WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

Considering the User Perspective
A Summary of Design Issues

Blindness

Challenges Solutions
Images and graphics cannot be perceived.
Visual relationships and structure cannot be perceived.
Content is often accessed linearly.
  • Ensure that the reading and navigation order of CSS or table layouts is logical and intuitive.
  • Create skip links that allow users to jump over navigational menus, long lists of items, and other things that might be difficult or tedious to listen to.
Users often navigate from link to link, or view a list of links.
  • Make sure that the link text makes sense out of context ("click here" is problematic).
  • Ensure that links and buttons contain descriptive text.
Users generally do not use a mouse.
  • Don't require mouse or touch interactions. Ensure content is accessible with the keyboard.
Colors are not perceivable.
  • Do not rely on color alone to convey meaning.
Visual content in multimedia is not perceivable.

Low Vision

Challenges Solutions
Users may not be able to distinguish colors of similar contrast.
  • Make sure that there is sufficient contrast between text and background, and for icons and graphics.
  • Don't use color alone to convey meaning (supplement the color with text, for example).
Content may not enlarge or zoom appropriately.
  • Limit or eliminate text within graphics.
  • Ensure content is readable and minimizes horizontal scrolling when zoomed
  • Test for loss of content when text sizes are increased by the end user

Auditory Disabilities

Challenges Solutions
Users may be unable to hear with audio content.
Users may have difficulty filtering noises.
  • Avoid having too many noises playing at the same time.
  • Eliminate as much background noise as possible from audio.

Motor Disabilities

Challenges Solutions
Users may not be able to use the mouse.
  • Make sure that all functions are available from the keyboard (try tabbing through interactive elements).
  • Make sure that the navigation order is logical.
Users may become fatigued when navigating numerous items.
  • Provide a method for skipping over long lists of redundant links or other lengthy content.

Cognitive Disabilities

Challenges Solutions
Users may become confused at complex layouts or inconsistent navigational schemes.
  • Simplify the layout as much as possible.
  • Keep the navigational schemes as consistent as possible.
Users may have difficulty focusing on or comprehending lengthy sections of text.
  • Where appropriate, group textual information under logical headings.
  • Organize information in manageable "chunks."
Users may struggle to interact with some types of content or input.
  • Where appropriate, supplement text with illustrations or other media, and vice versa.