Quick Wins for Web Accessibility

(Episode 25)

by Susan

AAArdvark Accessibility Podcast

Join Natalie Garza and accessibility expert Natalie MacLees for the 25th episode of the AAArdvark Accessibility Podcast, where they dive into quick wins for making websites more accessible using WCAG’s Easy Checks, designed especially for non-developers.

Natalie Garza: Hello, everybody, and welcome to the AAArdvark Accessibility Podcast. This is episode 25, I’m Natalie Garza, and joining me today is,

Natalie MacLees: Natalie MacLees.

Natalie Garza: And she is an accessibility expert here to answer all of our questions. In this episode, we’re going to talk about quick wins for websites in terms of accessibility. So, what do we mean when we say quick wins?

Natalie MacLees: Yeah, so things that you could fix probably in just a few minutes, or things that you could at least test for very quickly and easily without having to have any kind of special equipment or software.

Natalie Garza: Yes, so let’s kick off the list with page titles.

Natalie MacLees: The page title is what shows up on your browser tab and is the first thing announced to a screen reader user. It should accurately describe what the page is about.

Natalie Garza: Also, page titles need to be unique to avoid confusion when navigating through pages.

Next on the list, image text alternatives.

Natalie MacLees: Ensure that you have alternative texts for all images, which provides context for screen reader users. Avoid stating "photo of" since it’s already known it’s an image.

Not every image needs alt text, especially if it is purely decorative.

Next on the list, headings.

Natalie MacLees: Headings do more than just make text large and bold; they provide meaning and structure. They inform assistive technology about the content that follows.

Next, we have contrast ratio.

Natalie MacLees: Ensure there is a significant contrast between the background and text colors to maintain readability, particularly on different devices.

Next is resizing text.

Natalie MacLees: Content should be readable at up to 200% zoom without layout issues.

Next up, keyboard access.

Natalie MacLees: Make sure that all interactive elements are accessible via keyboard navigation.

Next are forms, labels, and errors.

Natalie MacLees: Always provide visible labels for forms, and ensure they are accessible via keyboard. Clear instructions and error messages are also essential.

Next on the list is moving, flashing, or blinking elements.

Natalie MacLees: Provide mechanisms to pause, stop, or hide animations to avoid potential physical reactions.

Lastly, for multimedia.

Natalie MacLees: All multimedia content must either not autoplay or provide controls for play and pause. Additionally, include captions or transcripts for accessibility.

Natalie Garza: Thank you for joining us. We’ll talk to y’all next time.