Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Does anyone have resources for creating a blind-accessible website? (self.Blind)
submitted by apewomanapeapewoman
Hi there! Recently I got a customer support ticket from a blind customer that my website is totally blind un-friendly. I am embarrassed to admit I never once thought about how visually-impared people would visit my site. She said that she uses a program called JAWS which speaks the website out loud, and that I would need to make sure heading / images and menu options are formatted correctly. I've done some preliminary research but I'm not a designer/developer, I simply liaise with my web developer. I would like to start putting together a plan for making my site more accessible, but I'm not sure where to begin (my site is huge, I have lots of pages and paywall items so I think it might be a bigger project).
Does anyone have any advice on resources I can use to plan this out and test? Or how I can explain what I need done to my developer? Has anyone worked in this area before and can recommend services that do this type of work? Sorry for so many questions! I am very grateful for any advice or direction you all can give me, thanks so much!
Does anyone have any advice on resources I can use to plan this out and test? Or how I can explain what I need done to my developer? Has anyone worked in this area before and can recommend services that do this type of work? Sorry for so many questions! I am very grateful for any advice or direction you all can give me, thanks so much!
djflex90 16 points 3y ago
I just want you to know that it makes me happy you actually care enough to make your web sight accessible because a lot of business owners do not. So thank you
apewomanapeapewoman [OP] 2 points 3y ago
:) thank you
Undercoverwd 7 points 3y ago
WebAim is gold. They have a great checklist that explains the WCAG guidelines, and really excellent guides on creating accessible forms and how to test with a screen reader.
Marconius 6 points 3y ago
I'm an independent fully blind accessibility specialist and usability tester. Checking off boxes in the WCAG might make your site accessible, but won't give you help on making a pleasant usable experience for those of us using accessible tech. More than happy to check out your site and do an audit over Zoom so you can see exactly what the experience is like with a screen reader.
mantolwen 5 points 3y ago
Other comments here have been a good help. I would suggest getting hold of a Chrome extension (there are many) that can help point out accessibility issues.
There are 3 levels of accessibility. I would suggest aiming for AA as AAA is hard to achieve and not necessary for most users.
I'm a tester at a UK financial company so have some experience in this area. Sadly cannot share our resources with you.
There are 3 levels of accessibility. I would suggest aiming for AA as AAA is hard to achieve and not necessary for most users.
I'm a tester at a UK financial company so have some experience in this area. Sadly cannot share our resources with you.
apewomanapeapewoman [OP] 1 points 3y ago
Thanks for the tip! No worries about not being able to share resources, I totally understand!
VictiniStar101 4 points 3y ago
Start here, $1
apewomanapeapewoman [OP] 2 points 3y ago
This is great, thank you!
hljoorbrandr 3 points 3y ago
When you are ready to find out if you’ve improved your websites accessibility, find someone to audit it. Make sure they are checking using the most commonly used screen readers. Voiceover for Apple products. Jaws, NVDA and window-eyes. Google talk back for android.
In theory the coding should work for all universally but that isn’t always the case.
Also commit to regularly auditing your website. Whenever you make any major changes.
In theory the coding should work for all universally but that isn’t always the case.
Also commit to regularly auditing your website. Whenever you make any major changes.
TheYear2046 2 points 3y ago
Yay! It's easier to test than you think. You can do it today! Using your phone you can turn on the screen reader, what the blind and visual impaired use every day to hear what is on their phone. In settings there will be an accessibility section to turn it on. I suggest knowing the shortcut to turn it off and on. It's different for Android vs iPhone and for Android you have to turn the shortcut on in the first place. Then you can go to your site and see for your self how the screen reader reads the site. :D $1
solar-cabin 2 points 3y ago
apewomanapeapewoman [OP] 2 points 3y ago
Thanks!!
Superfreq2 1 points 3y ago
Just to build on what others with more knowledge have already mentioned, this giant resource list was just recently created and will probably be very useful for you. $1
[deleted] 1 points 3y ago
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[deleted] 1 points 3y ago
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