Questions tagged [accessibility]

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.

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146 votes
14 answers
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What are the negative and positive aspects of dark color scheme?

I am using Light-on-dark color scheme (dark background with light text) in my application. My question is, what are the negative and positive aspects of this color scheme and why this color scheme ...
Navid's user avatar
  • 1,593
195 votes
13 answers
21k views

Why shouldn't we use words such as 'here' and 'this' in textlinks?

Over the years of surfing on the web I have found numerous examples of people saying that you shouldn't use the word "here" in a textlink etc. Personally I like the idea of using the word, because it ...
Paul Olyslager's user avatar
65 votes
10 answers
24k views

Is a cancel button necessary in a web form?

Personally I have never used it. I don't put information in a form and then decide everything needs to be cleared. I would edit one field. Plus cancel in a UI suggests canceling an action which is in ...
25 votes
4 answers
7k views

How does use in bright sunlight affect how a web site should be designed?

We're building a mobile web site that will mainly be used outdoors in bright sunlight. What design factors should I consider?
Tony Bolero's user avatar
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4 votes
4 answers
2k 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. ...
Mark's user avatar
  • 143
42 votes
7 answers
9k views

How can I check if my user interface is suited for colorblind people? [closed]

I've made a visualization that consists of various colors. Now I would like to test, if also color-blind people can use my application in a meaningful way. Is there any tool etc that I can run to see ...
RoflcoptrException's user avatar
20 votes
11 answers
9k views

Scrollbar on the left

Is there a deep study that suggests to place a scrollbar on the right? Personally I move it to the left whenever possible (Firefox allow this, as well as xterm and emacs). I know that placing a ...
Alexander Gromnitsky's user avatar
60 votes
12 answers
64k views

Is there an optimal font size?

For most website projects I've been involved with, the font size for the bulk text is usually 12px - 13px, but I'm wondering if this is a good size. I remember reading an article saying that font ...
googletorp's user avatar
  • 2,297
46 votes
4 answers
35k views

Do disabled buttons still need to be contrast compliant for accessibility?

Very related to this question: Accessible Disabled State but that is about how to style disabled buttons to make them accessibility compliant, but my question is slightly different. Is it actually an ...
JonW's user avatar
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35 votes
8 answers
4k views

Is it a good idea to have a large footer containing many links?

In recent years, it's become quite a common design pattern to have a large footer on every page, containing a 'mini sitemap'. For example: This has supposed SEO benefits but would also seem to be ...
Bobby Jack's user avatar
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34 votes
9 answers
27k views

What are good resources for testing UI design for color-blind users? [duplicate]

Possible Duplicate: How can I check if my user interface is suited for colorblind people? I'd like to ensure that color blind users experience the UI with sufficient contrast between elements and ...
Don's user avatar
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31 votes
9 answers
3k views

Are "print" links needed on a website?

What do you think, does a website for a general audience need a "print" link or will the users know how to print the page for themselves (using the browser controls)? Some background: It's not a ...
Zoltán Gócza's user avatar
30 votes
13 answers
62k 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 ...
mik01aj's user avatar
  • 479
23 votes
1 answer
9k views

Why is it inaccessible to create a form with no submit button?

Considering the W3C advice on including submit controls, is it still possible for a form to be accessible if the only way to submit it is by pressing the return/enter key?
Ecksmic's user avatar
  • 333
14 votes
5 answers
3k views

Left-handed persons and usability

I have never seen any UI that depends on what hand a person prefers. I have never seen any options or profile settings for left-handled persons. Maybe it is a strange question, but I have to ask it. ...
igor's user avatar
  • 2,533
84 votes
12 answers
82k views

Is there an optimal font size / line height ratio?

When styling text on web pages, both font size and line height can be set. For example, the text of this post will be displayed using a font-size of 14px and a line-height of (about) 18px, set using ...
Yannick Blondeau's user avatar
35 votes
4 answers
16k views

Are italics on the web bad for accessibility?

On a current web project, we've received word from the client that we can no longer have any italicized text on the website we are building. When I asked for some reasoning, I was told that "our ...
RedRiderX's user avatar
  • 465
20 votes
5 answers
15k views

Can text shadow enhance readability?

CSS font shadows are often used to help make text stand out (or in, or colorful, or many other fancy things.) I'm wondering if it can be used to aid readability. I know finding the right amount of ...
Gn13l's user avatar
  • 303
19 votes
3 answers
10k views

What should the ALT text be for an image that is also a link?

An image alt="" text should contain information about that image in the context of the page, so for instance if you have an article about cats on skateboards and then a photograph of the cat on his ...
JonW's user avatar
  • 37.1k
19 votes
8 answers
1k views

How to determine whether links have enough contrast?

I find it very hard to distinguish links from normal text on Programmers Stack Exchange, especially visited links on wall-of-text posts. The colour scheme used is: Background #fafafa (there's a ...
user avatar
14 votes
7 answers
7k views

Parallax scrolling and accessibility

I was just answering this question Is there any actual data about websites using parallax scrolling? and the more I read about parallax scrolling, I was wondering if parallax sites were accessible as ...
Mervin's user avatar
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13 votes
5 answers
3k views

Accessibility and CAPTCHAs

I want to include a CAPTCHA in my web application, but I also want to make sure that my web application is accessible to individuals with impairments or disabilities. How should I go about doing that?...
D.W.'s user avatar
  • 593
10 votes
3 answers
519 views

For touchscreen interaction, are there benefits to knowing a user's preferred hand?

The generally accepted answer to the question on Left-handed persons and usability is that rather than asking users which hand they use in order to determine your layout, you should let them choose ...
Graham Herrli's user avatar
7 votes
2 answers
7k views

What is the best way to display disabled field and text for accessibility color contrast support [duplicate]

I am working on a project which needs to support color contrast accessibility. Currently on our system disabled data is presented as grayed-out, but now we need to support color contrast for ...
pnina's user avatar
  • 73
7 votes
3 answers
2k 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 ...
Peter's user avatar
  • 71
6 votes
1 answer
2k views

Accessibility of in-field labels and help text labels in input forms

Many newer UI interfaces have a preference for input field labels or help texts to be contained within the UI component itself instead of implementing them as separate labels. I was wondering if ...
Michael Lai's user avatar
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1 vote
3 answers
456 views

Having a separate accessible page for screen reader users

I have been working in the accessibility of an accordion that is used to take user input from checkboxes and return a list of criteria based on the user input. We are using Outsystems and have not ...
tiki16's user avatar
  • 149
69 votes
16 answers
154k views

Why are Inverted Colors considered an accessibility feature?

Why is it that, in most operating systems, the "Inverted Colors" display setting is considered an accessibility feature? Both Windows and OS X include this option so it seems to be a ...
RLH's user avatar
  • 793
45 votes
3 answers
17k views

How do blind people know where to find Braille signs?

On many occasions I have seen signs, with the equivalent in Braille underneath the text. Which is great. But what baffles me is this: how do blind people know where to find the Braille text? I don't ...
Niet the Dark Absol's user avatar
44 votes
3 answers
7k views

What is the most dyslexia friendly font?

Has any font been proven, in an academically sound manner, to be particularly easy for those with dyslexia to read and as such would be a good choice for any screen text product created with dyslexic ...
Toni Leigh's user avatar
  • 7,818
30 votes
2 answers
19k views

Formula for color contrast between text and background

In my Android app a user can choose the color of an item. This color is then shown in background with a text on it. I want to display the text either in black or white - depending on the background ...
juergen d's user avatar
  • 459
29 votes
7 answers
12k views

Colorblindness-friendly colors called "green", "blue", "yellow", and "red"

I need to choose a palette of four colors that satisfies the following two conditions: Colorblind people can easily distinguish all four of the colors. People with normal color vision can ...
Joseph Sible-Reinstate Monica's user avatar
28 votes
2 answers
3k views

Why is low contrast between active and inactive window title bars considered a good thing?

It seems like recently, there is a movement toward applications forcing a color scheme on the user as well as using custom-drawn windowing elements, particularly title bars, with very low contrast ...
user's user avatar
  • 662
25 votes
5 answers
5k views

Colorblindness-friendly color scale with a clear progression, without using red/purple/pink

I have a case where a strong pink has already a reserved meaning ("missing data"), so red/purple/pink should not be used at all. Additionally, colours should really distinct as it will be ...
reducing activity's user avatar
21 votes
4 answers
17k views

How to test a website for visually impaired users?

What techniques should I be using when testing of a website for visually impaired users that commonly occur due to aging such as macular degeneration, needing reading glasses, possible loss of ...
Chris Marisic's user avatar
19 votes
2 answers
1k views

Senior Usability and Navigation

Does anyone have any current resources for senior usability? I'm specifically researching navigation: tabs and accordions. The Jacob Nielsen site has a report that's over a decade old. I'm looking for ...
JK Hudson's user avatar
  • 383
19 votes
5 answers
3k views

Font Size Amender

Is there still any need for a font resizer in web apps? Modern web browseers easilly allow you to zoom in on content. Older browsers such as IE6 and IE7 require you to change the font size via ...
Sniffer's user avatar
  • 767
16 votes
3 answers
3k views

Maximum contrast ratio for good accessibility

So we are remaking an enterprise app from scratch. This time we want to base our design decisions on proper research. Our users use the app 24/7 with high requirements for UX. So our main goal is to ...
exp's user avatar
  • 1,697
15 votes
2 answers
7k 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 ...
F21's user avatar
  • 5,858
15 votes
3 answers
10k views

Should we include a "Back to top" button for mobile websites?

When building a mobile web site that needs to be accessible — do you consider it to be best practice to include a "Back to top" anchor link in a footer menu for long pages? I'm thinking about those ...
Tony Bolero's user avatar
  • 7,254
15 votes
5 answers
8k views

Should I have a text size widget for accessibility on a charity website?

I'm a developer at a small web agency that works primarily with charities. We tend to put a simple textsize widget on every site (eg. top right on www.embraceme.org). I find myself wondering if that's ...
Andy's user avatar
  • 253
14 votes
4 answers
6k views

What size of a button can a reasonably fat finger comfortably click?

Say my button is square shaped, in a website, and I don't want to cause inconvenience for users with big fingers (and also older people and those who forgot their glasses and aren't precise at hitting ...
Arthur Tarasov's user avatar
14 votes
6 answers
42k views

What default font to choose for desktop applications?

Finding the right font for an application seems to be an art. There seem to be many standards. Arial seems to be used in most applications I have seen, Segoe UI is the standard for Microsoft Windows ...
Mare Infinitus's user avatar
13 votes
2 answers
7k views

Should websites provide high contrast or alternate schemes?

With regards to Accessibility, many sites focus on font-size adjustments either the browser's / OS's native controls or via a control on the page (usually denoted by 3 capital A's of varying size). ...
JamesEggers's user avatar
  • 1,999
12 votes
3 answers
22k views

Patterns for keyboard accessible drop down lists

Are there any standard keyboard shortcuts for making drop down lists appear? (in any kind of software, not just web based.) I'm going to write some JavaScript to make the drop down lists (select and ...
Sam Hasler's user avatar
  • 1,163
12 votes
2 answers
6k views

Sliders and Accessibility: Usability of sliders for users with disabilities

I was wondering if the use of sliders would make it harder for people with disabilities to select values. How hard is it to drag and drop for them? How easy is it for them to see values changing while ...
EdGG's user avatar
  • 480
11 votes
5 answers
1k views

What element should have the focus after a search?

A website has its own search (there are reasons for this; no, a Google site search will not do). So, after a search is executed, for accessibility what element should have the focus? The number of ...
GHolmes's user avatar
  • 213
10 votes
3 answers
3k views

Accessible custom scrollbars?

While it seems that the general consensus on custom scrollbars is that they are somewhat detrimental to overall user experience, powers beyond my control are suggesting their implementation is ...
Chris's user avatar
  • 323
10 votes
2 answers
6k 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 ...
bloudraak's user avatar
  • 202
9 votes
2 answers
4k views

Should html links with images have both title and alt attributes?

I understand it is generally a best quality practice to have title tags for hyperlinks and alt tags for images. This is good for several reasons: additional information for low bandwidth users, ...
Michael Durrant's user avatar