Where It's AT – Assistive Technology Blog

Form Fields Without Visible Labels Sometimes form fields, such as a search text box, do not have visible label text. In order to be accessible, these fields must have descriptive text provided in one of two ways: Use the title attribute in place of a label. If a form field has a title, but no […]

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Use Links and Buttons Appropriately Links and buttons can be scripted to perform various functions. In general, buttons should only be used when form data is being submitted or when other in-page elements are being controlled or manipulated. Links, on the other hand, should be used when a context change will occur for the user […]

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Button Text Buttons should have descriptive and succinct values or text that describe the function of that form button. Like “click here” links, ambiguous button text (such as “Go” or “Submit”) requires the user to scan before the button to determine precisely what the button does. Descriptive text such as “Search”, “Subscribe”, etc. are unambiguous […]

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Web Accessibility and SEO Web accessibility and search engine optimization (SEO) are both about getting relevant content to users. Accessible content and search engine optimized content are both machine readable. Accessibility and SEO best practices are closely aligned. Proper alternative text for images, good heading structure, descriptive link text, descriptive and succinct page titles, ensuring […]

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Requiring JavaScript Some advanced web applications would not be possible without JavaScript. Both Section 508 and WCAG 2.0 allow JavaScript to be required so long as the JavaScript content and interactions are compliant and accessible. Whether you should require JavaScript is not really an accessibility question. It is a general usability question. Some users (most […]

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Avoid Screen Reader “Freak Out” Modern screen readers are able to read dynamic, scripted content updates within a web page. However, if the content a screen reader is currently reading or focused on changes or is removed/hidden from the page, the screen reader “freaks out” due to this loss of focus, and typically reverts focus […]

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