Pro HTML5 Accessibility: Building an Inclusive Web

Pro HTML5 Accessibility: Building an Inclusive Web

by Joshue O Connor
Released March 2012
Publisher(s): Apress
ISBN: 9781430241942

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Book description

Pro HTML5 Accessibility helps designers come to grips with building exciting, accessible and usable web sites and applications with HTML5. The book covers how to use HTML5 in order to serve the needs of people with disabilities and older persons using assistive technology (AT). It aims to be a useful 'go-to' guide, providing practical advice. It takes several approaches, including a look at the new semantics of HTML5 and how to combine its use with authoring practices you know from using earlier versions of HTML. It also demonstrates how HTML5 content is currently supported (or not) by assistive technologies such as screen readers, and what this means practically for accessibility in your web projects.

The HTML5 specification is huge, with new APIs and patterns that can be difficult to understand. Accessibility can also seem complex and nuanced if you have no experience interacting with people with disabilities. This book walks you though the process of designing exciting user interfaces that can potentially be used by everyone, regardless of ability. Accessibility is really a quality design issue, and getting it right is often more a matter of approach than having sophisticated, cutting-edge tools at your disposal.

This book will be your companion in your journey to understand both HTML5 and accessibility, as the author has many years of experience as a designer and web developer working directly with people with all types of disabilities. He has been involved with the development of HTML5 from an accessibility perspective for many years, as a member of the W3C WAI Protocols and Formats working group (which is responsible for ensuring W3C specifications are serving the needs of people with disabilities) as well as the HTML5 Working Group itself.

  • Introduces the new HTML5 specification from an accessibility perspective

  • Shows how incorporating accessibility into your interfaces using HTML5 can have benefits for all users

  • Explains how HTML5 is currently supported by assistive technologies like screen readers, and how to work around these limitations when developing

What you'll learn

  • Gain an overview of assistive technologies and how they work with web content, as well as how to approach accessibility in your design projects

  • Learn how HTML5 differs from HTML4 and earlier

  • Understand how to practically apply HTML5 to your web projects in order to design accessible content.

  • See what works and what doesn't

  • Learn the new semantics and structures within HTML5, and how to use them to build more accessible websites and applications

  • See which HTML5 elements and attributes are supported by browsers and assistive technologies, and what this means for the user experience of people with disabilities

  • Understand which parts of HTML5 are not well supported by browsers and assistive technology

  • Get a snapshot of current support, its limitations, and how to design and code in a way that will support older assistive technologies and browsers as well as more feature-rich, newer technologies

  • Learn how CSS, JavaScript, and WAI-ARIA can be used with HTML5 to support the development of accessible web content

Who this book is for

Pro HTML5 Accessibility is for the intermediate to advanced web designer and developer who is already building websites and applications but needs some help in understanding accessibility and how it relates to HTML5. The book can be read as a basic introduction to HTML5 and accessibility, but may be more suited to the professional or experienced designer who already has knowledge of HTML4 (or earlier) as well as CSS, WAI-ARIA and JavaScript. While no detailed knowledge of CSS, WAI-ARIA or scripting is really required, it will help the reader to understand some of the design patterns and examples discussed in the book.

Table of contents

  1. Title
  2. Dedication
  3. Contents at a Glance
  4. Contents
  5. About the Author
  6. About the Technical Reviewer
  7. Acknowledgments
  8. Introduction
    1. Who This Book Is For
    2. Prerequisites
    3. Downloading the Code
    4. Contacting the Author
  9. Chapter 1: Introduction to HTML5 Accessibility
    1. Introduction to HTML5: The New Wave
    2. New Elements
    3. HTML5: Accessibility and Feature Detection
    4. Legislation
    5. Dealing with Change and Diversity
    6. What Are the Benefits of Accessibility?
    7. Accessibility Should Enhance Your Design—Not Destroy It
    8. WCAG 2.0 and HTML5
    9. The Challenge of HTML5 Accessibility
    10. Conclusion
  10. Chapter 2: Understanding Disability and Assistive Technology
    1. Understanding Your Users
    2. Overview of Blindness
    3. Physical Disability
    4. Cognitive and Sensory Disabilities
    5. What Is Assistive Technology?
    6. Screen Magnification
    7. The Accessibility Overlap
    8. Conclusion
  11. Chapter 3: JavaScript Isn’t a Dirty Word, and ARIA Isn’t Just Beautiful Music
    1. JavaScript: Useful When Used Well
    2. WAI-ARIA: What Is It?
    3. Accessible JavaScript
    4. Conclusion
  12. Chapter 4: API and DOM
    1. Defining the Elements Under the Hood of Assistive Technologies
    2. The Off-Screen Model (OSM)
    3. What Is the DOM?
    4. Conclusion
  13. Chapter 5: HTML5: The New Semantics and New Approaches to Document Markup
    1. HTML5: What’s New?
    2. Conclusion
  14. Chapter 6: Images, Rich Media, Audio, and Video in HTML5
    1. Making Images Accessible
    2. What Should I Describe?
    3. Different Kinds of Images
    4. Which Method Should I Use?
    5. HTML5 and Accessible <video> and <audio>
    6. Audio Description and Captioning with the <track> Element
    7. <canvas> Accessibility
    8. Conclusion
  15. Chapter 7: HTML5 and Accessible Data Tables
    1. The Trouble with Tables
    2. Conclusion
  16. Chapter 8: HTML5 and Accessible Forms
    1. Designing an Accessible Form User Interface
    2. Conclusion
  17. Chapter 9: HTML5, Usability, and User-Centered Design
    1. What Is Usability?
    2. Universal Design
    3. Participatory Design
    4. Focus Group Research
    5. Surveys
    6. The Cognitive Walkthrough
    7. Expert Evaluations
    8. Expert Accessibility Audits
    9. Using Personas
    10. Field Studies
    11. Traditional Usability Testing
    12. User Testing with People with Disabilities
    13. So What's the Best Method for Me to Assess My HTML5 Project?
    14. Is Usability the New Economics?
    15. Conclusion
  18. Chapter 10: Tools, Tips, and Tricks: Assessing Your Accessible HTML5 Project
    1. Useful Tools for Developers
    2. Validation
    3. Simulation Exercises
    4. Conclusion
  19. APPENDIX A: WCAG 2.0 Client-Side Scripting Techniques
    1. SCR1: Allowing the user to extend the default time limit
    2. SCR2: Using redundant keyboard and mouse event handlers
    3. SCR16: Providing a script that warns the user a time limit is about to expire
    4. SCR21: Using functions of the Document Object Model (DOM) to add content to a page
    5. SCR24: Using progressive enhancement to open new windows on user request
    6. SCR26: Inserting dynamic content into the Document Object Model immediately following its trigger element
    7. SCR28: Using an expandable and collapsible menu to bypass block of content
    8. SCR32: Providing client-side validation and adding error text via the DOM
    9. SCR35: Making actions keyboard accessible by using the onclick event of anchors and buttons
    10. SCR37: Creating custom aialogs in a device-independent way
  20. APPENDIX B: Definition of WAI-ARIA Roles
    1. WAI-ARIA States and Properties
  21. Index

Product information

  • Title: Pro HTML5 Accessibility: Building an Inclusive Web
  • Author(s): Joshue O Connor
  • Release date: March 2012
  • Publisher(s): Apress
  • ISBN: 9781430241942