Web accessibility - WCAG model
A FEW WORDS
ABOYT WEB ACCESSIBILITY
Web
accessibility aims at enabling all users to have equal access to information and functionalities on
the web. More specifically, web accessibility means that people with all abilities and disabilities can
perceive, understand, navigate and interact with the Web.
Accessibility of digital information is a technically and legally
ensured right in national and international level.*.
Web accessibility benefits people without disabilities too (the
elderly, injured etc). The main principle of web accessibility is the design of flexible software, in order
to satisfy a great variety of needs, preferences and user behaviors.
It is important to cover all forms of disabilities that may affect
the navigation:
-
Visual: font size adjustment & color combinations, alternative text for images, text to speech
conversion
-
Acoustic: Alternative text for audio files and video.
-
Physical: Navigation using only the keyboard or only the mouse.
-
Cognitive – mental: Plain & simplified content layout.
Using international technical standards, the accessibility bar
“Eucleides” offers the above possibilities, providing new navigation possibilities for people with
disabilities, covering some of their needs.
*
a) OHE: Convention on Rights for people with disability
b) Ε.Ε.: 1083/2006/ΕΚ
c) Greece: Ν.4074/2012, N. 3979/2011
d) W3C: WCAG 2.0.
WEB ACCESSIBILITY
BAR USER GUIDE
The accessibility bar "Eucleides" is activated or deactivated by
clicking the realative icon or by pressing the "0" button. Hovering the mouse for 2 seconds above each icon,
will display details for the corresponding functionality. The bar consists of four (4) menu:
-
Information
- User guide
The user guide describes all the
functionality and choices of the accessibility bar. It is enabled and disabled by clicking the
corresponding icon or the "5" button.
- Information
A quick view for the web
accessibility.
- Send feedback
Send us your comments from your
experience of using the accessibility bar.
-
Page shortcuts
- Navigate through TAB
Use the tab button to highlight and
navigate through the variant spots of intrest of the webpage (links, buttons, input fields etc).
Choose them by pressing the "Enter" button as an alternative for the left click. The first
navigation elements are those of the accesibility bar.
- Keyboard shortcuts
Enable or disable some of the bar
functionality through sortcuts from the keyboard.Navigate to the webpages of the site
through shortcuts from the keyboard.
- Website structure
All the main parts of the webpage
(header, menu, section, form, footer) are automatically listed here. You can navigate to them by
clicking the corresponding underlined element. All the headers of the webpage (h1, h2,
h3, h4, h5, h6) are automatically listed here. You can navigate to them by clicking the
corresponding underlined element.
- Links
All website links are automatically
listed here. They are grouped into two categories: Internal and external. External links
deliberately open in the same tab, not in a new one.
-
Ανάγνωση σελίδας
- Text to speech
Click the "play" icon and then click the text you want to hear. Click the “Stop” icon
or the “Escape” button to stop. The text that is about to be read
cannot exceed 2000 characters.
- Change contrast
The webpage can be displayed in high
contrast mode (white letters, yellow headers and white underlined links on black background) or
decolorized, in shades of gray. The high contrast functionality is enabled by clicking the icon
or by pressing the "3" button. It is disabled from the
reset icon or by pressing the "4" button. The grayscale functionality it is
enabled from the icon or the keyboard button "3" (shortcut). It is disabled by
clicking the reset icon or the keyboard shortcut "3.
- Font size
Increase the font size of every element
of the webpage by 2 pixels by clicking the icon or the keyboard button "1" (shortcut). Restore to default
by clicking the corresponding reset icon or by pressing "2" button.
- Highlight text
Highlight the text you are reading by
passing your mouse through each word. This text will appear on yellow background; If high
contrast is enabled, text will appear on blue background. Stop highlighting process by clicking
the highlight button again. Remove all highlight background by clicking the reset button.
-
Settings
When the icons are highlighted with
yellow color, it means that the corresponding functionality that is enabled, stored and is
executed every time the page loads.
- Settings information
Read some more information about your
preferences on the accessibility bar.
- Reset settings
The page is reloaded, all of your
preferences are removed and the accessibility bar is restored to default.