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Re: accessibility and bespoke systems

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From: Joe Chidzik
Date: Sep 18, 2014 2:26AM

Even if using a bespoke system, you should wherever possible opt to use existing HTML components (links, buttons, lists, select elements etc) rather than unnecessarily creating custom UI components that do the same thing. Native HTML elements have accessibility baked in, and in creating custom UI elements this is something that needs to be done manually, adding development overheads and increasing the chance of errors or accessibility concerns creeping in.

Whilst ARIA is great for adding accessibility support for custom elements, it should only be used if existing elements are not fit for purpose.

Using established libraries such as Bootstrap, or JQuery (Or many others) that have good accessibility support built in can help reduce development time rather than coding bespoke elements from scratch (again, use existing appropriate elements where possible).

Joe

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