Responsive Design and Accessibility

1. Hans Hillen (TPG) Responsive Design and Accessibility

2. Material for this Course • www.paciellogroup.com/training/CSUN2013/responsiveor:tinyurl.com/csun13-responsive • Links will be sent by email after the workshop Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

3. In This Workshop: • Introduction to Mobile Accessibility • Introduction to Responsive Design • How Responsive Design influences Accessibility • Color, Sizing and Reading Order • Supporting Screen Readers • Guidelines and Testing Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

4. Training Objectives • Understand how people with disabilities use mobile devices and the barriers they typically face • Understand some of the techniques used to build accessible mobile sites • Learn what to test for and how to do so • Note: This training does not cover accessibility in native mobile apps, and we will be focusing on the main two platforms: iOS and Android Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

5. Introduction to Mobile Accessibility Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

6. What is mobile? • Not just phones… all portable electronics • Tablets, games consoles, TVs, etc. • More users: cheaper technology reduces Digital Divide • Native apps • Software written for specific mobile devices and their operating systems and hardware features • Note: May incorporate web content • Mobile Web • Sites and applications built for viewing on mobile browsers • Note: Feature gap to native apps is narrowing due to standards such as HTML5and ARIA Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

7. What is mobile accessibility? • Making a website or application more accessible to people with disabilities using mobile devices • The basics are the same as on desktop: • Alternatives: images, audio, video • Labeling: form controls, headings, buttons • Good structure: landmarks, lists, heading levels • Use native controls where possible • Content order Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

8. Mobile AccessibilityWho are we talking about? • Diverse user model – 4 main user groups: • Vision • Hearing • Mobility • Cognitive and learning • Assistive technology users • Speech output (screen readers) or braille output (Bluetooth braille displays) • Voice input • Magnification • Access services users • Captions • Subtitles • Audio description • Sign language interpretation Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

9. Mobile AccessibilityWho are we talking about? (continued) • Hidden disabilities • Chronic fatigue • Photo sensitivity • Mental health • Aging • Spans various disabilities and user groups • Often first-time users • Note: Older people, like young children, find primary solid color easier to see and draw meaning from than pastel colors, etc. Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

10. Mobile AccessibilityWho are we talking about? (continued) • Temporary • Broken wrist • Repetitive strain injury • Tiredness • Cultural • Language • Color and iconography • Technology • Connectivity, data limitations, etc. • Particular software and hardware requirements or preferences • mobileaccessibility.info Device Details Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

11. Mobile AccessibilityWho are we talking about? (continued) • Shared web experiences • Common ground between mainstream users and users with disabilities • Comparable to temporary disability (in the car, at concerts, walking) • http://www.w3.org/WAI/mobile/experiences • Empathy • Accessibility is about understanding people and the barriers that they face. • Getting your own experience of accessibility helps you to put yourself in the shoes of others and keep accessibility in mind when building and testing your sites and applications Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

12. Mobile AccessibilityConstraints of a mobile environment Mobile by definition is disabling for all… • Small screen • iPhone is 1/12 of a typical desktop screen • 40-pixel finger is big on small targets • Can be hard to reach some parts of the screen • Small text sizes • is like having low vision • Small input devices • Eyes-free usage • e.g. in car • is like being blind Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

13. Mobile AccessibilityConstraints of a mobile environment (continued) Mobile by definition is disabling for all… • Reliant on touch • Not as usable in the rain • Need to use special gloves • One-handed usage • Low light • Connectivity • Data limitations Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

14. Mobile AccessibilityCapabilities of a mobile environment • Better integrated accessibility than desktop • Location and direction • Camera and augmented reality • Accelerometer and screen orientation • Touch screen • Proximity (NFC) • Environmental awareness (light/dark conditions) Possibilities! Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

15. Mobile AccessibilityEnabling features and innovations • FaceTime used by the deaf • Custom vibrations as ringtone equivalents • Speeches given using iPad with Proloquo • HueVue app that helps color blind people identify colors • Braille: • V-B-Reader app (Android) that enables Braille to be read using vibrating touch screens • Touch-screen Braille writer • Innovative assistive technology that’s useful to all users! • Apple’s Siri voice recognition • Google Voice’s voicemail transcription • Custom vibrations on iPhone and Android Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

16. Mobile AccessibilityHow do people with disabilities use mobile devices? Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

17. Mobile AccessibilityHow do people with disabilities use mobile devices? Two main interaction methods • Explore by touch • Drag finger over screen • Items under your finger are described by screen reader • Double tap to open/activate • Gesture navigation Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

18. Mobile AccessibilityHow do people with disabilities use mobile devices? Two main interaction methods • Explore by touch • Gesture navigation • Swipe right/left moves focus to next/previous content in sequence • Items are described by screen reader as focus moves • Double tap to open/activate Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

19. Mobile AccessibilityThe current situation • iOSaccessibility features and API are more mature • Android devices have some good accessibility features and Google are working to improve • Current market share favors iOSand Android devices over other vendors • Other mobile platforms: • BlackBerry: Curve smartphones have free BlackBerry Screen Reader. Good information on their site. • Symbian: Phones have accessibility features, including text-to-speech, but platform currently has no accessibility API. • Windows Phone 8: Phones appears to have accessibility features but no accessibility API. Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

20. Techniques for Mobile Accessibility Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

21. Techniques for mobile accessibilityDevelopment strategy Principles of accessibility for the Mobile Web: • Use progressive enhancement • Use a responsive design approach • Use web standards as intended • Support native accessibility settings and assistive technology for your target platforms Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

22. Techniques for mobile accessibilityDevelopment strategy • Use progressive enhancement • Build for lowest common denominator device • Use feature detection over browser detection – not all devices have the same levels of support for the same features • Some devices have better support for ARIA and HTML5 by the browser and assistive technology, and color palettes and fonts in the operating system • Even some basic HTML4 (e.g. the title attribute) is not supported in the same way as it is on desktop • Note: In this training, we are talking about the Mobile Web with an emphasis on iOS. All techniques discussed are supported by iOS, but some platforms may not Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

23. Techniques for mobile accessibilityResponsive design • Use a responsive design approach • We want content and functionality to adapt to the mobile interface • Leverages CSS 3 media queries to enhance fluid layouts • No need to maintain two codebases – one for desktop, one for mobile • Can be built to principles of progressive enhancement • Build for “mobile first” – focus on content and small screen then build up • May be improved with JavaScript enhancements • Screens of 320-pixel width are typical but not guaranteed • More later on testing sites that use responsive design • Guidelines for Responsive Web Design • Responsive Web Design by Ethan Marcotte Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

24. Techniques for mobile accessibilityDevelopment strategy • Use web standards as intended • Accessibility is already “baked in” (along with interoperability for browsers, platforms and assistive technology) • Build core content using HTML, preferably HTML5 • For example, code a button as a <button> rather than a styled link. Screen readers announce the trait of an element before reading the accessible name (link text/label/text alternative). Users expect a link to open a resource and a button to carry out an action. It can be confusing when these are misused. • Prefer standard control elements over custom implementations • Enhance content with CSS, WAI-ARIA (for OS-like controls), etc. Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

25. Techniques for mobile accessibilityDevelopment strategy • Mobile support for WAI-ARIA Source: http://caniuse.com/#feat=wai-aria Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

26. Techniques for mobile accessibilityDevelopment strategy • Support native accessibility settings and assistive technology for your target platforms • Examples: • Pinch zoom should not be suppressed • In iOS, you can select text and have it announced (Settings > General > Accessibility > Speak Selection), so: • Use text over images of text • Support text selection: suppressing the ability to copy/paste text also suppresses the ability to speak selection Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

27. Techniques for mobile accessibilityForms • Inputting text, numbers, email addresses, URLs, search terms, etc. • Difficult using touch in general • Especially hard for low vision, mobility or blind users • Often people revert to Siri and voice input • Support predictive search (autocomplete widget) • Useful for dyslexics • Replace free input with more helpful controls • Drop downs, radio buttons, etc. • Enhance using HTML5 input types Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

28. Techniques for mobile accessibilityForms • HTML5 input types • Contextual keyboards in iOS with useful buttons (Previous, Next, Autofill) helps users to avoid mistakes • Degrade gracefully to text input elements • Supported in Mobile Safari and Webkit (Android) • Can use alternative JavaScript widgets as a fallback • HTML5 support, solutions and workarounds Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

29. Techniques for mobile accessibilityCode validation • Valid HTML is important • Well formatted code is generally a good idea as it ensures robustness when software needs to work with HTML • Use the W3C Validation Service: http://validator.w3.org/ • Not all validation errors are relevant to ensuring accessibility • You can filter results for accessibility using the Web Accessibility Toolbar or bookmarklet • Use Nu Markup Validation Service with this tool:http://validator.w3.org/nu/ Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

30. Introduction to Responsive Design Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

31. What is Responsive Design • "Responsive web design (often abbreviated to RWD) is a web design approach aimed at crafting sites to provide an optimal viewing experience—easy reading and navigation with a minimum of resizing, panning, and scrolling—across a wide range of devices (from desktop computer monitors to mobile phones)."Wikipedia Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

32. But What is It Really Though • Basically, responsive design means MEDIA QUERIES @media screen and (min-width: 980px) { /* desktop */ } @media screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 979px) { /* tablet (portrait) */ } @media screen and (max-width: 767px) { /* mobile (landscape) */ } @media screen and (max-width: 479px) { /* mobile (portrait)*/ } Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

33. Support for Media Queries • Supported in all modern browsers • In desktop as well as mobile space • but not in IE8 (Leave it! Don't try to hack) • http://caniuse.com/css-mediaqueries Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

34. How Responsive Design Influences Accessibility

35. WHEN IN DOUBT: • General accessibility rules still apply in responsive design! • Follow WCAG 2.0: • Provide proper labeling, descriptions, and text alternatives • Ensure text is scalable, avoid using images of text • Maintain a logical reading and tab order • Ensure color contrast is sufficient, indicate focus programmatically and visually • Use semantic markup • Ensure content is keyboard accessible Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

36. Which Space to Support • "Why can't we just limit the responsive behavior to mobile devices?" • "Why do we have to support keyboard accessibility on mobile devices? That's a desktop thing!"-- Some angry designers in my past • What do you think the advantage is of responsive design on a desktop screen? Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

37. Responsive on Desktop • Ideal for screen magnifier users • Ideal for low vision users • Ideal for cognitively impaired users • Ideal for motor impaired users • So…Responsive is for mobile only? I think not! Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

38. Color and Size

39. Color Contrast • As a responsive page is modified between responsive break points, foreground may overlap background differently • This can cause color contrast issues that were not present in the desktop version of a page. • Testers: Keep on top of your designers! Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

40. Example of Responsive Color Contrast Issue Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

41. Color Contrast Solution • For risky resolutions, modify the background or foreground to avoid the issue Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

42. Text Size / Zooming • I prefer zoom over text-only resize over in page sizing controls • These days browsers apply proper text scaling as part of zooming • Supporting browser zooming is sufficient for WCAG 2.0 compliance • Browser zooming is easier to support for developers, and less disruptive for the existing layout • Make RWD work for you: Increase of text size / zoom level should trigger responsive switch! • This already happens automatically in some browsers, but will have to be applied manually in others Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

43. Supporting Screen Readers

44. Reading Order Problem • Responsive design resizes, reflows and modifies content (no problem here yet) • In some cases, the visual order of content is rearranged, while the structural order is not • While the CSS layout changes, the underlying HTML stays the same • Negative side effects: • Structural content order no longer matches visual layout order • Inconsistencies in visual order across responsive layouts are likely to cause confusion with end users Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

45. Problem Example 780px 480px Search comes before menu Search now comes before menu 320px Login button now comes before both Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

46. People Affected • Sighted keyboard users: • Expect to traverse focusable elements in the UI in the same order as the visual layout of the page • Screen reader users: • Will find it more difficult to follow instructions by sighted people (e.g. “Click the second button to log in...”) • Screen magnifier users: • Will have more difficulty navigating with high magnification factors (as the order changes depending on viewport size) • Cognitively impaired users (and all users, really): • Depend on consistency for a good user experience Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

47. Applicable WCAG 2.0 Success Criteria • Section 508 refresh will require compliance with: • 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence: When the sequence in which content is presented affects its meaning, a correct reading sequence can be programmatically determined. (Level A) • 2.4.3 Focus Order: If a Web page can be navigated sequentially and the navigation sequences affect meaning or operation, focusable components receive focus in an order that preserves meaning and operability. (Level A) • 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation: Navigational mechanisms that are repeated on multiple Web pages within a set of Web pages occur in the same relative order each time they are repeated, unless a change is initiated by the user. (Level AA) Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

48. Solution • It’s fine to resize, reflow, filter and modify… • as long as the order of content stays consistent: • visually • and in the document structure Search field and menu always stay in the same order, even on smaller screens Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

49. Use of ARIA in Responsive Design • ARIA is supposed to be supported on mobile devices as well • IOS does a good job, but as usual support is by no means complete • Webkit on mobile is not necessarily the same as webkit on Desktop (accessibility wise) Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013

50. Notifying Screen Readers • In some cases, a responsive switch may cause more than just a layout reflow. • Content can be filtered out • Interactive controls may change into different types of UI • For example, a group of links may change into a dropdown button • For a screen reader user it may not be clear that this change occurs, • e.g. when a window resizes or a tablet's orientation changes because the user holds it differently. • In this case: Notify the user! • For example, a live region update "The content on this page has been updated based on a change in the browser window size" Responsive Design and Accessibility - CSUN 2013