Web accessibility
Web accessibility is defined as a feature of a website that makes it usable by people with disabilities, whether temporary or permanent. The concept of accessibility arose to eliminate access difficulties for people with disabilities (both sensory and physical), but it also offers additional advantages for web users without disabilities. In 2008, the international organization W3C defined a set of design rules, WCAG 2.0, to be followed to achieve an accessible website. The main objective of this Bachelor’s Thesis is the creation of an application for analyzing and improving web accessibility. This application is based on a development framework defined in a Doctoral Thesis presented at the UIB (University of the Balearic Islands).
Web browser accessibility options
Web browsers such as Explorer, Netscape, Mozilla, Firefox, Opera, etc., incorporate various accessibility options that allow you to customize the program, access, and page display. Some are common features in Windows, while others are related to HTML code.
Toolbar
Web browsers have various toolbars with specific functions: tools, address bar, favorites, history, and many others. These toolbars can be a nuisance, as they reduce the window where the webpage is displayed and complicate the user interface. To avoid these inconveniences, they can be hidden.
Algunas de las barras de herramientas se pueden personalizar:
The standard toolbar contains the navigation tools. In some programs, you can add, remove, and rearrange buttons, use larger or smaller icons, and show or hide label text. In Explorer and Firefox, this is accessed from the View | Toolbars | Customize menu.
The Links bar is a small space where you can save links to your most visited websites. In Internet Explorer, you can change the icons to make them easier to understand.
Favorites.
This is a large space that allows you to neatly save the web addresses you’re interested in. Customizing these tools lets you create a list of links, with meaningful icons, that facilitate quick access to web pages without having to type the addresses.
“Autocomplete” is another time-saving option when typing because, as you type, it displays a list of matching entries where you can select your text.
5.5.2.1. Displaying web pages.
Web browsers offer options to improve the display of web pages, provided they adhere to accessibility guidelines. This is possible:
Change the font size using CTRL+ / CTRL- in many browsers, or from the View | Text Size menu.
Change the text and background colors of the webpage if high-contrast colors are needed. Go to Tools | Internet Options | Colors.
Associate a style sheet to display web information with fonts and colors that suit your needs.
5.5.2.2. Mouse-free access.
People who cannot use a mouse can use keyboard shortcuts to access program options and navigate the web. These are commonly used by blind people, as well as those who use programmable virtual keyboards.
Web browsers have their own keyboard methods for navigating the web page in addition to the usual methods for scrolling through any document.
Table 5.5.2.2.a. List of some keyboard shortcuts for navigating the web
>SHIFT+TAB – Moves back between elements on a web page
>ENTER – Activates a selected link.
>ESC – Stops the download of a page.
>F5 – Refreshes the current page.
>ALT + D – Go to the address bar
>ALT+LEFT ARROW – Go to the previous page.
>SHIFT+F10 – Show a context menu for a link.
>CTRL+TAB – Move between frames.
Accessibility tool
It allows you to set things such as:
- Change font size (increase/decrease)
- Grayscale
- Negative contrast
- High contrast
- Light background
- Underlined Links
- Legible font
- Link to the Site Map, Comments and/or Help pages
The accessibility toolbar makes it very easy to find and change all kinds of accessibility settings.
Its other features allow you to enable content jumps, add outline focus to focusable elements, remove target attributes from links, and add reference roles to links.
