Keyboard+Accessibility

All too often, little or no attention is paid to keyboard accessibility in web design. Navigating a web page with a mouse is impossible for those who cannot grasp a mouse or do not have the fine motor skills to control a mouse accurately. The visually impaired cannot use a mouse since they cannot see where to click. Although assistive technologies such as screen readers and switch devices can greatly help the disabled utilize the web, all of these aids mimic the use of a keyboard.

In order to design a cleaner and more organized looking page, menus expand when a mouse is positioned over them. Unfortunately these menus are not accessible with keyboard commands. Another issue is when the items on the page do not appear in the order that one can tab to them. In order to check a web site for keyboard accessibility, simply disconnect your mouse. It was interesting to explore different sites “mouse-“less. Some sites were impossible to navigate using only keyboard commands while others were merely cumbersome.

WebAIM (Web Accessibility in Mind) an initiative of the Center for Persons with Disabilities at Utah State University is working to help web developers make their web content available to all. This, of course includes making web content accessible by keyboard alone. Many software programs have standard keyboard shortcuts such as v for paste and f for file. Additionally there are //accesskeys// in html coding allowing for the user to jump directly to different parts of the page or navigate the site form keyboard alone.

Unfortunately, these accesskeys are not standardized. Different browsers use different access keys and keyboard shortcuts. HTML 4.0 has standardized some of these commands but there are no regulations for creating sites using the most recent code.

Refererence: Center for Persons with Disabilities, (1999-2010). Keyboard Accessibility: Introduction to Keyboard Accessibility. Retrieved October 8, 2010 from []

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