Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Is Your Blog Accessible to the Visually Impaired?


An Eye on the World

This may seem like an unusual topic, coming from someone with fairly normal sight, but it’s one that’s become critically important to me. I’ve discovered I’m missing an entire world of new connections if  I don’t take this into consideration.
Before last year I’d never considered that some blogs and websites were easier than others for the visually impaired to navigate. At that time I was blessed by an introduction to an amazing young woman (and talented blogger in her own right). The main differences between Jamie Britt and I were her sweet spirit and gentle wisdom...and the fact that she’s blind. 
Jamie introduced me to the software she uses to navigate the world accessed through her computer. And I discovered that access is filled with hidden obstacles and obstructions that would have derailed me within moments. Her endurance and perseverance challenged me to reevaluate all the tools I used on my blog. I researched and investigated every stumbling block to see if it was a necessary obstacle or something I could remove. 
What I found may surprise you, it certainly did me. For one, you don’t have to be blind to be visually impaired. As our society ages, there are many of us who don’t see as well as we used to and a lot of the measures we take to avoid spammers also block access to others. There’s also a significant section of our population who struggle with color blindness to some degree or another. All of these people deserve equal access. 
Here are ways your site can facilitate that access:

Use bright, high-contrast colors whenever possible

  • Keep the color scheme simple. Black and white are the easiest to navigate, but even that choice can cause eye strain for those without impairment. The idea is to keep your color choices strong, with good contrast so those who struggle can tell the difference between different sections. For example, the difference between regular text and a hyperlink within a post (a hyperlink is a clickable link that takes you to another webpage). The more dramatically different you can make each area the more clarity your blog will have.
    • special note: those with color blindness, also called color vision confusion frequently cannot differentiate between red and green, although yellow/blue confusion can also be an issue. Avoid these color combinations at all cost to avoid unnecessary confusion.
  • Labels make life easier. Labels or captions are important for every image. These should include an accurate description of the image. Also, when posting a list of websites, or anything else on the sidebar, be sure to label it. You should never rely on colors alone to convey information. 
  • Use headers and introduction sentences for paragraphs. Many readers used by the visually impaired have a scanning option. Users can listen to the header and first sentence and discover whether or not the paragraph is relevant to their search.
  • Make link destinations clear within the text. For example, to access a post on hyperlinks, click here. This makes good sense at any time because hyperlinks are also searchable by search engines and can help raise your SEO (search engine optimization) for your blog. 
Font size is an important consideration for blogs
  • Check your font size. In Blogger you can set your default font sizes for your posts in the template window. But most of the main blogging platforms such as Typepad and WordPress allow you to change your font size from the posting window. You can’t set pixel size but you do have the options of smallest, small, normal, large and largest. Make sure your blog post can be read from at least three feet away in normal light.
  • Skip the Word Verification for comments when possible. Depending on your platform this may not be an option, but I encourage you to use one where you do NOT have to use this. A lot of people have the incorrect assumption that this tool will stop spammers from posting horrible stuff in your comment section. In truth, if you use one of the big three platforms (Blogger, WordPress, Typepad) their spam detection software is more than adequate for this task.
The Internet is evolving into a complex community that’s breaking down walls. I believe it’s important to make certain I’m not erecting barriers in my part of the neighborhood.


What experience have you had in accessing certain sites? How have you made your site more user friendly?


Don't forget to join the conversation!
Blessings,
Edie

38 comments:

  1. Thank you for this informative post, Edie. Jamie recently shared how she's unable to leave comments on my post but I couldn't figure out how to fix the problem. Now I'm wondering if the Word Verification tool may be the hindrance. I'm making changes today!

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    1. Cathy, the word verification is definitely a hindrance to those who are visually impaired. It has to do with using the mouse to access the voice code. I'm still learning a lot about this and working toward a more user friendly site. Thanks for stopping by! Blessings, E

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  2. Edie, you just honored me without even knowing it I don't think. Oh and just to let you know, meeting you last year at Ncompass was a blessing for me! I'll never forget "you're a writer because Edie Melson said so." I actually let my mind go back to those words when I'm having a day of doubting whether I actually am a writer. Thank you for this blog post and the link up to my blog. I just love you my precious friend!

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    1. Jamie, every year right before New Year's our church encourages everyone to make a list of their top 10 stabs of joy for the previous year. You were definitely at the top of my list this past year. Blessings, E

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  3. My husband is also blind. He spends hours each day at his computer doing everything from handling our family finances to reading junk mail.

    Everything you've said is spot-on for him. Though he has assistive software to enable him to use his computer blogs and websites can be killers for him. If the color contrast isn't strong, or if the print is miniscule, or if the blog is cluttered with tons of cute stuff he just exits.

    Thanks for addressing this issue.

    Jean Hall

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    1. Jean, thanks for the confirmation that I'm on track. I really had no idea until I met Jamie all the obstacles I was creating on my blog. I hope more people begin to take down the roadblocks. Blessings, E

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  4. Wow Edie, Once again you uncover a stone hiding a gem. Will save this info for time later but can see it's importance.

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    1. Marcia, thanks for stopping by! I'm looking forward to seeing you Thursday. Blessings, E

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  5. Thanks so much for this post, Edie. Word verification and I go back and forth. I hate it but have found I have a lot of comments to delete if I don't have it on.

    ...I just thought of something... Do you think it helps to NOT allow links in the comments? LoL. Probably, but I'll do some experimenting. I really don't like word verification but the spam is beyond annoying and eats more of my time.

    High contrast, especially in the post area is one of the things I constantly yap about. I've heard LOTS of people (with good eyes) say they won't even bother trying to read if there isn't enough contrast, or if the background is black with white font.

    Thanks for pointing this out to us! Definitely want to keep this mind!

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  6. Oh! Another question.
    Do you think it helps the visually impaired if there's an alt line in the picture code? Or a short descriptive caption?

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  7. I have blind characters in several stories written or WIP and I never thought about this. Glad our blog is clean and simple but several of these definitely still apply and will be applied!

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    1. I'm glad this could help. When I realized the stuff I'd never even thought about it was a true 'head slap' moment. Thanks for chiming in! Blessings, E

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  8. Patty, thanks for sharing all this - it's so helpful! I'm gonna start with your last question first. Having an alt line in the picture code is definitely the best choice, followed closely by a short, descriptive caption. I didn't mention the code because a lot of my readers don't mess with the code on their sites. I was glad to see a caption was a viable option.

    I'm curious about your spammers in your comments. I have my comments set to be moderated if the post is 7 or more days old. That by itself catches the majority of spammers. Also, since your site is a website, instead of a blog, do you think that increases your spam? Even at the Blue Ridge site (where we get 1000s of visits) we seldom have spammers who get through the Typepad firewall. I'm wondering if this is a website issue? I'd love your thoughts and those of anyone else who'd like to chime in. Blessings All, E

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    1. All my sites and the ones I design for others are on Blogger, even my personal site which doubles as a blog. Blogger's spam catcher is great and a huge help--but there for awhile I had a lot getting through. Bonnie (the great!) said they were still flying under the Blogger radar so they didn't get busted. Makes sense to me.

      I've found the frequency of spammer hits rise when there's no word verification BUT the comments themselves don't publish because Blogger catches them. That's the key there. Blogger DOES catch them, it's just keeping my eyes from bugging out or doing eye rolls at some of the things people try. LoL.

      That's great news that captions are viable options. Easier. =]

      Thanks so much, Edie!

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  9. Wow Edie! What incredible insight! I will be looking at this and comparing it to my blog to figure out what I need to do differently. THANK YOU!

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    1. Alycia, thanks for stopping by! The stuff we need to do to be more accessible is a lot simpler than you might think. For me, it was learning I needed to do it in the first place. Blessings, E

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  10. Hey, Edie, thankyou for bringing up this awareness issue. One things that is an option is to make sure that one has an audible challenge, if one won't entirely do away with the word verification. Audio challenges don't always work, however.

    I have been a guest on many blogs that have this, and, though I am the guest, I can't participate because I can't get through this final barrier. In truth, those who follow blog stats say that one gets more legitimate comments without the verification.

    Without me realizing it, my web mistress put a word verification on my web form for contact. We are going to remove this if possible.


    One more thing to suggest people look out for is music on sites. For those using screen readers--the comptuer talks; it's not dictation--music is a huge barrier. For me, when I get to a site with music, I move on to another site. Trying to hear my computer through the noise is just too annoying to deal with when I have a lot of other places I can go.

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    1. Thank you so much for stopping by! I'd love the opportunity to visit your site. You can email me with the link at ediegmelson (at) gmail (dot) com.

      I really appreciate the tip about music. I completely forgot that one. I'm glad fewer and fewer blogs nowadays have music that loads automatically when the site is accessed. That's a huge turnoff for me and I can only imagine how impossible it makes accessibility for you.

      Thanks again for stopping by, Blessings, E

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  11. I can't add anything to your blog content, but I can second you on your thoughts about Jamie. She is an amazing young woman and writer. I met her earlier this year at Boot Camp Advance 2012 in Asheville, NC. She definitely blesses me.

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    1. Cathy just stopping by adds to the content! I appreciate your chiming in about Jamie, too. I'm hoping she'll be back at Boot Camp in 2013. I also love visiting with her on the My Book Therapy bleacher chats. Thanks so much for chiming in. Blessings, E

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  12. This never even occurred to me, Edie. Thanks for the information. I'll have to keep it on hand in order to make changes if need be.

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    1. Ellen, it never even crossed my mind until I met Jamie. Thanks for stopping by! Blessings, E

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  13. Edie - I'm a software developer by day (author by night) and ADA Compliance is a huge concern that many companies are behind in. One of the things I learned at work is that gray text is extremely difficult for partially visually impaired to read.

    Also, if you use Fire Fox, there is a plug in called "WAVE" that will show you errors and issues with the accessibility.

    One of the biggest things missed, and easiest to fix, is using "AltText" on all images on your site. It's easy to add it in Word Press when you add an image. It should be something meaningful (not Picture 1, but Woman Reading Book).

    Great post. Thanks so much for sharing!

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  14. Karen, thanks so much for your tips! I plugged "WAVE" into my sight and have a long list of things to work on. I debated on mentioning it in the body of the post, but worried about overwhelming folks with too much to do all at once. I was hoping someone else would bring it up. I appreciate you dropping by and giving us more tips. Blessings, E

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  15. Edie, Thanks so much for this insightful blog post. I am forwarding your post to my coworkers, as we are in the process of developing a blog. Plus, I am in the process of reformatting my personal blogs...so the timing was great. Thanks again!

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    1. Kim thank you for your kind comments. I'm so glad to have connected with you through Susan Stilwell's blog. You are an amazing woman and have so much wisdom to share! Blessings, Edie

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  16. These are great, Edie. Helping Jamie has made me re-think a lot of things, and not just blogging.

    Thanks for the instruction on fonts and colors. Can't stress those enough :)

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    1. Susan, thanks for stopping by. I know you and I are both on a crusade to make blogs and blogging more accessible in many ways. I keep referring folks to your www.blogmamsusan.blogspot.com site. It has so many valuable resources. Blessings, E

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  17. Edie, I've never thought about this! Thank you so much!

    Blessings!
    Dianne

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  18. Dianne, thanks for stopping by and thanks especially for the shout out on Facebook! Blessings, E

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  19. Hi,

    Thank you for digging in and going the extra distance to make your blog more accessible. I am blind, and your observations are pretty right on.

    You're right about the word verification issue. This is a huge topic with only a few clumsy solutions for us. You may have seen an audible option if the visitor wants to skip the graphic image verification, but these are almost always a joke. You should try listening to one of them sometime!

    FYI, Edie, I had no trouble accessing your blog and entering this comment. Oh, another item sometimes causing problems are banners or any kind of rotating/moving part of the screen. These kind of things drive our screen reader software crazy, and can often make a site inaccessible.

    Thanks again for your thoughtfulness!

    Please, feel free to drop me a note if you, or anyone, would like to discuss this some more. Contact me at: dab007@comcast.net

    Dave Bond
    www.authordavidbond.com

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    1. Dave, thank you so much for your input and your confirmation on what I've done so far. It means a great deal. Thanks also for reminding us about the rotating banners. Blessings, E

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  20. Thank you thank you thank you! Some wonderful suggestions here. I appreciate it very much and will share it.

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    1. Thank you for stopping by and taking the time to comment. Blessings, E

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  21. Thank you, Edie. You had things to teach me, even though I have poor eyesight and am more tuned to these types of problems than many people.

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    1. Valerie, Thank you for chiming in. I appreciate your feedback and confirmation. Blessings, E

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  22. Thanks, Edie. Very helpful and I am glad you brought it to the forefront.

    Can't wait to check my color choices

    Jeanne

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  23. I am a volunteer for a local charity working with the visually impaired people. Has anybody got any help or advice they can offer to help me; and do they know any good computer hardware and software that is suitable.

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