be near the bed of sick people. Not only invalid people but ...
5
votes
1answer
296 views
empty cells in accessible html tables
For an html data table in which each row represents an item (such as an email) would screen-reader users prefer empty table cells to be empty or to have a placeholder like a dash?
In my brief ...
4
votes
6answers
251 views
In what situations is a “barrier to entry” training requirement before use appropriate?
Sparked by this discussion.
Is there ever an argument to be made that products should be deliberately made difficult to use as a barrier to entry for the use of that product?
If so, in what sorts of ...
4
votes
5answers
191 views
Citation for the proposition “flashing boxes on the screen are annoying”
It seems self-evident that one should not put a large box on the screen and then change its dominant color frequently (i.e. make it flash) because it's very hard to ignore and will irritate people, ...
4
votes
5answers
4k views
How do you design a registration form?
I am trying to learn about registration forms, what should I be careful about when designing one? Is there any "best practice" or do you know any great websites with great examples of registration ...
4
votes
3answers
183 views
What would be more accessible : Un-ordered lists or tables?
I have a page listing the latest blog posts in a pretty standard format, you'd expect to see on any typical blog. At the foot of each post, I have a list showing 'views', 'comments' and 'shares'.
I ...
4
votes
5answers
390 views
Maximum set of stairs users are willing to climb before needing an elevator
I know this question has many variables related to ones own ambition / physical condition, but I'm wondering if you were to have a multi story building, what would be the maximum set of stairs a user ...
4
votes
4answers
167 views
Should static text be repeated in UI?
As you can see in the picture above there two version of displaying update date. One with just the date and the other with updated word prepended.
My question is, what version actually to use? I ...
4
votes
2answers
259 views
What happens when the focus rectangle isn't clear?
I get a lot of clients that comment that the focus box isn't obvious enough in some browsers. Is it common and good practice to make it more obvious? If so, how exactly do people do this?
4
votes
4answers
365 views
Alt key shortcuts anymore?
Do standard users use Alt key shortcuts for controls such as buttons anymore?
eg. an OK button could have a shortcut of Alt-K which would be the same as pressing it.
Any control on a form or window ...
4
votes
1answer
188 views
Javascript and 508
I was wondering if someone has a article of common practices a web developer should practice while using Javascript on a web page, keeping in mind the web page should be 508 compliant. I saw some ...
4
votes
1answer
257 views
What are the design guidelines to make interfaces friendly to dyslexics?
I've come across this question on Quora where it's likely to be forgotten.
Unlike other disabilities that are often considered in design, dyslexia has many forms. As a result, the guidelines can't be ...
4
votes
1answer
286 views
Is having more then 1 label for a form element really against web accessibility guidelines?
I'm working on making my pages compliant to us section 508, and wcag 2.0 aaa. I've got a bunch of fields that have ghosting on them, like date text boxes.
they use the labelOver plugin that can ...
4
votes
3answers
194 views
Standards for HTML access keys
Wanted to see if anyone has done some research on standard HTML access key. I have notices after doing some research many sites including Apple have incorporated the accesskey="s" on its search box. I ...
4
votes
2answers
191 views
Are support for voice browsers really necessary?
Screen readers attempts to identify and interpret HTML and send its data to a standard output which may be a video monitor, a text-to-speech output device or a braille output device. It is a way to ...
4
votes
1answer
282 views
What video players/sites are fully accessible?
I am in need of a video player that is fully accessible, but I'm hoping not to have to code it from scratch.
How accessible are the youtube/vimeo players? are there other ones pre-made online that ...
4
votes
1answer
74 views
Accesibility vs. read only inputs
I have a form with some read only fields depending on the customer role. As a rule, I use read only fields for those inputs.
have you had any problems with this approach using and assistive ...
4
votes
1answer
209 views
Cursor position and movement in Bidi Input.
In the case of Bidi input, where both RTL and LTR types languages can be mixed together, what should be the cursor position? And what should be the movement of the cursor with Home and End buttons?
...
4
votes
1answer
150 views
Section 508 Compliance for .msg files
We host a USA government website that allows administrators to upload documents to share with other users. These documents are usually PDFs, spreadsheets, and Word documents, but occasionally folks ...
4
votes
5answers
240 views
Allow users to change fonts for increased reability
Looking to see if anyone has found any recommendations/best practices on allowing users to toggle different font-types. Particularly the ability to toggle between standard font-sets and one designed ...
3
votes
1answer
562 views
Why do Automated Teller machines (ATMs) have speeches all the way along?
I do not understand the necessity of ATMs having audio feedback of "You have inserted a card", "Please type in your password", etc. I can just find them on the screen, and I just find the speeches ...
3
votes
4answers
390 views
Best Way to Darken a Color Until it is Readable?
What's the best way to darken a color until it is readable?
I have a series of titles which have an associated color, but some of these colors are very light and any text drawn in them is unreadable. ...
3
votes
4answers
112 views
What are some things to consider when optimizing a web page for a projector? [closed]
I'm guessing I should plan for low resolution and big fonts? Any good examples out there?
3
votes
3answers
206 views
Usability - Testing Windows applications under different settings
I'm testing a Windows application for usability. While I thought the application looked pretty usable at first, I tried the application using the "Large text" setting in Windows 7 and realised that ...
