Comparing Sidecar-less Service Mesh from Cilium and Istio
Portland, ME WordPress Meetup - Web Accessibility in 2020
1. Web Accessibility in 2020
Headache or Opportunity?
Living with a disability can be really difficult. Making your website
accessible isn't. Let's improve the web together.
2. Accessible Web, LLC is the sister company to Bytes.co. We are dedicated to helping
businesses make their websites accessible to those with disabilities. Our services
include manual audits, remediation consulting, accessibility certification, accessibility
monitoring, & new accessible website builds.
The digital accessibility industry is filled with band-aid, add-on accessibility solutions.
At Accessible Web, we help fix the problem at the source. Our technology & support
services help you upgrade your site’s code so it conforms to WCAG 2.1 A, AA, or AAA
standards natively, not through an add-on, alternative user experience.
Accessible Web
4. Website accessibility means that people with visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, and/or neurological
disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and operate the information being presented on the entirety of your
website. Tools that help users to navigate the web are called assistive technologies.
To ensure an equally excellent experience for all users, we’ll help you build or update your website to work with a
variety of assistive technologies.
Users with low vision or
blindness use screen
readers to control their
computers. This
technology announces
content verbally so these
users can hear what is
on a page.
Screen Readers
Multimedia is the
centerpoint of many
modern websites. Ensure
that users that are deaf
or hard of hearing can
enjoy videos or audio by
providing closed
captioning & transcripts
for all media files.
Closed Captions &
Transcripts
Websites should only
require two buttons to be
usable; the tab key and
the enter key. Assistive
technologies mimic the
keyboard to provide
unique interfaces, like
sip-and-puff devices, to
address a variety of
disabilities.
Keyboard
Navigation
Low vision is a very
common disability,
especially among the
elderly population. Many
users of your website
may not be able to read
small text or images and
use built-in browser tools
or specific software to
increase the size of
content on the page.
Zoom Text
What is Website Accessibility?
5. Information and user interface
components must be presentable to
users in ways they can perceive (it can’t
be invisible to all of their senses).
Example: Employing alt attributes on
img elements meaning, alternative text
can describe what is being presented
in the image.
Perceivable
User interface components and
navigation must be operable (the
interface cannot require interaction that
a user cannot perform).
Example: Being able to navigate the
website only using the keyboard (no
mouse).
Operable
Content must be robust enough that it
can be interpreted reliably by a wide
variety of user agents, including assistive
technologies (as technologies and user
agents evolve, the content should
remain accessible).
Example: Maximizing compatibility with
current and future user agents, including
assistive technologies.
Robust
Information and the operation of the
user interface must be understandable
(the content or operation cannot be
beyond their understanding).
Example: Specifying the default
language of the website or document
by providing the “lang” attribute on the
HTML element.
Understandable
WCAG
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
6. For Level AAA conformance, the Web page
satisfies all the Level A, Level AA, and Level
AAA Success Criteria, or a Level AAA
conforming alternate version is provided.
AAA (Best) - 28 Success Criteria
For Level AA conformance, the Web page
satisfies all the Level A and Level AA Success
Criteria, or a Level AA conforming alternate
version is provided.
AA (Better) - 20 Success Criteria
For Level A conformance (the minimum level of
conformance), the Web page satisfies all the
Level A Success Criteria, or a conforming
alternate version is provided.
A (Good) - 30 Success Criteria
AAA
AA
A
WCAG 2.1 Conformance Levels
https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/quickref/
8. The internet has the power to break down barriers & put people from all
walks of life on an equal playing field. The web accessibility tools and
specifications, which allow users with disabilities to browse and use the
web, are not difficult to integrate into modern web design &
development practices. Let’s all work together and make the
commitment to create a web that’s accessible to everyone.
Social Responsibility
In many countries, including the United States, having an accessible
website is required by law. You don’t want to receive that letter from
lawyers or the government. Making an investment in WCAG upgrades
now is better than spending a lot of money on lawyers later.
Legal Protection
The CDC estimates that approximately 20% of Americans live with a
disability. You wouldn’t close the doors of your business to 20% of
potential customers, so why limit their access to your website? Web
Accessibility is also great for SEO and improves usability for all users of
your website. Upgrading your website isn’t an expense, it’s an
opportunity.
Just Good Business
Social
Responsibility
Why is Website Accessibility Important?
Legal
Protection
Just Good
Business
9. This is the most comprehensive civil rights
protection for people with disabilities. Title III
of the ADA prohibits disability discrimination in
the full and equal enjoyment of the goods,
services, facilities, privileges, advantages, and
accommodations.
ADA Passed & Implemented
President Clinton signs Rehabilitation
act of 1973 into law. This includes
Section 508, addressing the
procurement of accessible
technology.
Rehabilitation Act of 1973
1990 1998
Legal Landscape
10. NFB sues Target for inaccessibility of
website for blind people and wins.
Decision establishes that Title III’s
provisions regarding “places of
public accommodation” apply to
websites.
NFB vs Target Corp
Netflix is sued for not providing
closed captioning for deaf users.
Judge Rules that “places of public
accommodation are not limited to
physical structures.” Netflix settles.
NAD vs Netflix
2006 2012
Legal Landscape, Continued
11. The era of the demand letter begins,
spearheaded by Carlson Lynch.
Every business is at risk of receiving
a threatening letter demanding they
upgrade their website and pay a
settlement or face a lawsuit.
Carlson Lynch Demand Letters
The 9th US Circuit Court ruled that the
“inaccessibility of Domino’s website and app
impedes access to the goods and services of its
physical pizza franchises—which are places of
public accommodation.”
Dominos appealed to the Supreme Court which
denied to hear the case.
Dominos vs Robles
2015 2019
Legal Landscape, Continued
12. 814 Lawsuits
2017
2285 Lawsuits
2018
Official numbers have not
yet been published, but
it’s looking like there will
be at least hundreds
more than in 2018.
2019
Accessibility Lawsuits
13. The Americans with
Disabilities Act (ADA)
became law in 1990. The
ADA is a civil rights law that
prohibits discrimination
against individuals with
disabilities in all areas of
public life, including jobs,
schools, transportation, and
all public and private places
that are open to the general
public. The purpose of the
law is to make sure that
people with disabilities have
the same rights and
opportunities as everyone
else.
Americans With
Disabilities Act
Accessibility Laws
The Accessibility for
Ontarians with Disabilities
Act, 2005 (AODA) is an
Ontario law mandating that
organizations must follow
standards to become more
accessible to people with
disabilities. The goal for the
province is to be fully
accessible by 2025. All
levels of government,
private sectors, and
nonprofits must comply with
this legislation.
Accessibility for
Ontarians with
Disabilities Act
Section 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C.
§ 794d), as amended by the
Workforce Investment Act of
1998 (P.L. 105-220), requires
federal agencies to develop,
procure, maintain, and use
information and
communications technology
(ICT) that is accessible to
people with disabilities -
regardless of whether or not
they work for the federal
government.
Section 508 of the
Rehabilitation Act of
1973 (2017 Refresh)
ADA AODA 508
14. Avoid these pitfalls
Example: https://www.essexresort.com/
Avoid separate user experiences for users
with disabilities, which typically end up
neglected. Build your main site correctly.
Separate But Equal
Example: https://mansfieldhall.org/
These solutions are popping up
everywhere. Users with disabilities want to
use their own assistive tech, not your
workaround.
Overlays & Instant Solutions
Don’t assume, always verify that your
website works as expected by running
through user scenarios with assistive tech.
Ideally, find a native user of assistive tech.
Always Do UX Testing
15. We can help build a brand new, accessible
website that conforms to WCAG 2.1 AA
standards. It’s generally easier to build an
accessible site from the ground up than to
remediate an existing site.
New
Website
Audit &
Remediate
If a site was recently built, it might make
more sense to audit the site to find
accessibility barriers and then remediate
those issues. We’ll audit the site and provide
the results to our developers so that they can
make the necessary upgrades.
Pick An Accessibility Path
16. The first step is figuring out which level of
WCAG Conformance you’re aiming to
achieve; A, AA, or AAA.
Decide on Your Conformance Level
There are a variety of Accessible WordPress
themes available, but verify for yourself.
https://wordpress.org/themes/tags/accessi
bility-ready/
Choose A WordPress Theme
We recommend starting with building out
global areas, then customizing templates,
and doing content last. Don’t forget about
videos, pdfs, and the media library.
Globals, Templates, Content
Building Accessible Websites w/WordPress
You’ll need to be thinking about color
contrasts early in the process, requirements
vary by conformance level.
Design Considerations
This is the core area where you’re going to
need to focus. Get comfortable using
screen readers and keyboard navigations.
Code Considerations
Content needs to be organized with
headers in a logical manner, links need
descriptive text, pdfs need to be accessible,
videos need closed captioning, images need
alt tags.
Content Considerations
Accessibility needs to be front-of-mind during the entire process, this is not a final step in the website build process.
17. Step 1:
Audit
Step 2:
Remediation
Step 3:
Certify
Step 4:
Monitor &
Maintain
Audit & Remediation Process
We’ll audit your website to
identify where it is passing and
failing WCAG 2.1 A, AA, or AAA
standards. We provide a written
report for your engineering
team to work with.
Our experienced development
team can handle the necessary
accessibility upgrades for you.
We’ll take the results from the
audit and make the necessary
upgrades to ensure the site is
meeting WCAG 2.1 standards.
Once your website has been
upgraded to meet WCAG 2.1 A,
AA, or AAA conformance, our
certification will summarize your
level of compliance, as assessed
by an Accessible Web analyst,
on a specific date.
Your website isn’t static, and your
team is probably periodically (or
frequently) updating it with new
content and functionality. Have the
peace of mind that your website is
staying in WCAG 2.1 conformance
with our training, monitoring, and
re-certification services.
18. The first step of your website’s accessibility
journey is to install the Accessible Web badge.
The Accessible Web Badge is a snippet of
javascript that opens a modal window that
includes an accessibility policy, contact
information, a form for reporting accessibility
issues, and information about Accessible Web. It
also has a few options for "Status". When we install
the badge, you'll have a status of "Onboarding".
Once your site has been upgraded and meets
WCAG A or AA standards, we'll upgrade your
status to "Certified".
Accessible Web Badge & Modal
Shameless Promotion
19. Accessibility Policy Contact Info Report an Issue
This badge will let your website visitors and lawyers know that you're starting the process of upgrading your
website to meet WCAG conformance and ADA compliance. Installing our badge will not provide you with legal
protection. It will let your users know with disabilities know that their experience is important to your organization,
and it will let lawyers know that you're not a soft target that's unaware of current ADA laws. Once your website is
upgraded and meets WCAG Conformance, you will be legally protected from ADA lawsuits.
About Accessible Web
Shameless Promotion
20. ● https://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG21/
● https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG21/quickref/
● https://www.w3.org/WAI/roles/
Get Familiar with W3.org’s website
We’d recommend getting your CPACC. If
you’re a developer, get your WAS as well.
https://www.accessibilityassociation.org/cer
tification
Get Certified with IAAP
● https://wave.webaim.org/
● https://www.google.com/accessibility/prod
ucts-features/
● https://www.deque.com/axe/axe-for-web/
Automated Scan Tools
Tools & Resources
Keep up to date with what the WordPress
team is up to, especially their ATAG work on
the WP backend:
https://wordpress.org/about/accessibility/
Get involved with WordPress
● https://www.nvaccess.org/download/
● https://www.apple.com/accessibility/
● https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/acces
sibility/windows
Get Comfortable with Assistive Tech
● http://www.nfb-me.org/
● https://www.maine.gov/rehab/ada/
Network with Assistive Tech Users