What are the different accessibility standards?

Accessibility standards ensure that a specific website or application that has been built conforms to web accessibility guidelines. An accessible website is built keeping into account the disabled community also. Specific assistive technologies are used during the conduction of accessibility testing. Hence, the content, visuals, navigation, structure and format should be accessible to everyone, including disabled people. In this article, you learn to know about the different accessibility standards.

Following are the four essential accessibility standards:

The below four standards also apply to accessibility standards in Canada, as some users had queries about whether these standards are relevant for accessibility standards Canada or not.

1. Perceivable: Visitors must understand, perceive and be aware of the information and content presented on the website. Here “perceive” does not mean to see with one’s eye, as visually impaired people use the screen reader software. This software, converts the printed text into braille characters or synthesized speech.

1.1: Perceivable Web Accessibility Guidelines:

·       The content should be structured in an adaptable way: The HTML files are written in such a way that if there is a need to remove page styling, the structure and intended information should not be lost.

·       Content should be easy to hear and see: Color contrast should be utilized for visually impaired people so that the content can be read easily and visual information can be conveyed appropriately. Additionally, the background audio of the site should also be adjusted by the users.  

2. Operable: The user will not be disrupted in any way. Every part of the site’s functionality, from playing and pausing audio and video, to selecting a link from a menu, to navigating a page, can be utilized by the visitors. The most operable websites are straightforward, simple and ditch any excess functionality that obstructs users with limitations and disabilities.  

2.1: Operable web accessibility guidelines:

·       Users should be provided with proper navigation: Proper headings, a keyboard focus indicator, meaningful links and a clear page title all signal to user when they are on the site

·       All the functionalities should be easily accessible with a keyboard: Everyone cannot use a mouse, especially when it comes to disabled people. Hence, the entire website’s functionality should be effectively accessed by a keyboard.

3. Understandable: The website content, including both graphic design and written content, should be easily understood by the users. Not only is verbose, jumbled content a pressing issue for your users to interpret, but it also limits access to those people who do not understand your site’s specific language and also those with cognitive impairments and difficulties.

3.1: Understandable web accessibility guidelines:

·       The pages and site should be logically structured: When the site’s navigation and structure have been planned out, the pages and navigational links should be placed appropriately

·       Useful error messages should be written: Nobody is interested in receiving an error message. Hence, a clear description of the instruction and errors should be provided so visitors can correct their mistakes.

4. Robust: Visitors should be able to consume and interpret the site’s content easily. The HTML code should be written in such a way that the code can be parsed with assistive technologies without a visual reference.

4.1: Robust Web accessibility guidelines:

·       HTML code should be written in such a way that it can be parsed: Web page’s HTML file is often used by assistive technologies so that the content can be translated into a different format. For accessibility, this means avoiding duplicate IDs across elements. Start and end tags are used based on requirements and attributes are duplicated within the same HTML tag.

To obtain a strategic understanding of accessibility standards and protocols, connect with a reliable accessibility testing company that can provide organized solutions to help solve all your accessibility-related queries. TestingXperts is a renowned accessibility testing company that can provide exhaustive accessibility testing services. TestingXperts is a premium and globally recognized software testing services company. 

Conclusion: If you are looking forward to implementing accessibility testing for your specific project, get connected with a well-established software testing services company that will provide you with a comprehensive testing roadmap that will justify your project-specific requirements.