Guideline 10. Use interim solutions.

Use interim accessibility solutions so that assistive technologies and older browsers will operate correctly. For example, older browsers do not allow users to navigate to empty edit boxes. Older screen readers read lists of consecutive links as one link. These active elements are therefore difficult or impossible to access. Also, changing the current window or popping up new windows can be very disorienting to users who cannot see that this has happened.

Guideline 9. Design for device-independence.

Use features that enable activation of page elements via a variety of input devices. Device-independent access means that the user may interact with the user agent or document with a preferred input (or output) device — mouse, keyboard, voice, head wand, or other. If, for example, a form control can only be activated with a mouse or other pointing device, someone who is using the page without sight, with voice input, or with a keyboard or who is using some other non-pointing input device will not be able to use the form.

Guideline 8. Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces.

Ensure that the user interface follows principles of accessible design: device-independent access to functionality, keyboard operability, self-voicing, etc.

When an embedded object has its “own interface”, the interface — like the interface to the browser itself — must be accessible. If the interface of the embedded object cannot be made accessible, an alternative accessible solution must be provided.

Guideline 7. Ensure user control of time-sensitive content changes.

Ensure that moving, blinking, scrolling, or auto-updating objects or pages may be paused or stopped. Some people with cognitive or visual disabilities are unable to read moving text quickly enough or at all. Movement can also cause such a distraction that the rest of the page becomes unreadable for people with cognitive disabilities. Screen readers are unable to read moving text. People with physical disabilities might not be able to move quickly or accurately enough to interact with moving objects.

Guideline 6. Ensure that pages featuring new technologies transform gracefully.

Ensure that pages are accessible even when newer technologies are not supported or are turned off. Although content developers are encouraged to use new technologies that solve problems raised by existing technologies, they should know how to make their pages still work with older browsers and people who choose to turn off features.

Checkpoints:

Guideline 5. Create tables that transform gracefully.

Ensure that tables have necessary markup to be transformed by accessible browsers and other user agents. Tables should be used to mark up truly tabular information (“data tables”). Content developers should avoid using them to lay out pages (“layout tables”). Tables for any use also present special problems to users of screen readers (refer to checkpoint 10.3).

Guideline 4. Clarify natural language usage.

Use markup that facilitates pronunciation or interpretation of abbreviated or foreign text. When content developers mark up natural language changes in a document, speech synthesizers and braille devices can automatically switch to the new language, making the document more accessible to multilingual users. Content developers should identify the predominant natural language of a document’s content (through markup or HTTP headers). Content developers should also provide expansions of abbreviations and acronyms.

Guideline 3. Use markup and style sheets and do so properly.

Mark up documents with the proper structural elements. Control presentation with style sheets rather than with presentation elements and attributes.

2. Don’t rely on color alone.

Ensure that text and graphics are understandable when viewed without color. If color alone is used to convey information, people who cannot differentiate between certain colors and users with devices that have non-color or non-visual displays will not receive the information. When foreground and background colors are too close to the same hue, they may not provide sufficient contrast when viewed using monochrome displays or by people with different types of color deficits. Checkpoints:

Guideline 1. Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content.

Provide content that, when presented to the user, conveys essentially the same function or purpose as auditory or visual content.