Close your eyes.Could you read this article? People who have a low or no disability rarely consider those who completely lack any capacity, such as vision or hearing .The Internet is increasingly audiovisual, and both pages Web as blogs frequently use images, videos and embedded fragments that make it difficult for blind or deaf people . Related
If we look for an inclusive website and a healthy Internet for all, we need to build it thinking of all people, and not only those with the "normal" label, statistical label to be constituted the majority of the population.Taking advantage of the fact that November 9, 2017 is World Usability Day, we tell you how we can adapt our websites and blogs to people with different abilities .
Adapt web and blogs for blind people
We have talked on occasion of the applications with which the blind read Twitter as a futuristic idea to transmit information.Destined to the web, there are plugins for WordPress that help to read the written text .However , these tend to slow down the page a lot, and it is recommended for blind or visually impaired people to make use of browser add-ons such as the Chrome Selection Reader or the Blind Screen Reader for Android.
Almost all operating systems already have their own accessibility mechanisms, and what is necessary is clear and clean text .If this is not the case, Orange works for accessibility from any device, enabling opensource like Orange Comfort +, which helps make the web a more comfortable place.
As editors, editors, webmasters or other web roles, it is our job to make these tools easier for you to do, making web browsing easier and the most accessible content .For example, let's think about a table in image format:
And its alternative in HTML:
Day
Today
Morning
Monday
Condition
Sunny
Mainly sunny
Partly cloudy
Temperature
19 ° C
17 ° C
12 ° C
Winds
E 13 km/h
E 11 km/h
S 16 km/h
Although the HTML format may seem cumbersome, both sighted and blind can use their data in a simple way (in addition to being exportable).An alternative to the use of images is to fill in the Alt and Title attributes of the photo, or comment on the bottom explaining the content.Image recognition systems for the blind promise to democratize access to information, but are not yet advanced enough to inform the blind of the content of the images.
In another example, the blind need to know where the comment field is to be able to comment and participate in social networks, while a seer identifies it quickly.In Nobbot we use the Disqus module on the one that can be easily read «Comments», so a text search takes us directly to the place we are looking for.
They also need that the links they click on open in the same window in which they are browsing.The option "open in a new window" can cause confusion and low usability, since depending on the browser and operating system it will be more or less easy to locate the new tab, or to know if the click has worked.
Another need is to write clearly and in order the different developments.While the seer can jump paragraphs and orientate easily, the blind person depends on an audio track or a text adapted to braille via hardware (image above).As some screen readers do not distinguish words in different formats such as titles, bold, italic, etc., it is necessary that the titles be clear and that the paragraphs be understood without need to be able to see visual styles.For example, using "English quotes" when you want to use irony or "Latin quotes" for textual quotes, among other uses.
Adapt web and blogs for people with deafness
Something easier for a text-based Internet is available to people with deafness, since they can access a good part of the content without the need for adaptation, but not the audios or videos, which depend on the same ones.This type of transcriptions is much more difficult than the screen reading for the blind, and the transcription software is not as developed in Spanish as in English.That said, they are slowly emerging.
It has been many years since the official website of TED Talks, under the title "ideas worth spreading", included the possibility of watching the video with subtitles or accessing the audio transcription , whose text is highlighted as the speaker speaks.These transcripts are not automatic, and have been written by professionals, so they are usually more accurate than embedded subtitles.
YouTube also allows the option of automatically generated subtitles , which in English work very well and in the rest of languages leave a lot to be desired.As editors of an uploaded video we can activate these subtitles, as well as include a track with format SRT with which to complement the video in different languages.
For example, in the video below we can choose up to six different languages (Chinese, French, Spanish, English, Italian and Portuguese), because their creators included those tracks for us, making the video more attractive not only to other languages , but to people with hearing problems.
Adapt content to low intellectual capacity
Probably the most difficult adaptation is that of lowering a complex language to a reduced intellectual level .Close expressions, reduction of metaphors, accessible language, short phrases...
Most blogs, with emphasis on those focused on a very specific niche, make use of a vocabulary that, although for the bulk of the population is accessible or at least known, for others is beyond their capabilities.We talk about abilities in general , not only people with brain disorders such as Down syndrome in a high degree or a disability caused by trauma.
A person with mild or very mild Down syndrome may have a web accessibility much greater than an older person with a disease considered normal for their age.Mental disability is a continuum of many degrees, and not a "white or black" type condition.
The use of expressions in English, for example, makes older people have more trouble understanding the content, and long sentences such as this example make people with low reading comprehension get lost, while who is accustomed to blogs or books finds them normal.
At this point there is a debate similar to what happens in the educational system: Do we lower the level of texts and content in general to a more childish stage, or do we segregate the content based on capacity? Both positions have their pros and cons, and ultimately depend on the editorial line of the blog and the segment it addresses.
While reducing the intellectual level runs the risk of making Internet users too poor and poor for the bulk of their users, makes it easier for all people to access the content .On the other hand, generating specific web pages for different capacities, it makes society partially divided, but for those who seek a more demanding intellectual level it is easier to maintain and develop it.
For those who have a low reading comprehension, the short sentences are perfect and attractive, but those who are accustomed to reading will flee from blogs that they use phrases of less than twenty words, as some SEO modules based on the English language propose (the previous one has 42 words, and it is not especially long).
Building a more accessible Internet is everyone's job the links we provide our grain of sand.Format the images and tables, make the text clear, allow the use of accessories or something so simple how to make it easier for the text to be selected (some websites cover this option), include subtitles or write in a more friendly way are some of the tools available.
Images | iStock/bowie15, iStock/zlikovec, iStock/karelnoppe, iStock/Wavebreakmedia
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