Website Accessibility Training

Not everybody can use a computer mouse.

People who are blind use what’s called a, ‘screen reader’. Screen readers read out aloud the contents of your website. However, if your website is not coded properly, it can make it very difficult for screen reader users to move around your site. For example, if the links are not labelled, screen reader users may not know what the link does, and sometimes may not even know the link exists.

People who are not able to use their hands to control a mouse effectively might need to use the keyboard or a voice recognition app like Courtana in Windows. Certain features on a website, such as a ‘skip to main content’ link could make it much easier for them to navigate the website. It is also important that these features are coded well so that the voice recognition apps can recognise the commands.

The language in your website should be written so that it is understood by People with an intellectual disability, or who might not be good at reading and writing, or who may not speak English well. Using pictures to demonstrate or illustrate what you’re saying can also be very useful.

How your website is presented is of particular importance to people with sensory impairments such as people with low vision, autism or hearing impairment. Too many colours, images, flashing lights and writing in small size font can overwhelm people and push them away from your website. Yet use of colour contrasting will make it easier for people to distinguish text from images.

Finally, you may consider using Australian sign language (Auslan) to communicate information to people who are deaf. Auslan is usually presented in a video for information that may be highly important or sensitive such as health or emergency matters.

Inclusive World specialises in testing for screen reader users but has a strong working relationship with Web Key IT for indepth website testing, coding and accessibility training.