Flash site for the visually impaired

hassert

Hey,
I have to make an e-voting site for a project. The site has to be made in Flash and has to cater for the visually impaired. Does anyone know the guidelines or have any suggestions to help people with disabilities on the web?
Thanx

damnyanks

Google Usability (Spelling?)

Nacob Neilson (Spelling once more) in particular. He is working / bought out by macromedia last I saw. So check www.macromedia.com as well

Enygma

Check out the WAI guidelines on www.w3c.org
I wouldn't think it would have much on Flash though as that in itself isn't considered accessible for disabled users. But if you're just doing something for the visually impaired you should be ok.

You can also get tools such as Bobby to check the accessibility rating of a website.

Enygma

Also if it's an official government website, AFAIK it needs to have a certain level of WAI compliance.

tomED

Macromedia have done a lot to make Flash accessbile in recent years. There is a whole section on it at http://www.macromedia.com/macromedia/accessibility/features/flash/

Macromedia's aim is to comply with US Section 508 - which is far less restrictive and more realistic than WCAG 1.0

I can't agree with Enygma when he says that flash isn't considered accessible, if developed properly, it can be. Accessibility isn't about your html code, it's about what you can do to help a disabled user to access the same content as an able bodied person.

The html code you see with the guidlines are tips on how to improve your html to enable disabled people to get around. Bobby can only do so much as it checks code and not the physical use of a pc.

The w3c developing their WCAG 2.0 which are a lot less restrictive and make much more sense than WCAG 1.0. They are similar to Section 508 but a little more in depth.

WCAG 2.0 will take the bull that WCAG 1.0 was filled with and make a lot more sense to web application development moving forward.

Government sites do need to pass some level of WCAG 1.0 - as will every company in the future, particularly in europe.

I you need to sell it to them, sell it like that. Show them how you could get round the website if you just had a keyboard, or use a screen reader to show them how a visually impaird person could still get round the site.

Passing priority one isn't that difficult going by bobby, and doesn't make a huge difference to the users experience, if you can show them how your methods will improve the users experience - i think that would sell it to them more! but thats just the way i work!

Tom

Enygma

Didn't realise Flash had come on that much. Disregard the above.

yellum

Originally posted by damnyanks

Nacob Neilson (Spelling once more) in particular.

Jakob Nielsen

www.useit.com

damnyanks

Lol sorry....

Knew it was Jacob something or other. Just a bad typo

the Guru

get intouch with the guys from www.connect.ie they will able to point you in the right directiuon of designing for the disabled on the internet

tricky D

Also if it's an official government website, AFAIK it needs to have a certain level of WAI compliance.

Ideally that's true, they have excellent guidelines for accessibility pretty much from WAI and why not. Unfortunately almost none of the sites come close to making enough effort in implementing them. Inaccessible pdfs (no tagging or reflowing) were flagged recently, but most fall down due to layout by tables, no accesskeys, no use of media properties in stylesheets to tailor functionality for aural/braille readers, bad alt tagging... The list is long but failure in these four areas usually suggests a site is inaccessible. A quick look at the source for a site gives it away.

There's also a helluva lot of snakeoil being bandied about and most experts only talk the talk, so don't believe a word. Check for yourself by getting hold of some screen readers, asking for a blind person or someone mobility impairment to review your work especially if its Flash your dealing with as most Flash developers will not have done accessible stuff yet.

hth
\r

tomED

Originally posted by tricky D
There's also a helluva lot of snakeoil being bandied about and most experts only talk the talk, so don't believe a word. Check for yourself by getting hold of some screen readers, asking for a blind person or someone mobility impairment to review your work especially if its Flash your dealing with as most Flash developers will not have done accessible stuff yet.

hth
\r

Absolutely!! This is the only way you can really check if a site is really accessible.

One thing I hate about websites who proclaim to be accessible, are the ones that provide a link to alternative page or section!!

In the guidelines for accessibility of buildings its a must that a disabled person can enter a building in the sameway an able bodied person can.

I believe the same should be true for websites!!!
Just because you're disabled, doesn't mean you should have to enter the back door as such!

Anyway, thats me ranting, kind of off topic at this stage!

Tom