{
    "version" : "https://jsonfeed.org/version/1",
    "content" : "news",
    "type" : "single",
    "title" : "Accessibility Is (Not) Scary |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Accessibility Is (Not) Scary",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/02/20/accessibility-is-not-scary-2/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Accessibility Is (Not) Scary","summary" : "The word accessibility breeds misconceptions. Why? Because accessibility is something that scares you. Accessibility is hard. Accessibility needs people with specialized expertise. Accessibility problems often depend on the context of the website or Web application in question. Accessibility takes time. Accessibility is a legal mandate. Accessibility is a moral obligation. These statements are both true","date" : "2015-02-20T10:00:33-04:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","authors" : {"david-a-kennedy" : "David A. Kennedy"},"topics" : {
        
            "accessibility" : "Accessibility",
            "accessibility" : "Accessibility",
            "usability" : "Usability"
            },"branch" : "bc-archive-content-3",
      "filename" :"2015-02-20-accessibility-is-not-scary-2.md",
      
      "filepath" :"news/2015/02/2015-02-20-accessibility-is-not-scary-2.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/02/2015-02-20-accessibility-is-not-scary-2.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/news/2015/02/2015-02-20-accessibility-is-not-scary-2.md","slug" : "accessibility-is-not-scary-2","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2015/02/20/accessibility-is-not-scary-2/","content" :"\u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2014/11/600-x-402-Internet-accessibility-concept-Federico-Caputo-Hemera-Thinkstock-100945139.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Internet accessibility concept\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\n\u003cp\u003eThe word accessibility breeds misconceptions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhy? Because accessibility is something that scares you.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/topics/accessibility/\"\u003eAccessibility\u003c/a\u003e is hard. Accessibility needs people with specialized expertise. Accessibility problems often depend on the context of the website or Web application in question. Accessibility takes time. Accessibility is a \u003ca href=\"https://www.disability.gov/\"\u003elegal mandate\u003c/a\u003e. Accessibility is a moral obligation.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThese statements are both true and misconceptions. The misconceptions happen when you try to solve accessibility problems with just accessibility solutions. In that world, accessibility becomes this “requirement” or “list” that you tack on or create to make it more manageable. You try to corral accessibility into some stage in your process, but it doesn’t quite fit in anywhere. Because it’s everywhere. Making those misconceptions disappear happens when you \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/12/29/crowdsourcing-for-accessibility/\"\u003efocus on the people\u003c/a\u003e and \u003ca href=\"http://section508.gov/\"\u003eprocesses around accessibility\u003c/a\u003e. Then, it becomes something you can do.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe impetus for most accessibility successes or failures falls into one or more of these three topics:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDecisions\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePeople\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDetails\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat do I mean by those?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"decisions\"\u003eDecisions\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDecisions represent turning points or the foundation of your accessibility process. They’re usually strategy-related, and become points of no return. An example of a decision like this? Creating a separate, accessible website that’s different from your main website. It might seem like a good idea to isolate the challenge of accessibility into one website. But then you have two codebases, two sets of content and a myriad of “differences” to track and maintain. Not good.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"people\"\u003ePeople\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePeople make accessibility happen, but what if they don’t know the how or the why? Many Web workers just haven’t experienced accessibility first hand. They don’t know much about it, much less how to implement it in their projects. Take this classic example of making a button within a Web application. Let’s say that button saves a state of work. A Web developer might do this:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ccode\u003e\u0026lt;a href=\u0026quot;#\u0026quot;\u0026gt;Button\u0026lt;/a\u0026gt;\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThat’s valid HTML, but in most cases, if not all, a real button would be better here:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003ccode\u003e\u0026lt;button\u0026gt;Real Button\u0026lt;/button\u0026gt;\u003c/code\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSo what if the people carrying out your project just don’t know how to do it better?\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"details\"\u003eDetails\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn accessibility, details matter. In any given project, at least a thousand exist. If you don’t keep constant, intelligent pressure on them, they can get lost and ruin your efforts. Color contrast serves as a good example. Ensuring proper color contrast requires minding details like brand, color palettes, contrast guidelines, regular testing and more.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"question-everything-hahahugoshortcode2349s3hbhb\"\u003eQuestion Everything \u003cdiv class=\"image\"\u003e\n  \u003cimg\n    src=\"https://s3.amazonaws.com/digitalgov/_legacy-img/2015/02/250-x-375-Red-question-mark-key-Thinkstock-Images-Stockbyte-Thinkstock-86481376.jpg\"\n    alt=\"Red question mark key\"/\u003e\u003c/div\u003e\n\n\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eYou might be thinking that all three of these points intersect. You’re right. People make decisions and track details, after all. What do we do about that? Ask good questions.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDon Norman, a well-known design and usability expert said:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cblockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWhat makes something simple or complex? It’s not the number of dials or controls or how many features it has: It is whether the person using the device has a good conceptual model of how it operates.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003c/blockquote\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe truth in this extends beyond users. Often we, the people who design and build, don’t have a good conceptual model of how our project works. We’re too busy managing changing priorities, timelines and business requirements. We know that won’t change. But we can change how we look at those changes and the decisions, people and details within our work.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAt each turning point, you should ask yourself, “How is this going to work?” Start the conversation with yourself and others. There are no bad questions or answers. Only the ones that never get asked or voiced. Find out how accessibility happens in your organization. Accessibility is not scary, and it’s something you can do.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"what8217s-next\"\u003eWhat’s Next?\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBegin \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/11/17/user-experience-impossible-the-line-between-accessibility-and-usability/\"\u003edigging deeper into accessibility\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLearn more about designing accessible user experiences with \u003ca href=\"http://rosenfeldmedia.com/books/a-web-for-everyone/\"\u003eA Web for Everyone\u003c/a\u003e. DigitalGov also has resources on \u003ca href=\"/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/2014/06/30/508-accessible-videos-why-and-how-to-make-them/\"\u003emaking videos accessible\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBegin integrating accessibility testing into your processes early and often, from \u003ca href=\"http://webaim.org/resources/designers/\"\u003edesign\u003c/a\u003e to \u003ca href=\"http://davidakennedy.com/2014/10/31/web-accessibility-in-60-seconds/\"\u003edevelopment\u003c/a\u003e. It’s easier than you think.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDavid A. Kennedy\u003c/strong\u003e is a former contractor for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.\u003c/em\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}