Introduction

• About Presenters
• About Presentation Theme “Making Website Accessible - Futureproof Web Design with Standards”
• Agenda
  1. Introduction
  2. Current Situation of What Called Accessible Feature of Websites
  3. Problems of the Current Features and Their Impact
  4. Implementation of Web Standards
  5. Focus on Contents
  6. Summary
• Slide URL: http://accessibility.mitsue.co.jp/resources/csun2007/

Introduction(1)About Mitsue-Links Co.,Ltd.

• Established in July 1990
• “Information Integrator” which Leads Clients' Business to Sustainable Development
• Management Systems (ISO9001, ISO14001, etc.)
• 230 Employees (March, 2007)
• One of the Largest Companies of Web Design/Development in Japan
• http://www.mitsue.co.jp/english/

Introduction(2)What is Web Accessibility?

• Not only for People with Disabilities/Elderly People
• Not only for Humans, but also for Machines
• Web Contents “As It Should Be”

Introduction(3)What are Web Standards?

• Useful Tools for Providing Various Business Merits
  • Better Web Accessibility
  • Better Machine Readability
  • Lower Bandwidth
  • Easier Maintenance
  • Forward/Backward Compatibility
• Provide Equivalent Information/Functions for All Users/User Agents, Not Pixel-precise Appearance

Introduction(4)Accessibility and Standards

• Web Standards can be Useful Tools for Futureproof Web Accessibility
  • Misuse of the Tools Creates Insufficient Accessibility
  • Inaccessible Contents can't be Accessible with the Tools

Current Situation of What Called Accessible Feature of Websites

• Things which Make Contents
  • Accessible are:
    • Accessible for All
    • Accessible for Some People and not Harmful to Others' Accessibility
  • With Intention to be Accessible are:
    • Accessible for Some People but Harmful to Others' Accessibility
    • Temporally Accessible but Not Futureproof
    • Only Available in Specific Web Site
• Things which are
  • Necessary to Make Contents Accessible in Future
    • Relationship between Contents and Others

      Definition: Contents

      Original Information in Comparison with Other Documents in a Web Site

Current Situation of What Called Accessible Feature of Websites(1)Temporary Solution

• Server Side Solution
• Exclusive Service for Specific Environment
• Exclusive Feature Provided by Specific User Agent
• Elimination of Minority for the Sake of Majority
• Special Features Only for Minority

Temporary Solution(1)Server Side Solution

• Often Thought as an Easy Way to Improve Accessibility, without Touching up Contents
• Available in Specific Environment

Temporary Solution(2)Exclusive Service for Specific Environment

Example: Text Version

• Original Contents is not Accessible
  • Information for Specific Environment like Transcribed Text is Necessary
• Original Contents is Accessible
  • Maintaining Text Version can Lead Lower Accessibility e.g. Miscopy, Not Updated

Temporary Solution(3)Exclusive Feature Provided by Specific User Agent

Example: tabindex attribute in span element

• Can be Effective Solution, “If Users are Specified”
• Possibility to Cause Lower Accessibility in Unexpected Environments, because they are not Standardized

  Definition: User Agent

  Software which Parses Web Contents and Renders It
  Including Web Browsers, Media Players, Plug-ins, Assistive Technologies like Screen Reader

  Definition: Assistive Technology

  Hardware/Software Supports People with Disabilities when They Operate Various Instruments

Temporary Solution(4)Elimination of Minority for the Sake of Majority

Example: Optimized to IE

• Improving Accessibility does not Mean Attaching importance to Environment which Many People Use
• Even If Majority is Considered, Minority should not be Ignored

Temporary Solution(5)Special Features Only for Minority

Example: Hidden Skip Link

• Does the Feature Lower Accessibility for Others?
• Is Solution which Works Only for Specific Environment Really Necessary?

Current Situation of What Called Accessible Feature of Websites(2)Current Situation of User Agent

• Viewpoint of Contents Author
• Viewpoint of Contents Owner
• Viewpoint of User

Current Situation of User Agent(1)Functions Issue

Viewpoint of Contents Author

• Necessary Functions haven't Implemented yet - Why?
  • Web Design Industry hasn't been Matured yet
  • Difference in Interpretation due to Vague Points in Specifications
  • Visual Browsers have not Standardized , even though they are likely to be Invested
  • Assistive Technologies are less likely to be Invested, hence are not Standardized Enough yet
  • Assistive Technologies in Japan Face a Difficult Situation due to Inherent Issues about Japanese Language

Current Situation of User Agent(2)Verification Issue

Viewpoint of Contents Owner

• Verification is thought to be Difficult/Impossible - Why?
  • Verification is Thought to Create Lower Business Merits Due to Fewer Targeted Users
    • In Comparison with Major Visual Browser Users, are Targeted Users Really Fewer?
  • Implementation Needs Higher Skills
    • Not So Much as Imagined?
  • Establishing Verification Environments is Costly
    • True - Many Visual Browsers are Free
    • But - Free/Low Price Products are Becoming More Available (Example: NVDA, Fire Vox)

Current Situation of User Agent(3)Contents Issue

Viewpoint of User

• Browsing Method is Inconsistent - Why?
  • User Agents' Issue
    • User Agents haven't Implemented Necessary Functions yet
    • Authors Implement Things which are not Contents Essentially
  • Functions which shouldn't be Included in Contents

Problems of the Current Features and Their Impact

• Make Contents Inaccessible
  • Specific Software/Environment is Required
• Preventing Access to “Essentially Accessible Contents”

Problems of the Current Features and Their Impact(1)Evils Expected by Temporary Solution

• Incomplete Accessibility
  • Temporary Improvement
    • Non-Updated Text Version
    • Non-Revised Alternative Text
    • Specialized on Specific Screen Reader

Problems of the Current Features and Their Impact(2)Browsing Environment Diversity

• Browsing Environment Diversity
  • Small Screen Devices like Mobiles
  • Access from Overseas

Problems of the Current Features and Their Impact(3)Influence to Users

• Preventing Progress of User Skill
  • Specific Browsing Style for Specific Web Site
  • Education for Functions which are Available at Standards Compliant Sites

Problems of the Current Features and Their Impact(4)Influence to User Agent

• Preventing Progress of User Agent
  • Functions which should be provided by User Agents (including Assistive Technologies)

Problems of the Current Features and Their Impact(5)Solution

• Implementation of Web Standards and Focus on Contents
  • Not Only for Specific Environment,
  • Not Supporting User Agents,
  • Not Adjusting to Authoring Tools,

    Definition: Authoring Tool

    Software Used for Web Contents Authoring

  • Using Web Standards,
  • Focus on Contents
• Example of Benefits Expected by Standards Compliance
  • [Demonstration] Fire Vox and lang attribute

Implementation of Web Standards

• Contents Implementation Using Web Standards “Properly” can Guarantee Very Basic Accessibility
  • (X)HTML is Good Specification for Accessibility

Separation of Contents' Structure and Presentation

• Markup Languages for Structure, Style Sheets for Presentation
• First Step for Getting Ability to Comply with Various User/User Agents
• Verifying "Proper" Separation is Important
  • Verifying Markup Quality
  • Verifying Parsed Result by User Agents

Verifying Markup Quality

• 2 Kinds of Validity
  • Structural Validity
  • Semantic Validity

Verifying Markup Quality(1)Structural Validity

• Verifying by Software is Possible
  • W3C Markup Validation Service
• Structurally Invalid (X)HTML Source Code can be Mis-parsed by User Agents
• If DOCTYPE is declared at the beginning of (X)HTML Document, then the Document should be Valid

Verifying Markup Quality(2)Semantic Validity

• Verifying by Software is Impossible
  • Are Headings Marked Up with Heading Elements?
  • Is Semantics and Structure of (X)HTML Document as its Author Intends to Be?
• Useful Firefox Extensions
  • Web Developer Toolbar
  • X-Ray

Verifying Parsed Result by User Agents

• Visual User Agents
  • Enable/Disable Displaying Images
  • Enable/Disable CSS
  • Enable/Disable JavaScript
  • Scaling Font Size
• Non-visual User Agents
  • Text Browser
  • Screen Reader

Focus on Contents

• Web Standards are Just Tools for Implementing Contents
• Material is more Important than Tools, as in Cooking
  • Contents or Not
  • Importance of Source Order
  • Importance of Contents Itself

Focus on Contents(1)Contents or Not

• Information/Functions for All Users/User Agents should be Marked Up
• Things which are Marked Up in Documents can be Changed as User Agents Evolve
  • Images only for Decoration
  • Skip Link
  • Interface for Font Sizing
  • Interface for Style Switching

Contents or Not(1)Images only for Decoration

• Major Visual User Agents have Implemented CSS Enough
• Images only for Decoration should be controlled as Background Images using Style Sheets
  • Images only for Decoration should Not be Marked Up as IMG element
  • Carefully Decided Alternative Text
• Image Replacement Techniques should be Avoided

Contents or Not(2)Skip Link

• Short Cuts for Certain Positions, Skipping Navigations
  • Some Users don't Like the Idea
• Skip Link can Work Well in Small Screen, not only in Screen Readers
• Function like "Heading Jump" can Work as well as Skip Link
• [Demonstration] Skip Link/Navigation Quick Keys for Headings

Contents or Not(3)Interface for Font Sizing

• Interface for Scaling Fonts Larger/Smaller
• Fonts Styled with Pixel Unit can't be Scaled Using WinIE Menu
• Impossible to Scale to Fit the Users' Needs
• Zoom Function can be Available in IE7, not only in Opera
• Interface should be Provided by User Agents, not in Document

Contents or Not(4)Interface for Style Switching

• Interface for Switching Applied Style Sheet(s)
• Using JavaScript/Cookie
• Interface should be Provided by User Agents, not in Document

Focus on Contents(2)Importance of Source Order

• Screen Readers Follow Source Order
• Source Order can be a Key for Efficient Communication
  • Header/Footer/Navigation
  • Annotation/Form Control

Importance of Source Order(1)Header/Footer/Navigation

• Header/Footer/Navigation are not Contents
• Should not Prevent Understanding Contents Itself

Importance of Source Order(2)Annotation/Form Control

• Annotation should be Read before Form Control
  • Prevent Users from Re-entering Information
• Source Order is more Important than Layout

Focus on Contents(3)Importance of Contents Itself

• Contents Itself should be Accessible First
• Semantic/Structural Markup can Work Well with Accessible Contents
  • Issues in Description
  • Position and Order of Headings

Importance of Contents Itself(1)Issues in Description

• Homonym
• Single Byte Character/Multiple Byte Character
• Wrong Letter/Error in Writing
  • Error in Kana to Kanji Conversion
• Error in Reading by Software
  • Ruby Annotation can be Useful

Importance of Contents Itself(2)Position and Order of Headings

• No Detailed Rules about How to Use Heading Elements
• Skipping Heading Level should be Avoided
  • Only 6 Levels for Heading Elements
• H1 Element Located at the Beginning of Contents Works Well

Summary

Sustainable Web Accessibility

• Useful Web Site for Future, Making Good Use of Past Contents as Well
• Contents Authoring based on Foundation, not only on Temporary Trends

Toward Maximizing Accessibility

• Implementation of Web Standards and Focus on Contents
• Efforts of User Agent/Authoring Tool Developers and their Users
• For the purpose, Contents Authors should Do the "Right" Things

Q & A

Thank you!

We All Welcome Your Comments/Feedbacks
nakamura-kiyochika@mitsue.co.jp
tsuji-katsutoshi@mitsue.co.jp
k-kidachi@mitsue.co.jp