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Re: Which of these is better for screenreaders?

for

From: Karl Groves
Date: Jan 9, 2009 10:30AM

> Education is the key, people do not use the web for just 1 website,
> they tend to visit many different sites.

I think this statement is important to highlight. On a site-by-site basis,
web developers should be responsible for designing sites which adhere to
industry guidelines which were (hopefully, at least) intended to both
provide equivalent access and enable assistive technologies to enhance
access. For instance, WCAG 2.0 1.4.1, 1.4.3, and 1.4.6 provide guidance on
developing with an appropriate color contrast. This is what developers are
"on the hook for".

For some users, merely following these guidelines will not be enough, simply
because their vision is just too bad. It would be unreasonable and
inappropriate to expect all developers of all sites to also support special
zooming capabilities, multiple different color schemes & contrast ratios,
etc. Doing so would be like expecting all websites to be self-voicing and
provide the same special navigation and reading features as screen readers.
It just isn't reasonable.

What is reasonable, however, is to provide a site which is compatible with
(and doesn't interfere with) assistive technologies. Providing sufficient
accessibility in the "regular" design will do exactly that without needing
to create & maintain multiple interfaces.


Karl