{
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    "title" : "Don’t forget accessibility! |Digital.gov",
    "description": "Don’t forget accessibility!",
    "home_page_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/","feed_url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/guides/mobile-principles/accessibility/index.json","item" : [
    {"title" :"Don’t forget accessibility!","summary" : "Week eight of our series covers accessibility, WCAG 2.0, and the four POUR principles.","date" : "2019-03-07T12:30:00-05:00","date_modified" : "2025-01-27T19:42:55-05:00","primary_image" : { "uid" : "guide-mobile-principles", "alt" :
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      "filename" :"principles-accessibility.md",
      
      "filepath" :"guides/mobile-principles/principles-accessibility.md",
      "filepathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/blob/bc-archive-content-3/content/guides/mobile-principles/principles-accessibility.md",
      "editpathURL" :"https://github.com/GSA/digitalgov.gov/edit/bc-archive-content-3/content/guides/mobile-principles/principles-accessibility.md","slug" : "accessibility","url" : "/preview/gsa/digitalgov.gov/bc-archive-content-3/guides/mobile-principles/accessibility/","aliases" : {"0" : "/resources/mobile/principles/accessibility"},"content" :"\u003cp\u003eWelcome to Principle 8, our last principle!\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMost of us can see, hear, and touch our mobile devices as they were designed, but many others cannot. In the federal government, our customers are everyone—and we have a duty to help everyone have a great experience on our websites and mobile apps.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThis week we will focus on accessibility, the lack of which leads to mobile unfriendliness. The accessibility of federal websites is covered in the \u003ca href=\"https://itif.org/publications/2017/03/08/benchmarking-us-government-websites\"\u003eInformation Technology \u0026amp; Innovation Foundation (ITIF) Benchmarking Report\u003c/a\u003e.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eIssue: Developers are not capitalizing on the accessibility features available on mobile devices\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs we develop our sites, we build them for their visual appeal—but often forget that there are many visually-impaired users. To varying degrees, these users may not be able to see or navigate our websites on desktop or mobile devices since they do not use a mouse while navigating the Internet.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eSome specific challenges the visually impaired have are related to poor color contrast and the lack of labels, which may hinder their screen reader. To prevent this, assistive technology (AT) must be used.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSolution: Build a site that is accessible to everyone using The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)!\u003c/strong\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccessible sites are designed to reduce—if not eliminate—the barriers that prevent people with disabilities from using them. At the most general level, accessible sites adhere to accessible design principles, including:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHigh-contrast colors (for text, borders, backgrounds)\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlternate text (“alt text”) that describes images for blind or low-vision users\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLabels for buttons, so the screen reader can help to navigate the site\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCaptions and or transcripts for videos and podcasts.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn 2008, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.w3.org/WAI/standards-guidelines/wcag/\"\u003eWorld Wide Web Consortium\u003c/a\u003e (W3C) published the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG; pronounced: “way-cagg” or “wuh-cog”) to specify how web developers should make content accessible for people with disabilities. The WCAG 2.0 has Success Criteria (SC) split between three \u003ca href=\"https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/conformance.html\"\u003eLevels of Conformance\u003c/a\u003e (low to high): A, AA, and AAA; with AAA being the level that makes your content the most accessible.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIn January 2017, the \u003ca href=\"https://www.access-board.gov/\"\u003eUnited States Access Board\u003c/a\u003e (also known as the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board) adopted final rules to make \u003ca href=\"https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/quickref/?currentsidebar=%23col_overview\u0026amp;versions=2.0\u0026amp;levels=a%2Caaa#top\"\u003eWCAG 2.0 Level AA\u003c/a\u003e the accessibility standards that the federal government uses to provide accessible web services. The WCAG 2.0 guidelines outline techniques to optimize content and are based on the following four “POUR” principles, where all online content should be:\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003col\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003ePerceivable\u003c/strong\u003e - Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eOperable\u003c/strong\u003e - User interface components and navigation must be operable.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eUnderstandable\u003c/strong\u003e - Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRobust\u003c/strong\u003e - Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technology.\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ol\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDetails on the four “POUR” principles can be found here: \u003ca href=\"https://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/intro.html#introduction-fourprincs-head\"\u003ehttps://www.w3.org/TR/UNDERSTANDING-WCAG20/intro.html#introduction-fourprincs-head\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"references\"\u003eReferences\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAkamai Reveals 2 Seconds as The New Threshold of Accessibility for e-Commerce Web Page Response Times | \u003ca href=\"https://www.akamai.com/us/en/about/news/press/2009-press/akamai-reveals-2-seconds-as-the-new-threshold-of-acceptability-for-ecommerce-web-page-responsetimes.jsp\"\u003ehttps://www.akamai.com/us/en/about/news/press/2009-press/akamai-reveals-2-seconds-as-the-new-threshold-of-acceptability-for-ecommerce-web-page-responsetimes.jsp\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eImproving Website Accessibility | \u003ca href=\"https://www.section508.gov/content/build/websiteaccessibility-improvement\"\u003ehttps://www.section508.gov/content/build/websiteaccessibility-improvement\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWCAG 2.0 AA Gains Prominence as Website Accessibility Standard | \u003ca href=\"http://www.natlawreview.com/article/wcag-20-aa-gains-prominencewebsite-accessibility-standard\"\u003ehttp://www.natlawreview.com/article/wcag-20-aa-gains-prominencewebsite-accessibility-standard\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWeb Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 | \u003ca href=\"https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/\"\u003ehttps://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG20/\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003ch2 id=\"additional-resources\"\u003eAdditional Resources\u003c/h2\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e18F Accessibility Guide | \u003ca href=\"https://accessibility.18f.gov/\"\u003ehttps://accessibility.18f.gov/\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eU.S. Access Board | \u003ca href=\"https://www.access-board.gov/\"\u003ehttps://www.access-board.gov/\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTraining | \u003ca href=\"https://www.access-board.gov/training/webinars\"\u003ehttps://www.access-board.gov/training/webinars\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAccessibility for Teams | \u003ca href=\"https://accessibility.digital.gov/\"\u003ehttps://accessibility.digital.gov/\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAmericans with Disabilities Act (ADA) | \u003ca href=\"https://www.ada.gov/\"\u003ehttps://www.ada.gov/\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHow to Meet WCAG 2.0 Quick Reference | \u003ca href=\"https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/quickref/?versions=2.0\"\u003ehttps://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/quickref/?versions=2.0\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePlain Language | \u003ca href=\"https://www.plainlanguage.gov/\"\u003ehttps://www.plainlanguage.gov/\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSection 508 | \u003ca href=\"https://www.section508.gov/\"\u003ehttps://www.section508.gov/\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRevised 508 Standards Refresh Toolkit | \u003ca href=\"https://www.section508.gov/refresh-toolkit\"\u003ehttps://www.section508.gov/refresh-toolkit\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCreate Accessible Digital Products | \u003ca href=\"https://www.section508.gov/create\"\u003ehttps://www.section508.gov/create\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eTraining | \u003ca href=\"https://www.section508.gov/content/training\"\u003ehttps://www.section508.gov/content/training\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUsability | \u003ca href=\"https://www.usability.gov/\"\u003ehttps://www.usability.gov/\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWeb Accessibility Initiative (WAI) - \u003ca href=\"https://www.w3.org/WAI/\"\u003ehttps://www.w3.org/WAI/\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWeb Accessibility Perspectives: Explore the Impact and Benefits for Everyone - \u003ca href=\"https://www.w3.org/WAI/perspectives/\"\u003ehttps://www.w3.org/WAI/perspectives/\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eWeb Accessibility Tutorials and Presentations - \u003ca href=\"https://www.w3.org/WAI/train\"\u003ehttps://www.w3.org/WAI/train\u003c/a\u003e\u003c/li\u003e\n\u003c/ul\u003e\n\u003chr\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eDisclaimer\u003c/strong\u003e: All references to specific brands, products, and/or companies are used only for illustrative purposes and do not imply endorsement by the U.S. federal government or any federal government agency.\u003c/p\u003e\n"}
  ]
}