Designing for Web Accessibility - Learn the Elements of an Accessible Webpage

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Questions and Answers

What is a common misconception about design and accessibility?

Accessibility is only important for a small portion of users

Designers should focus only on mouse clicks and visual layout

Accessible products are often ugly, boring, or cluttered (correct)

Accessibility is a luxury, not a necessity

What is the role of designers in ensuring accessibility?

To focus only on visual design

To partner with research teams and accessibility teams (correct)

To design only for their peers

To ignore accessibility guidelines

Who should designers design for?

Their peers

Only users with disabilities

A specific subgroup of users

The diverse set of users who will interact with their products (correct)

What can knowledge of accessible design increase?

Opportunities for innovation and design consistency Signup and view all the answers

Why should designers consider diverse users?

To ensure all users can enjoy using their products Signup and view all the answers

What happens when designers exclude accessibility-focused constraints?

They knowingly exclude people from their products Signup and view all the answers

What should designers do with accessibility guidelines?

Embrace them as they would any set of design constraints Signup and view all the answers

What is the relationship between design and accessibility?

They are partners with a shared goal Signup and view all the answers

What type of icons do not add any relevant information or functionality?

Decorative icons Signup and view all the answers

Why should screen readers skip over decorative icons and images?

Because they add unnecessary verbosity Signup and view all the answers

What should be added to an image to force screen readers to skip over it?

An empty alt tag Signup and view all the answers

What type of icons convey important information that the surrounding text doesn’t?

Informational icons Signup and view all the answers

What should be written in the alt description of an informational image?

What the icon does Signup and view all the answers

Why is the icon in the example (Account icon with adjacent text) considered informational?

Because it indicates the object type Signup and view all the answers

What is the goal of design and accessibility?

To ensure that all users enjoy using products Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of including text alternatives for images in design?

To provide a better user experience for users with disabilities Signup and view all the answers

What do users typically do when they first view a website or web application?

Visually skim the page to get the general layout Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of headings in a webpage?

To help screen reader users navigate the page Signup and view all the answers

What do semantic HTML landmarks help users identify?

Where they are on a page Signup and view all the answers

Why are clear landmarks important for users with cognitive disabilities?

It helps them to understand the page's hierarchy Signup and view all the answers

What is the purpose of a logical heading structure?

To help users understand the outline of a page's content Signup and view all the answers

What do screen readers handle differently?

Decorative and informational icons Signup and view all the answers

Why is it important to have a good page structure?

So users can navigate the page more easily Signup and view all the answers

What happens when a screen reader user requests a list of all the headings on a page?

The screen reader reads out the list of headings Signup and view all the answers

What do designers need to communicate to engineering teams?

The clear landmarks and headings Signup and view all the answers

What do blind users rely on to gain a holistic understanding of a page?

A good page structure that incorporates headings and landmarks Signup and view all the answers

Study Notes

Accessibility in Design

Accessibility is a catalyst for innovation, not a barrier to it, and can lead to more consistent and usable products for all users.

Designing for Users

Designers should consider diverse users with different ways of interacting with products and receiving information, including:
- People who are blind, color-blind, or have low vision
- Those who are deaf or hard of hearing
- People with low mobility, which may be temporary or permanent
- People with cognitive disabilities
Designers should also consider users of different ages, power users, casual users, and those who just enjoy a quality experience.

Understanding User Interface (UI)

Sighted users visually skim a page to get the general layout and decide where to start
Blind users rely on a good page structure with headings and landmarks to understand a page
Clear landmarks and headings are important for users to understand the page's hierarchy, especially for those with cognitive disabilities.

Layout and Structure

Headings (h1-h6) create a structure for a webpage, helping users understand the content outline
Screen reader users can navigate by headings using shortcut keys
Logical heading structure helps users understand the page's content
Engineers should use semantic HTML landmarks to help users identify page regions

Icons and Images

Decorative icons and images should not be read out by screen readers and should have an empty alt tag
Informational icons and images convey important information and need assistive text or an alt description
Examples of informational icons include icon buttons and stand-alone avatars

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Description

This module debunks the myth that accessibility in design leads to ugly or cluttered products, and instead shows how it can improve consistency and usability for all users.