Understanding how to create accessible websites is an essential skill these days . You may even be obliged by law to create websites that are usable by the widest audience, including people with a range of disabilities.This book looks at what accessibility is and the various reasons, such as legislative or legal, as to why you really need to understand accessibility and then create websites that can be used by everyone. This book therefore examines the diverse range of user requirements that need to be considered for humans to successfully use web technologies.If you have no experience of being around, or working with, people with disabilities then it can be very difficult to successfully design user interfaces that cover their needs. This book will show you how you can both understand some of the various needs of people with disabilities and the technology they use to interact with computers and the Web.
Get under the hood with Joomla! and learn how to modify Joomla! HTML output in order to make more accessible websites.
Understand how to use WYSIWYG editors like TinyMCE and XStandard to create accessible content.
Create accessible Joomla! templates.
Understand some of the most popular assistive technologies (AT) and how they work.
Gain a deeper understanding of some different disabilities.
Get an overview of the legal requirement to be accessible.
Gain some very practical guidance based on the authors years of practical experience working as a web developer and with people with disabilities.
Chapter 1 looks at the legal situation around the world and other drivers that put accessibility on the web developers map. This chapter also looks at some definitions of accessibility and introduces the concepts of usability and universality. The chapter explores the need to understand your users, accommodate diversity, and dealing with change as well as some of the benefits of accessibility.Chapter 2 considers how both accessibility and usability make up a powerful combination for a holistic approach to web development and a positive user experience for everyone. The chapter looks at other practical ways of determining whether your sites are not only accessible but also usable, such as user testing. The chapter also looks at the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).Chapter 3 looks at various types of disability as well as the variety of assistive technology that is available. You will also learn how to modify your browsing experience in order to try to gain a greater understanding of what it is like for people with disabilities when they go online.Chapter 4 looks at using headings and other HTML elements to provide content structure. How this benefits users of assistive technology and other SEO (Search Engine Optimization) benefits. This chapter examines how to provide simple text alternatives to images and using descriptive link text to assist accessibility, as well as creating accessible tables and how to edit the HTML by hand.Chapter 5 examines the importance of preparation while designing your template and the advantages of using accessible templates. The chapter also explains the importance of good color contrast and making your text resizable for visually impaired users as well as the making your interface keyboard accessible.Chapter 6 looks at getting the most out of XStandard, while throughout most of the book TinyMCE was used.