[macvoiceover] Re: Designing web pages for screen readers

the skip nav link is a hack at best and if it is used, it should be visible 
for it benefits other than blind if it even benefits them.  With today's 
screen readers, we don't need the skip nav link.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John J. Boyer" <john.boyer@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <macvoiceover@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, January 30, 2008 5:28 PM
Subject: [macvoiceover] Re: Designing web pages for screen readers


Greg,

To add to my previous comments, many websites for blind people have a
link at the very beginning to skip to main content. This is true of
Freedom Sciensific, bookshare.org and ViewPlus, for example. I think
this is a good compromise. The skip to main content link can even be
made invisible to sighted persons.

John

On Wed, Jan 30, 2008 at 04:15:08PM -0600, John J. Boyer wrote:
> Greg,
>
> I agree. In my own websites I usually have only a link back to the home
> page at the top. That way a person can get back to a table of contents
> and doesn't have to wade through a lot of junk. I can't understand why
> web designers think they have to put all that stuff at the top of every
> page. they seem to think that because they can they must.
>
> John
>
> On Wed, Jan 30, 2008 at 01:19:13PM -0700, Greg Kearney wrote:
> > I have been designing and programming the webpages of Curtin
> > University Centre for Accessible Technology (www.cucat.org) and it
> > doing so have collected a few thoughts about accessible web pages.
> >
> > Along with as the usual things like alt tags and high contrast of
> > type. It occurred to me from my own use and that of my blind wife that
> > many pages require the screen reader, and sighted users as well, to
> > navigate through a whole range of site navigation links before ever
> > getting to the content of the site.
> >
> > In the CUCAT site I have attempted to deal with this by placing the
> > navigation links at the bottom of the page so that when you land on a
> > page you reach that pages content. In the event of a very long page
> > where the navigation would be at the bottom I will have a single link
> > which will take the reader to the navigation links.
> >
> > It would seem to me that this approach would be better for pages
> > intended to be read by screen readers, as well as by the sighted
> > rather than have all the visual and auditory distraction of complex
> > headers at the top of the page to navigate through before reaching the
> > true content of the page.
> >
> > Also I feel the content of the page read in an uninterrupted flow
> > without breaking to offer other services or information.
> >
> > As a general design rule I feel that webpages have become much to
> > complex and busy. This applies to the sighted as well as the blind.
> > Would you want a book in which the text flashed, moved or in some
> > other way animated the pages? Would you want a book in which bight
> > coloured text, unrelated to what you were reading littered the sides
> > of the main content area? The answer is, no, of course not but that is
> > often what we are getting from modern website design. There seems to
> > be of late the approach the because we can do something on a page we
> > should.
> >
> > Just some thoughts to think about.
> >
> >
> > Greg Kearney
> > 535 S. Jackson St.
> > Casper, Wyoming 82601
> > 307-224-4022
> > gkearney@xxxxxxxxx
> >
> > >
> > >Click on the link below to go to our homepage.
> > >http://www.icanworkthisthing.com
> > >
> > >Manage your subscription by using the web interface on the link below.
> > >http://www.freelists.org/list/macvoiceover
> > >
> > >Users can subscribe to this list by sending email to
> > > macvoiceover-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > >with 'subscribe' in the Subject field OR by logging into the Web
> > >interface at http://www.freelists.org/list/macvoiceover
> > >
>
> -- 
> John J. boyer; President, Chief Software Developer
> JJB Software, Inc.
> http://www.jjb-software.com
> Madison, WI USA
> Developing software for people with disabilities
>
> >
> > Click on the link below to go to our homepage.
> > http://www.icanworkthisthing.com
> >
> > Manage your subscription by using the web interface on the link below.
> > http://www.freelists.org/list/macvoiceover
> >
> > Users can subscribe to this list by sending email to
> >  macvoiceover-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> > with 'subscribe' in the Subject field OR by logging into the Web
> > interface at http://www.freelists.org/list/macvoiceover
> >

-- 
John J. boyer; President, Chief Software Developer
JJB Software, Inc.
http://www.jjb-software.com
Madison, WI USA
Developing software for people with disabilities

>
> Click on the link below to go to our homepage.
> http://www.icanworkthisthing.com
>
> Manage your subscription by using the web interface on the link below.
> http://www.freelists.org/list/macvoiceover
>
> Users can subscribe to this list by sending email to
>  macvoiceover-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> with 'subscribe' in the Subject field OR by logging into the Web
> interface at http://www.freelists.org/list/macvoiceover
>

>
> Click on the link below to go to our homepage.
> http://www.icanworkthisthing.com
>
> Manage your subscription by using the web interface on the link below.
> http://www.freelists.org/list/macvoiceover
>
> Users can subscribe to this list by sending email to  
>  macvoiceover-request@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> with 'subscribe' in the Subject field OR by logging into the Web 
> interface at http://www.freelists.org/list/macvoiceover
>

Other related posts: