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Live Chat - ARIA recommendations and/or good examples?

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From: Judith.A.Blankman
Date: Nov 13, 2014 1:44PM

I'm being asked to review, for accessibility considerations, the design requirements for a pretty standard live chat interface on desktop. Tablet and smartphone are not in scope at this time.

I'm clear about specifying the need for focus when the chat initially opens, the form fields, etc.

My concerns are around how a blind customer using a screen reader would interact with the input field for their message, how this person would know that the service representative is responding, and then when the rep responds. So, it seems like there is a need to inform the customer when these events happen in a way that is clear, not confusing.

(This could also be reversed, saying that the service representative would be the screen reader user, however the interface I'm reviewing is customer-facing.)

Is this a good use of aria live regions?

Also, I'd appreciate any examples of where this has been delivered successfully with accessibility in mind.


Thanks,


Judith Blankman

Accessibility Strategist
Customer Experience



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