I have a bad habit of saying, “this is easy” or simple. It’ll only take a moment. Like I said, a bad habit that I try hard to break. Why? Just because it is easy to me doesn’t mean it is to you. I was about to start this off with, “This is pretty much straight forward and don’t reference anything requiring senses.”
And I realize, that this isn’t that simple. I’ve been doing this for over two decades as of this writing. Today may be your first day. English may not be your first language. Maybe you can’t relate to the idea of senses.
What do we mean by Sensory Characteristics?
All animals on the planet have the ability to experience their environment. They do this with their senses. Senses are built in detectors to assess our environment. In the accessibility industry, we create solutions. These solutions are for people who may have malfunctioning senses.
When we are little, we are taught about our 5 major senses: Sight, Taste, Touch, Hearing, and Scent. But we also have senses that can detect electrical stimuli, heat, cold, our awareness in space. If you tell someone to find the green button, you’ve violated the success criteria.
So how do we avoid it?
First, we make sure that everything has a proper accessible name. Next, we make sure it unique to the page we are on. It’s super easy to say, “click the submit button” in your instructions if there is only one submit button.
Of course we want to keep the page as simple as possible, so we probably won’t use instructions like that. We wouldn’t say, “click the triangle.” Instead, we should let the construction of the page tell us what to do next.
This looks like first coding the HTML so that if nothing else loads everything is presented and understandable. You can’t position items in a visual order or paint them pretty colors. You also can’t make them do magic. Therefore, we need to rely on the content itself. If your content can’t stand on it’s own, rewrite it.
With the content corrected, we can build out the site. Paint it, position it, then test it. Does it still make senses in the reading order? Focus order?
Lastly, teach the team. Make it an internal standard. Put in monitoring just in case someone makes a mistake.
The order of consumption of media affects its meaning.
As an 80s kid, I learned that the placement of a comma can change a sentence’s meaning. Of course we learned it through dirty jokes:
i helped my uncle jack off a horse
I helped my uncle Jack, off a horse.
I helped my uncle, jack off a horse.
I helped my uncle, Jack, off a horse.
Even the order makes a big difference:
I helped my uncle off a horse, Jack.
I helped Jack, my uncle, off a horse.
When we write and layout our document, we need to consider the rendered HTML and CSS. We also need to consider the HTML on its own. Some of your users will use tools to absorb the content in different manners.
We need to ensure a meaningful sequences when at the word, sentence, paragraph, article, and component level. We want to develop a meaningful order at the document level also. Usually we do this through landmarks or the use of headings to designate areas of the content. Depending on the relationships of the content, areas could dictate the understanding of the document. So does the header, footer, or main have to follow a certain order? Our instinct is to go header, main, footer. What if our HTML was Main, header, footer and we use CSS to visually move the navigation?
But should we?
Stepping in from the document level, there are things to consider within each component – visual presentation and content presentation. Look at these two cards:
Without looking (I saw you look at the HTML tab), you might guess how this is coded. You’d likely think it is Card Title, CTA, image, paragraph, list. And you’d be pretty close. Next you’re thinking, “Ah, image first, that’s how cards are done.”
Both cards have this structure:
<div class="card" id="card1">
<h2>Card Title</h2>
<img src="https://placecats.com/millie_neo/300/200" alt="Millie & Neo resting on the cat tree."/>
<p>Kool kats & kittens at the library!</p>
<ul>
<li>Where: Main Street Library</li>
<li>When: 1pm to 4pm</li>
<li>Day: Saturday 1/23</li>
</ul>
<button type="button">RSVP</button>
</div>
We can move the content around using CSS. Are the details are more important than the image or the tagline? We try Title, Details, CTA, paragraph, and image. When we are at this stage of developing the code, it’s important to just focus on how the page reads. The two versions of the HTML do not effectively change the meaning of any of the content. Nor do they interfere with the visual display.
How do we fix the meaningful sequence?
We start by looking at individual pieces of content. Let’s start with a button. A button will fire an action, so I need to give it an accessible name to reflect that. I can add a pre-icon, and post-icon, and I know I’ll have at least two states. If I have visible text, then the icons don’t need alt text.
Step two, after styling the most basic of elements, we pair them together. We’re going to use our button to make a search component. This means I need a label, an input, and a way to fire the search. We’re keeping this simple to begin. We’ll use a button and a post action so the page refreshes with results. Most developers will code this label, input, button. But they don’t have to be in that order.
An easily recognizable or learnable icon can be used as a label as above. We of course provide the alt text. We can use the alt text of the icon in the button as the label for the form. We can change the order visually and it has no effect on how a non-visual user would understand it.
Break up content into the smallest functional pieces. Make sure each piece is understood fully within itself in a meaningful sequence. Then start layering those into the page document in the order to use them. A sales page would have account information first. Then it would include the client’s dashboard. Next, it provides access to individual child accounts. Finally, it lists leads and sales. There is a sidebar to do some research or note taking. We probably have some account screen for the sales person as well. Within each of those sections they’ll have an order that makes sense.
But at a page level the “main” content will be the what the user wants the most. So we put it first. Don’t run away yet. Initially, the order of the main section doesn’t matter. As this user gets used to it, they may want to show and hide different widgets. They might even want to move them. Let’s put a plan in place for that. We don’t want to forget our sidebar, main nav, or account information. These need to be placed in based on order of importance to the user at the code level. When you turn to CSS to position and decorate, is when we get the visual design.
Its always best to do user research on new products. An application like we describe above will benefit from interviewing the potential users. Then within the design, marketing, executive, and client teams conduct some card sorting exercises. Keep repeating this as you develop and design the application. You may find you need to change your design or users didn’t think like you thought they would.
Have more questions? Let’s discuss it over on LinkedIn or BlueSky!
Whenever I come across a a violation of 1.3.1, I have a primal need to look deeper. I investigate because I believe if something falls under this success criterion, it is most likely improperly classified. It is extremely important that we understand the relevant context, information and relationships of content. Frequently, I observe that this particular success criterion is misused. It often serves as a catch-all for “Where does this go?”
Information, structure, and relationships conveyed through presentation can be programmatically determined or are available in text.
Cool. We used the original words to define it. I didn’t like third grade English when I was in third grade.
Let’s look at the intent:
The intent of this Success Criterion is to ensure that information and relationships that are implied by visual or auditory formatting are preserved when the presentation format changes. For example, the presentation format changes when the content is read by a screen reader or when a user style sheet is substituted for the style sheet provided by the author.
Now this is better. We’re given a breakdown and example. The intent is to ensure that what is visually indicated as structural, explanatory, and informational is available to everyone. This includes people using different presentation formats.
Structural
When talking about structure, it is crucial to distinguish between visual structure and code structure. We need to consider both.
When we look at our mock-up of a page, we want to absorb it visually. Is the most important item in the page grabbing the eye? Does the way it is designed lead you to the next thing you want to say or a primary CTA
(Call to Action)? Take it all in, then we start deciding what HTML elements best represent all those pieces of the page. We begin to think of how we order them. Should it be in a landmark like header, aside, footer, main, or nav? Or is does it need a textual element like headings, anchors, paragraphs, lists, or quotes?
Information
We need to ensure that any information expressed visually is communicated non-visually. If a button is disabled, how do we inform a screen reader user it is disabled? How does a screen reader user know if a Menu is opened? This is the information we should be looking for. In many cases ARIA attributes will be the answers to provide this information.
Relationships
Under relationships we find little programmatic lines connecting the page together. We might specify via aria-label that the first navigation is the “Primary navigation.” Forms point to a more direct relationship in how we set up labels, inputs, and error messages. Using the label’s “for” attribute we build a relationship of the name and input. Aria-describedby with the ID of an error message is another bridge creating a relationship.
Here’s my problem
Much of the time these are not errors of information or relationships. They’re a failure of properly using HTML or ARIA. Sometimes both.
In my example of using the landmarks to construct the basic layout, it isn’t a violation. But we didn’t provide an accessible name. That’s a violation of 4.1.2, so why dump it here?
My disabled button? Case of missing aria-disabled, a 4.1.2 issue.
Headings used out of order? Not a WCAG SC.
Headings not sized to their importance? Now you have a 1.3.1 violation! The visual size provides a hierarchy of importance. On the code side we do this with heading elements H1 – H6.
The Fix
Info and relationships are important on the web. They provide context and details that may not be picked up right away. Anything we do on this account visually needs to be conveyed programmatically too. But that doesn’t mean everything that falls into this bucket belongs. Dumping things in here can harm your clients. You might not provide them enough context to resolve their issues.
Look deeper at the issue. Is it a matter of a screen reader not announcing something? Look at the code, is it missing ARIA? Does it apply to another criteria? Make sure you flag it the right way. And don’t flag it twice, once here and once under the other SC. If it fits under another SC, then fixing it under that criteria will fix it for 1.3.1 as well.
Have a thought, feedback or concern about this article, let’s discuss it on BlueSky or LinkedIn.
I frequently see an issue in recommendations to clients. They are advised to include words like “logo”, “image”, “graphic” as part of the aria-label or accessible name. This is particularly frequent when it comes to logos. The consultant recommends adding the alt text “Your Company logo” for the logo displayed at the head of a page.
For a screen reader user, the type of graphic isn’t as important as conveying its meaning. If the logo is used in the page, you only need to say the name of the brand. If the logo is part of a link, you should provide alt text that says the name. It should also indicate where it will take you, “Your Company | home.”
Reserve the use of adding things like image and logo unless they are part of a branding page. Why here? Knowing which logo to use, how to use it, and the assets themselves will often need the addition of logo or graphic to describe them.
I know this will generate some discussion, let’s talk about it over on LinkedIn & Bluesky.
This week we meet our first AAA level success criterion. This put me in a pinch. I had to decide if I wanted this series to include all criteria. Alternatively, it just includes the ones needed to get conformance to current legal standards. And I’m coming out in between. I’ve decided to include only the AAA that should be covered in my opinion.
So this week we’ll look at the needs around Sign Language. We’re still discussing video, but we’re back at pre-recorded video. I will say, if you are holding a webinar, you should have a live sign language interpreter.
This week we’re still talking about video. They say a picture can say one thousand words. Video is thousands of images that tells us more than what the audio alone says. Most video on the web these days is between 24 and 30 frames per second. That potentially would put a one minute video at roughly 1.8 million words. Even if 30 frames equal one picture, you are still responsible for up to 60,000 words. How do we do this?
Nothing super high level this wee. Two weeks ago I mentioned how you need to have captions on your site. If you haven’t read that article yet, take a few minutes and do so.
This week we’re talking about captions in a live scenario. When we consider closed captions on a prerecorded video, we could send the video to a transcriptionist. The transcriptionist would then build our caption file. But what if you are doing a webinar or streaming?
What is an Audio Description? Video has two main elements to it, what you see and what you hear. Imagine you go to watch Back to the Future. However, your vision has failed to the point where you can’t see the image. Audio description comes in to make it possible to get the visual cues needed to follow the plot. Let’s take a look at what they do.
We’re still working with video and audio in 1.2.2. I’ve mentioned captions in the previous A11y 101 posts. Success Criterion 1.2.2 lays out the specifics for captions.
Simply put, if there is video with speaking you need captions. Did you provide an audio description? Those get added to the captions.
Caption Styles
There are two basic ways to provide captions, open and closed. In either case, you need to have someone transcribe the audio. They need to include the time when the display of the text starts.
Open Captions
Open captions are the minimum support you should provide. Open captions are “printed” into the video. They are baked in and designed to fit the design aesthetic of the video.
Why do I call this minimal? Well the user lacks control to customize it. Additionally, this only supports deaf and hard-of-hearing folks. Our next version offers more features.
Closed Captions
Since open captions are part of the video, they can actually create problems. The most problematic is that they may move around the screen depending on what the video needs. This makes it hard for users, especially low-vision users, to keep track and find them.
Closed captions provide and answer to this. Closed captions are a separate file called in the <video> element. Usually it is a .VTT file. It’s pretty simple to build. I have an article on a11yproject.com that I published in 2013 that explains how to do it.
The next thing that closed captions bring – screen reader and Braille display support. Closed captions are considered real text on the page for screen readers. Now the Blind-Deaf can get the story too. The low-vision user can lean back on the screen reader to help. It also helps with SEO.
I discussed non-text content last week and mentioned video. WCAG decided to be specific when addressing items that fall under the bigger 1.1.1 criteria.
In success criteria 1.2.1, we’re informed we need to provide one of two options, unless the audio or video IS the alternative. Let’s look at our options:
Prerecorded Audio-only: An alternative for time-based media is provided that presents equivalent information for prerecorded audio-only content.
Prerecorded Video-only: Either an alternative for time-based media or an audio track is provided that presents equivalent information for prerecorded video-only content.
OK, what are our key words? “Time-based media” is mentioned in both. We see in three places, this is about pre-recorded media and not live. This means we can use the edited audio or video. We can then give it to someone to create a transcript. They can also make closed captions for videos.
Once returned, we offer a link to the transcript. This can be an accessible PDF, but it is often easier to to make it HTML. The transcript doesn’t need to live on another page. The preferred method is to use a disclosure next to or below the media. When closed the content is hidden. The user who needs it, can expand the transcript to read.
If we are working with video, does it have an audio track that describes everything in the video? This is usually an audio description track. It’s provided in addition to the regular audio track. It will describe what is happening without needing to see. One of my favorite examples is a Frozen trailer:
Transcripts are easy. There are many ways to get them done, and some are super cheap. But before you ever put the transcripts on your site, have someone, better yet several, proof them.
