[jaws-uk] Re: Wiltshire Farm Foods website

Matthew,

        Apologies for arriving late to this thread. I hope the folowing will
help.


        Firstly, it's worth saying well done. The Wiltshire Farm Foods
website is a good example of accessible web design. It's still reasonably
rare to find a site that's put this much thought into things.

        You've got headings throughout the site. Better still, you've got
them dropping sequentially from one level to the next. Apart from providing
a neat way of skimming a page for relevant information, headings also help
screen reader users build up a picture of the relative importance of
information on the page.

        The site is coded very well too. A very minor point is that the
target="" attribute is no longer valid with an XHTML 1.0 Strict DTD. In
itself, this isn't a showstopper, but generally it's better not to cause
windows to popup at all. Most people will actively try and block popups and
they can cause difficulty for access tech users who may not realise a window
has opened up unexpectedly.

        The fact you have lists marked up correctly is great. As with
headings and many other HTML elements, screen readers often provide shortcut
keys to allow the user to move from one element to the next. Encoding the
main navigation in this way provides another neat shortcut for navigating
easily around the page and finding blocks of information such as the
navigation more easily.

        You've used access keys throughout the site, which brings up an
interesting point. To say there is controversy about access keys would be an
understatement. The intention behind providing them is always good, the
trouble is that in practice they're a little bit tricky.

        There's a link to an article below, which covers the whole topic.
Essentially though, there are two problems with access keys: They often
override existing browser shortcut commands and they are an extra set of
commands for a user to remember.

http://www.nomensa.com/resources/articles/accessibility-articles/access-keys
.html

        You've got several access keys which override existing browser
keyboard commands. For example, Alt f is the IE shortcut for reaching the
File menu. Alt e, is the IE shortcut for reaching the Edit menu and so on.

        You've got labels correctly associated with your form controls. This
is a definite plus, as it's that association that enables a screen reader to
inform the user accurately what should go into the form field. Definitely a
very welcome aspect of the site.

        As I say, hope some of this helps. If you have any questions, ask
away.

Regards,
Léonie.



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