Blind and Visually Impaired Community
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Website Accessibility for Screen Readers? (self.Blind)
submitted by 6-20PM
I am in the process of updating a website for a non profit organization. I am fortunate to be working with a group of under graduate students on this project and accessibility is an important part of the update.
In general, all websites are built with a focus on graphical elements that are attractive. Various graphical objects are placed in such a way as create visual flow. Color palettes are chosen to both complement and contrast between different visual aspects of web sites.
As a side effect of building a website with numerous graphical objects, you end up with adhoc pictures of objects and people that may be irrelevant to the content you are providing.
My question is this - Do you want alternative text descriptions of adhoc graphical objects if it is not specific to the information being conveyed by the website?
As an example, I have a picture of a mother and daughter on the right side of the page. The provides no help or describes any information that is pertinent. Are you interested in an alt text description along the lines of "A Picture of a Mother and Daughter"?
I don't want to bog down screen readers with junk information, but I don't want to take away from a mental picture you may want to build.
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In general, all websites are built with a focus on graphical elements that are attractive. Various graphical objects are placed in such a way as create visual flow. Color palettes are chosen to both complement and contrast between different visual aspects of web sites.
As a side effect of building a website with numerous graphical objects, you end up with adhoc pictures of objects and people that may be irrelevant to the content you are providing.
My question is this - Do you want alternative text descriptions of adhoc graphical objects if it is not specific to the information being conveyed by the website?
As an example, I have a picture of a mother and daughter on the right side of the page. The provides no help or describes any information that is pertinent. Are you interested in an alt text description along the lines of "A Picture of a Mother and Daughter"?
I don't want to bog down screen readers with junk information, but I don't want to take away from a mental picture you may want to build.
​
GreatSunJester 4 points 1y ago
When I evaluate a web page for screen reader use (JAWS and NVDA), I am a bit draconian. For pictures I have a few criteria:
1. If the picture provides information that is not represented in text on the page, it needs ALT text. If you can present that information as text in the main page, do so instead.
2. If the picture does not provide unique information or is decorative, use aria-hidden="true" and remove it from the screen reader view.
1. If the picture provides information that is not represented in text on the page, it needs ALT text. If you can present that information as text in the main page, do so instead.
2. If the picture does not provide unique information or is decorative, use aria-hidden="true" and remove it from the screen reader view.
6-20PM [OP] 2 points 1y ago
Thanks for that! I recognize now we can build a nice narrative around a webpage specifically for screen readers. Would you ever add screen reader "Easter Eggs"?
GreatSunJester 3 points 1y ago
I wouldn't, myself. I want a screen reader user to have the same content as a visual user, and vice-versa.
Tarnagona 4 points 1y ago
My other advice for accessibility, if you haven’t already, is to try navigating the website only using a keyboard, ideally while also using a screen reader, so you can know what it’s reading for buttons and links. But, if you can’t get to something without using a mouse, the screen reader user isn’t going to be able to get to it either.
6-20PM [OP] 3 points 1y ago
Thanks for that! I will definitely run my own tests using screen reader and keyboard.
B_Bussen 4 points 1y ago
Another good test is to turn off the monitor. You can slow speech down enough for you to understand. Thanks for making it accessible.
bradley22 3 points 1y ago
Hmm, I'd have to see how the webpage is layed out but yeah, maybe... I'm not sure.
6-20PM [OP] 2 points 1y ago
Looks like I found an answer... https://www.w3.org/WAI/tutorials/images/decision-tree/
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