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A look at the new WAI-ARIA 1.3 draft

Excerpt:

W3C, the World Wide Web Consortium, released a new draft of the WAI-ARIA 1.3 specification on 23 January 2024.

If you're not familiar with it, WAI stands for the Web Accessibility Initiative, and ARIA stands for Accessible Rich Internet Applications.

It's a set of standards created to improve the accessibility of the products we build for the web, and it includes details about HTML attributes you can use to make content better for assistive technology. Some common ones you might have come across are aria-label, aria-live, and aria-describedby.

With the new draft of 1.3, we can get a bit of an idea as to what is coming, and how we can prepare for implementing and testing these features.

Read full article : A look at the new WAI-ARIA 1.3 draft

Stop trying to recruit unicorns with acorns

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Many organisations seem to view accessibility through a narrow lens. They do not recognise the breadth and depth of expertise that is required to create a well rounded accessibility role.

We had a similar situation 10 to 15 years ago, when start-ups were constantly trying to hire a single person that could do visual design, user experience (UX) design and software development.

This results in bloated job adverts hunting for somebody who likely does not exist in the job market. A mythical creature. A legend. Their reputation transcends the entire industry, yet nobody has managed to find a real one. Hence the term 'unicorn'.

Read full article : Stop trying to recruit unicorns with acorns

Web Chat accessibility considerations

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Web Chat relies on real time information and notifications, so you're going to need to use several features of Aria (Accessible Rich Internet Applications).

In this post, I'm going to cover in detail which of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) you're going to need to consider, and some examples of how you can use advanced attributes to give screen reader users the best possible experience.

Read full article : Web Chat accessibility considerations

How to write good alt text for screen readers

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In this post, I just want to talk through what alt text is, why it matters, and how to avoid some common mistakes!

I know alt text posts are common, but I feel compelled to write it given that it's 2023, and I still see a lot of the same issues I've been seeing for years.

Read full article : How to write good alt text for screen readers

The hidden function of the 'check your answers' pattern'

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A friend of mine, stated that usually when we add steps to a process, people get concerned that it will add friction and lead to fewer conversions. But, he argued that it is even more costly to the business to deal with mistakes, and therefore we should use the check your answers pattern.

I agree. There is always a user need to make sure the information they have entered is correct, and a check your answers page is the easiest way to do that. That is it's primary function.

But, what I want to cover in a bit more depth, is the secondary function which often gets overlooked: The pause!

Read full article : The hidden function of the 'check your answers' pattern'

WCAG 2.2 and what it means for you

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After much anticipation and several delayed release dates, we eventually got the elusive Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.2 on 5 October 2023.

For those who build websites, digital services or mobile applications, or if you just care about making the internet more accessible in general, then this is big news!

So, lets have a look at what all the fuss is about!

Read full article : WCAG 2.2 and what it means for you

ChatGPT: Ethics and bias

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In this post, we'll be specifically looking at the ethics of ChatGPT, and some warnings to heed when using it.

ChatGPT is a real ethical conundrum. By making something not human sound; well… human, it can be confusing or unnerving if you're not prepared.

Read full article : ChatGPT: Ethics and bias

ChatGPT: Everybody's dirty secret

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I'm seeing more and more people using ChatGPT, but also, being weirdly secretive about it. They're augmenting their own work, increasing their knowledge and productivity, but not really sharing how they suddenly appear to have stepped up a gear.

There appears to be a common fear that by admitting you use ChatGPT, your work no longer has value, that you somehow look less smart, or that you're now cheating when giving advice. But this couldn't be further from the truth, because ChatGPT is just a tool!

Read full article : ChatGPT: Everybody's dirty secret

European Accessibility Act: Article 32, and why it sucks!

Excerpt:

I recently wrote a blog post called European Accessibility Act: What you need to know and it created a bit of a stir, and a really interesting question came up around Article 32, which is all about transitional measures.

Now, you might be thinking, 'Transitional what?' So let's dive into it together and try to make sense of it.

Read full article : European Accessibility Act: Article 32, and why it sucks!