web accessibility: why pay attention now
TRANSCRIPT
Web Accessibility: Why Pay Attention Now 12 October 2016
Carin van Vuuren
CMO, Usablenet
T: @carinvvuuren
Usablenet: Global Technology Services Company Products and Services for digital transformation
Experiences Integration Services
Technology Platform
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Professional Services
SITES AND APPS
ASSISTIVE
UX, RESEARCH, WEB ACCESSIBILITY
TESTING
APIs SERVICES
QA / TESTING
PLATFORM & CONTENT TOOLS
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Contents The Case for Accessibility
What WCAG2 compliance means
Roadmap to Web Accessibility
Stop by Booth #7 to book a free
Accessibility Review.
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User Perspectives on Online Shopping
The Case for Accessibility
What is online accessibility?
• Ability for a person with a disability to understand and use a web site, application, mobile app, program etc
Governed by • UK: Equality Act 2010 and Statutory Code April 2011 • EU: UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities –
Article 9 (2011); European Accessibility Act (proposed) • US: Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 508 Achieved by • Following the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines,
Version 2.0 (WCAG2)
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Types of disabilities
Vision impairments • Blindness, colour blindness, glaucoma, cataracts etc Hearing impairments • Profound deafness, Hard-Of-Hearing Physical impairments • Cerebral palsy, Quadriplegia, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s etc Cognitive impairments • Epilepsy, migraines, dyslexia, aphasia, synesthesia, reading disabilities
etc
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1.5bn People Living with Disability Worldwide
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Over 53 million Americans adults (22%) are living with a disability
80 million Europeans (15%) are living with a disability -- 120 million by 2020
20% of the customer base of an average business that is made up of disabled customers
A Viable Market
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The annual spending power of Americans living with a disability is
$220 billion
12 million disabled people in the UK with annual spending power of £212 billion
Businesses that do not meet the needs of disabled consumers could be turning away
£420 million in business each week
€415bn per year in economic
contribution in the EU
75% of disabled people don’t make a purchase because they are unable or unwilling to do so.
Baby Boomers And The Need For Accessibility
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Source: www.slideshare.net/sitecues
BabyBoomerscollec-velyowncloseto£500bnoftheUK'sassetsandareasignificantpor-onoftheircustomerbase,makingthemanimportanteconomicpower
Babyboomershold80%oftheU.S.personalnetworthandaccountforadrama-c40%oftotalconsumerdemand
Web Accessibility is a Social Issue
Essential for Equal Opportunity
1. The Web is an important medium for receiving information, providing information and interacting with society
2. People living with disabilities can have more effective and efficient access to information through accessible websites
3. The Web creates and unprecedented opportunity for social interaction and community participation
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Examples of Barriers 1. Countries define disability differently 2. Requiring mouse interaction to use a website 3. When alternative text is not included
Source: hacknyu.org/home
Source: www.mediacurrent.com/blog
Web Accessibility: Also a Business Issue
• potential use by more people, expands potential market share
• findability with search engine optimization (SEO)
• potential use in more situations i.e. noisy environment, low bandwidth, or mobile device outdoors
• usability; users achieve goals effectively, efficiently, and satisfactorily
• positive image opportunity
• cost of maintaining the site
• cost of upgrading for new technologies
• potential for high legal expenses
• cost of alternative format materials
• cost of translating
• amount of server capacity needed and saves on additional server costs
Increased Benefits: Decreased Costs:
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$6 million class action suit, legal fees in excess of $3.5 million
Ordered to make all web sites WCAG2 within 18 months
Fined $795,000 and ordered to add captions within 18 months
Fined $20,000 and legal fees greater than $500,000
High Profile Organizations Penalized for Lack of Accessibility
Litigation in the US of commercial entities
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• Web and mobile sites must be made accessible
• Independent accessibility consultancy and designated employee
Discriminating against blind people
Specifically requests screen reader accessibility
Discriminating against blind people
The DOJ and Major Advocacy Groups Have Set the Tone
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H&R Block agreed to make its website accessible to blind of vision impaired individuals within one year and to make its mobile applications accessible within two years. It also agreed to ongoing monitoring and testing and to pay $77,500 in penalties and damages.
National Federation for the Blind and U.S. v. HRB Digital (H&R Block) (2013)
National Federation for the Blind and State of Massachusetts v. Monster.Com (2013)
Monster.Com agreed to make its website and mobile applications accessible to blind or vision impaired individuals and to provide $100,000 in funding for programs to help the blind.
Private Law Firms: Hundreds of ADA-related Demand Letters
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“Disability Lawsuits: Frequent Fliers: Laws Meant to Help The Disabled Have Had Unintended Consequences” (May 2016)
“The money machine has sped up in the past couple of years, with some plaintiffs now filing more than two dozen lawsuits a week, says Richard Hunt.”
What WCAG2 Compliance
Means
About WCAG2 (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines)
Developed by the W3C: • International, vendor-neutral
organisation • Version 1: 1999 • Version 2: 2008
Written by: • Accessibility specialists • People with disabilities • Software vendors
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About WCAG2
Four Principles • Perceivable • Operable • Understandable • Robust
Layout of a Principle: • Each Principle has Guidelines • Each Guideline has Success
Criteria • Each Success Criteria has
Sufficient, Advisory and Failure Techniques
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Three conformance levels: • Level A (minimum) • Level AA (medium) • Level AAA (maximum)
Some basic accessibility tests
• Move through the page using only the keyboard – don’t touch the mouse!
• Increase text size six or seven times by pressing CTRL+ • Open your site on a mobile or tablet device • Use a basic online tool like Wave on your site to find out things
like whether your images, forms and tables are accessible
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Typical Accessibility Issues: Form elements are not labelled
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Unable to check stock Cannot signup for newsletters
Unable to select a delivery date Cannot search for products
Typical Accessibility Issues: Important areas do not get keyboard focus
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Unable to select a size Cannot hear the price
Unable to select shipping options Cannot filter products
An Accessibility Review Quickly Reveals Compliance Issues
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• What is your current approach for website accessibility?
• Do you have a current accessibility policy in place?
• How do you monitor or manage website accessibility on-site?
• Is there a timeline to improve accessibility?
Basic Accessibility Tips
• Descriptive, detailed labels on links, buttons, headings, form fields, frames and images are essential
• High color contrast in type and as confirmation of selection is very important
• Explicit system feedback (e.g. color change on buttons) reduces user confusion.
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Basic Accessibility Tips
• Be selective in the use of images and graphics to communicate important information. It is less accessible than text.
• Clear navigation, large buttons, good search and filtering, and drop down menus are the essentials of accessible design.
Visit: www.gov.uk/service-manual/helping-people-to-use-your-service/making-your-service-accessible-an-introduction
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Roadmap to Compliance
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Developing an Accessibility Policy is Very Doable
Involve in-house legal department or outside council
Create a company-wide accessibility policy
Post accessibility statements on web and mobile
Create a simple way for disabled users to contact the company for help
Identify an accessibility coordinator (can be contractor)
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Establish and communicate timelines of web accessibility efforts
Test all desktop, mobile sites and Apps
Train people (if needed) on how to fix accessibility issues
Plan fixing of issues over a given timeline. Consider alternate conforming solutions for immediate accessibility
Continue to monitor and report all digital channels for accessibility
Usablenet Accessibility Services
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AUDITS & TESTING TRAINING & FIXING CONSULTING
http://usablenet.com/products/web-accessibility
Questions?
Stop by Booth #7 to book a free Accessibility Review!
www.usablenet.com/products/web-accessibility