Could browsers fix more accessibility problems automatically?
A presentation at Tech A11y Summit by Hidde de Vries
Could browsers fix more accessibility problems automatically? Hidde de Vries, Tech A11y Summit, online, 15 December 2021 @hdv
Who? @hdv Hi, I’m Hidde. Freelance accessibility and front-end consultant for organisations like the Dutch Government, Mozilla & W3C. I write at hidde.blog. LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE!
Currently… websites, workshops, conferences @hdv
Currently… @hdv accessibility outreach is great, but does not reach all
Currently… @hdv we can detect problems automatically
Currently… @hdv ACT-Rules https://act-rules.github.io/pages/about/
Currently… interpretation is hard See also: “A11y Wars” by Glenda Sims and Wilco Fiers @hdv
Maybe we can… Automatically detect issues @hdv Automatically fix issues
Maybe we can… Automatically detect issues a small subset of @hdv Automatically fix issues a small subset of
Warning: responsibilities this does not relieve websites from their responsibility @hdv
Parallel tracks organisations to get their accessibility right @hdv browsers to fix things when they are able to
@hdv With caveats in mind, could browsers fix more accessibility problems automatically?
What if browsers let us… force readability ✓ @hdv
Why? “Web design is 95% typography” – Oliver Reichenstein, iA https://ia.net/topics/the-web-is-all-about-typography-period @hdv
What if browsers let us… force readability @hdv Leverage agile frameworks to provide a robust synopsis for high level overviews. Iterative approaches to corporate strategy foster collaborative thinking to further the overall value proposition. Organically grow the holistic world view of disruptive innovation via workplace diversity and empowerment. Capitalize on low hanging fruit to identify a ballpark value added activity to beta test. Override the digital divide with additional clickthroughs from DevOps. Nanotechnology immersion along the information highway will close the loop on focusing solely on the bottom line. Capitalize on low hanging fruit to identify a ballpark value added activity to beta test. Override the digital divide with additional clickthroughs from DevOps. Nanotechnology immersion along the information highway will close the loop on focusing solely on the bottom line. Leverage agile frameworks to provide a robust synopsis for high level overviews. Iterative approaches to corporate strategy foster collaborative thinking to further the overall value proposition. Organically grow the holistic world view of disruptive innovation via workplace diversity and empowerment. Capitalize on low hanging fruit to identify a ballpark value added activity to beta test. Override the digital divide with additional clickthroughs from DevOps. Nanotechnology immersion along the information highway will close the loop on focusing solely on the bottom line. Capitalize on low hanging fruit to identify a ballpark value added activity to beta test. Override the digital divide with additional clickthroughs from DevOps. Nanotechnology immersion along the information highway will close the loop on focusing solely on the bottom line.
What if browsers let us… ✓ force readability Leverage agile frameworks to provide a robust synopsis for high level overviews. Iterative approaches to corporate strategy foster collaborative thinking to further the overall value proposition. Organically grow the holistic world view of disruptive innovation via workplace diversity and empowerment. Capitalize on low hanging fruit to identify a ballpark value added activity to beta test. Override the digital divide with additional clickthroughs from DevOps. Nanotechnology immersion along the information highway will close the loop on focusing solely on the bottom line. Capitalize on low hanging fruit to identify a ballpark @hdv
What if browsers let us… ✓ force readability Firefox reading mode read:// in Edge @hdv
What if browsers let us… enforce contrast ✓ @hdv
What if browsers let us… https://booktravel.business Booktravel Visit Kinderdijk enforce contrast @hdv
What if browsers let us… ✓ “Low contrast text, below the WCAG 2 AA thresholds, was found on 86.4% of home pages. This was the most commonly-detected accessibility issue. On average, home pages had 31 distinct instances of lowcontrast text.” enforce contrast @hdv 86.4% – WebAIM Million https://webaim.org/projects/million/#contrast
What if browsers let us… https://booktravel.business Booktravel Visit Kinderdijk enforce contrast @hdv
What if browsers let us… ✓ https://booktravel.business Booktravel Visit Kinderdijk enforce contrast
What if browsers let us… ✓ enforce contrast Fix Contrast by Polypane - https://fixa11y.com/ @hdv
What if browsers let us… force focus indication ✓ @hdv
What if browsers let us… force focus indication https://booktravel.business Booktravel Explore Kinderdijk Leverage agile frameworks to provide a robust synopsis for high level overviews. Iterative approaches to corporate strategy foster collaborative thinking to further the overall value proposition. Organically grow the holistic world view of disruptive innovation via workplace diversity and empowerment. Book this trip @hdv
What if browsers let us… ✓ force focus indication https://booktravel.business Booktravel Explore Kinderdijk Leverage agile frameworks to provide a robust synopsis for high level overviews. Iterative approaches to corporate strategy foster collaborative thinking to further the overall value proposition. Organically grow the holistic world view of disruptive innovation via workplace diversity and empowerment. Book this trip @hdv
What if browsers let us… navigate by landmark ✓ @hdv
What if browsers let us… navigate by landmark landmarks can make it easier to efficiently jump to specific parts of a web page @hdv
What if browsers let us… navigate by landmark landmarks can only be navigated using certain assistive technologies @hdv
What if browsers let us… Navigation Main Subjects Support Sections Main article Most viewed Related articles Most popular More in “Climate” Login Contentinfo Main footer ✓ navigate by landmark @hdv
What if browsers let us… unstick content ✓ @hdv
Currently… unstick content sticky elements can cover too much of the screen, especially when zoom is used @hdv
What if… ✓ unstick content @hdv browsers could stop the sticking
Warning (repeated) @hdv not a “get out of jail free” card
And more? @hdv should browsers guess more?
And more? @hdv Safari guesses accessible names
And more? @hdv are all one line paragraphs that end with a period headings?
And more? @hdv browsers could use the button role as a hint?
And more? @hdv are all sequences of strings that start with a bullet or number lists?
@hdv With caveats in mind, could browsers fix more accessibility problems automatically?
More of this? @hdv a11yfeat.com
That’s all! @hdv thanks for listening! @hdv hidde@hiddedevries.nl hidde.blog
Accessibility best practices and standards are great, but realistically, they don’t reach everybody. Part of the web is still inaccessible to people with disabilities. What if browsers could give users the power to override the web, and fix accessibility errors in web content whenever they can? In this talk, I will discuss accessibility features in today’s browsers and share what else could be done.
Resources
The following resources were mentioned during the presentation or are useful additional information.
