The purpose of building a website or an application is to make it accessible to everyone. However, it is only sometimes possible due to web applications’ lack of front-end components.
Developers use several techniques and tools to develop accessible front-end components for users. It makes the navigation process easy for the users and increases the sites’ UI. The website should have a high readability score to engage all users.
Here are a few popular accessibility front-end components developers use to make their websites user-centric.
Accessible Front-End Components
1: Accessible Focus Indicators
Focus indicators are the navigation tools. When a user opens a document using a mouse, he views the mouse’s position through a cursor on the screen. So he can easily navigate where exactly he is on the site.
Similarly, It is common for the mouse cursor to stop working while working on a website. Their equivalent of a mouse cursor is usually hidden on too many websites, making navigation nearly impossible.
The focus indicator is the keyboard equivalent of the cursor. We can make our products more accessible to keyboard users as well as users of assistive technology, for example, voice control, mouth sticks, etc. Also, read about UI Grid Layout Design.
2: Accessible Autocomplete
Creating an accessible autocomplete experience for users is a must for the website detailing large data like maps, countries, etc. A combo box is an autocomplete input field with a popover list box.
The list box contains options from which a user can choose the value for the combo box, and it is frequently filtered to show possible matches to the user’s current input text.
A button next to the input field is used to switch the open state of the popover list box. You may be familiar with a combo box, such as the search bar on Google.
3: Accessible Links
A link with a non-null href will have focus and respond to keyboard input, whereas a link without a href will not. When adding JavaScript functionality, developers frequently add a> tags with non-null hrefs, but what about keyboard users?
A keyboard user cannot move the mouse over everything. You’d need to include something for a focus event, such as an Enter. Links should make logical sense out of the framework because keyboard users can tab from link to link. few Links like “Click here!” are particularly inaccessible for keyboard users.
Furthermore, some websites have a lot of navigation links at the top of their pages before the main content, which can take time to navigate through. Providing a navigation link to jump to the main content in one go can greatly improve the experience for keyboard users.
4: Media Accessibility
If you’re developing a site with a lot of media, make sure it’s easily accessible. For example, PDFs and files with tags make their use easy for screen readers. Similarly, audio and video should include captions to make them understandable for the users.
That is why when you are uploading a video to YouTube, double-check the auto-generated captions and alt text.
5: Add ALT Attribute For Images
Alt attribute makes the images accessible to all users. For images, the alt attribute should be used. It allows people who cannot see or use a screen reader to comprehend the image. That is also useful for people who disable images due to a lack of channel capacity and makes the images accessible to search engines.
Screen readers pronounce it as “image” if no alt attribute is provided. The alt text should be as detailed as possible. It should be able to describe the actual image’s content. Also, read Best Image Optimization Tools.
6: Use Semantic HTML
Using semantic HTML elements in code makes it readable for all users. A semantic element is a web page structure that provides the browser and developer meaning. For starters, code written with semantic elements is easier to read and understand than code written with non-semantic elements.
Screen readers and other assistive technologies will be able to provide the user with more information about the element.
7: Accessible Carousels And Content Sliders
A carousel or slider is a content display paradigm in which a list of related content items is presented as a horizontal slideshow in panels. The “next” and “previous” arrow buttons navigate the slideshow.
Sighted users perceive carousel content as a series of panels typically navigated using arrow buttons. The important interaction for a non-sighted person is the ability to tab through each item.
8: Screen Readers
While developing a website, developers must consider users who need help reading the screen due to numerous issues like being visually impaired and illiterate. These users need help navigating the website. Screen readers are helpful here. It is the technology that assists the users in understanding the screen content.
Screen readers convert text into audible or sensual outcomes by reading it aloud or sending it to a braille keyboard. Some screen readers also use page markers to assist users in navigating the page layout. Because screen readers do not interpret the styling they encounter, we must provide additional information about the content.
9: Automating Accessibility Testing
We may overlook an alt attribute or a heading structure, rendering it inaccessible. These issues can arise as we shift our focus and move into production. As a result, it is preferable to test it earlier to rule out any errors. AccessLint, a GitHub app, is here to prevent this from happening by incorporating automated web accessibility testing into your development workflow.
When you create a new pull request or make changes to an existing one, AccessLint automatically reviews the changes. It will once comment if it finds any new accessibility issues before the code is deployed. Also, read about Modern Web Design.
Final Words
If you were looking for accessibility components, you should be happy now. When a developer begins working on a website, the first goal is accessibility. There is something important you should remember; that you should keep up with these technologies. As all assistive technologies evolve, it brings new opportunities for developers to upgrade their websites.
Learning new skills will assist you in improving your content and making it more user-friendly. These assistive tools are used to make website content accessible to all users. So, remember to test all new code before publishing it.
