Accessible development of graphical applications and Websites
Accessible development of graphic applications and Websites
How best to develop a graphic application which complies with all (accessibility) user requirements and with government regulations.
First of all it should be stated that an accessible application is not just of value for people with an impairment. Other users with no impairment, and the developer as well, benefit from a solid piece of programming. Inclusion of accessibility is partly based on a consistent application of set rules. It is also partly based on experience, knowledge about the target group, testing and re-testing.
Ultimately, following directives forces you to stick to a strict structure, resulting in less errors.
Accessibility thus is the result of the degree of usability.
The aim is not only to safeguard accessibility of the application, but also to produce an application working in a more stable and clear manner.
With the help of the following information the developer will be able to deliver a nice piece of work to a satisfied customer.
Why is it necessary to make sites and applications accessible to minorities?
Many people taking part in our society have an impairment. To allow them to keep up as best as possible, to emancipate and to integrate, accessible software is a ‘must’.
The complexity of accessible programming lies in the fact that different impairments lead to different requirements.
Blind and low vision
People who are blind often and frequently use a speech synthesizer. Through special screen-reading-software the content of a specific window, a menu or the whole screen will be read out loud to the user.
People who have low vision may use this speech synthesizer in support of magnification software which enables them to enlarge (parts of) the screen.
The less vision, the higher the degree of magnification will have to be.
People who are blind often use a speech synthesizer in support of a Braille display. This device allows the user to read small parts of a window or the whole screen by means of electronically operated Braille-dot-pins.
People with a vision impairment often have trouble using a computer-mouse. Eye-hand coordination is usually insufficient. In this case navigation of the cursor or a selection bar is executed via the keyboard.
The result of magnification of a window or the screen is a loss of overview of the total image as presented on the screen. People who are blind and use a speech synthesizer and/or Braille output also have a very limited overview of the screen.
This is the reason why a straightforward and clear structure of the screen and its navigation system is of the utmost importance.
It is also important that all information is available in a textual format.
Lastly, for people who have low vision it is important that the chosen colour scheme and font type lead to a clear and calm lay-out.
Motor impairment
People who have a physical or motor impairment often use an adaptive computer-mouse or adaptive keyboard.
For this group working on the computer more often than not is a very tiring experience. Therefore the number of actions required to produce a specific result or action needs to be as small as possible.
Many people who have a physical or motor impairment use speech recognition software. This requires a certain amount of standardisation of the programming of an application.
Print disability
To people who are dyslectic and people with impairments such as ADHD getting an overview of information often presents difficulties. For these people it is important to have a straightforward setup of the screen and a clear way of navigation. Also images and text need to supplement each other.
Effect of the correct colour
Finally the choice of colours and the use of one single font type as much as possible are essential for a clear and calm-looking screen.
Many other examples could be given to explain and illustrate the need for accessible software.
On some of the subpages listed here you can find guidelines that accommodate the user-requirements of all user groups.
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