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Re: Visible Skip Nav Link

for

From: Vincent Young
Date: Feb 16, 2012 11:18AM

@Jared

> Vincent's example where it pops into view when the mouse moves is very
distracting

This was a quick example I put together to showcase the existence of
alternatives. In reality, I'm I'd probably come up with something
different. The main points are:

1. Visible skip links can increase usability (Terrill Thompson makes this
case)
2. Clients (typically big business) often have many interested parties
3. A permanent visible skip link is not always possible as a result of #2
4. There might be alternatives (which I was exploring)

> could render navigation of the page impossible for
> users with high distractability.

Maybe, but I would do some user testing first before coming to this
conclusion. This is where the close button could be useful.

When thinking through this I was really thinking more of something along
the lines of a "Enhance Main Content" for visual users, where the UI
drastically changes (tastefully) to bring just the main content into view
(not just scroll/highlight) as many browser add-on tools out there do. If
I have time I'll put together a more thoughtful example.

@Ellen

No problem. I'm familiar with the position you are in so it was a good
exercise for me.

On Thu, Feb 16, 2012 at 9:43 AM, Bourne, Sarah (ITD) <
<EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:

> Elle,
>
> Mass.Gov used the visible "skip to main" link on our recent design
> refresh. The business case was that it was useful for touch device users,
> and that there was no harm in including for any form factor. The longer
> story is that we analyzed a gazillion sites, came to a consensus on the
> requirements, and gave them to the designer, along with all of our other
> requirements. The designer included it into the design, and we received no
> complaints about it ("clutter" or otherwise) from the other stakeholders.
>
> Hawaii also has a visible one: http://portal.ehawaii.gov/index.html as
> does https://www.disability.gov/
>
> sb
>
> Sarah E. Bourne
> Director of Assistive Technology &
> Mass.Gov Chief Technology Strategist
> Information Technology Division
> Commonwealth of Massachusetts
> 1 Ashburton Pl. rm 1601 Boston MA 02108
> 617-626-4502
> <EMAIL REMOVED>
> http://www.mass.gov/itd
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: <EMAIL REMOVED> [mailto:
> <EMAIL REMOVED> ] On Behalf Of Elle
> Sent: Thursday, February 16, 2012 11:45 AM
> To: WebAIM Discussion List
> Subject: Re: [WebAIM] Visible Skip Nav Link
>
> Everyone:
>
> I really appreciate all the feedback. This redesign is an opportunity for
> accessibility "in a perfect world" best practices to come to life, so I
> didn't want to overlook a possible win if it really added something for
> users. As I have many battles yet to face, I think I'll use this as a
> chance to demonstrate how very reasonable I am.
>
> Jared, I appreciate the code samples for further improving the experience.
>
>
> Cheers,
> Elle
>
>
>
>
> On Thu, Feb 16, 2012 at 11:38 AM, Jared Smith < <EMAIL REMOVED> > wrote:
>
> > The arguments against a visible "skip" links are that most sighted
> > users don't know what they do, they intrude significantly on visual
> > design (by their nature, they have to be at the top of the page and
> > visually apparent), and they provide very little utility for mouse
> > users. There's little that can be done to overcome these arguments.
> >
> > The arguments against a hidden "skip" link are that sighted
> > keyboard-only users may not know that it is there or they might
> > quickly 'tab' past it. I think these can readily be overcome. I have a
> > very simple demo that uses basic CSS3 transitions to animate the
> > "skip" link into view when it receives keyboard focus. See
> > http://webaim.org/temp/skipcss3.htm It is very visually apparent,
> > difficult to miss even if you are navigating quickly, and could be
> > styled to fit right into the visual design.
> >
> > In short, no, I don't think visible "skip" links are a battle worth
> > fighting.
> >
> > Vincent's example where it pops into view when the mouse moves is very
> > distracting and could render navigation of the page impossible for
> > users with high distractability.
> >
> > Jared
> >