WCAG2 & WAI-ARIA

Meeting Accessibility Standards

If you’re engaged in online commerce, you need to make sure you’re meeting all regulatory guidelines and standards for website accessibility. But that’s sometimes easier said than done. Because regulations, online users, and technology are all subject to change, it’s sometimes hard to know what to do at any point in time. That’s why at Mile7 our UI experts stay on top of the latest in accessibility standards. We’re savvy about best practices, know the various regulations, and can help ensure you stay within the guidelines — and out of trouble. Professional expertise in both accessibility and usability gives Mile7 the well-rounded technical and legal perspective required by today’s online communicators.

WCAG2

For many years, Section 508 was used as the definitive guideline for accessibility. However, in December 2008 the 2.0 version of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) was released, representing the next generation of accessibility standards.

If any of the below WCAG 2.0 principles are not true for your online application, users with disabilities will not be able to access your site:

  1. Perceivable – Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive. In other words, it can’t be invisible to all of their senses.
  2. Operable – User interface components and navigation must be operable. The interface cannot require interaction that a user cannot perform.
  3. Understandable – Information and the operation of user interface must be understandable. The content or operation cannot beyond their understanding.
  4. Robust – Content must be robust enough that it can be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. As technologies and user agents evolve, the content should remain accessible.

Plus, under each WCAG 2.0 guideline “Success Criteria” describe specifically what must be achieved in order to conform to this standard.

It might sound complicated, but it's our problem to solve, not yours. Mile7 is well-versed in applying all regulatory guidelines. Best of all, your web content will be more usable to a wider range of customers.

WAI-ARIA

Certain functionality used in websites is not available to some users with disabilities, especially people who rely on screen readers and people who cannot use a mouse. WAI-ARIA, the Accessible Rich Internet Applications suite, addresses these accessibility challenges by defining new ways for functionality to be provided to assistive technology. It especially helps with dynamic content and advanced user interface controls developed with Ajax, HTML, JavaScript, and related technologies.

With WAI-ARIA, developers can make advanced web applications accessible and usable to people with disabilities. More specifically, WAI-ARIA provides a framework for adding attributes to identify features for user interaction, how they relate to each other, and their current state.

Here again, the team of accessibility experts at Mile7 know and understand the WAI-ARIA guidelines. We can help ensure your application meets expected accessibility standards, effectively extending your customer reach.