WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind

E-mail List Archives

Re: Color Contrast for Inactive User Interface Components

for

From: David Ashleydale
Date: Nov 27, 2012 3:34PM

Thanks, Jared.

Yes, we considered having the Previous link not appear at all if there are
no previous pages, and I kind of actually prefer that most of the time. But
it's an interface design decision. Some of the designers feel like it's
beneficial to keep the control bar consistent, disabling the controls when
they don't apply, instead of having them take turns disappearing and
appearing under certain circumstances.

David


On Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 2:23 PM, Jared Smith < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

> I think that this would be a valid exception to the WCAG 2.0 contrast
> requirements. As noted, contrast (or the lack thereof) is the most
> common way of indicating disabled controls. While some level of
> contrast would certainly be advisable, if it is a disabled control,
> it's clearly exempted from the requirements.
>
> A few additional thoughts:
>
> - It seems it would be better to simply not present the link or text
> at all. This would avoid all possible confusion. It's rare to see a
> Previous/Next type link like this present at all if there is no
> Previous/Next.
>
> - The link should almost certainly NOT be a link at all, but simply
> text. If it is marked up as a link, there is no easy way to indicate
> that it is disabled to screen reader users. You could try adding
> aria-disabled="true", but the last I checked, this provided no
> functionality on links, only on form controls.
>
> Jared Smith
> WebAIM
> > > >