The 12 Days of Access-i-mas

In the spirit of the holiday season a bit of silliness (and education too) I provide you with The 12 Days of Digital Access-i-mas

12 Days of Digital Access-i-mas song

The importance behind the lyrics

There are many key features of accessibility and by improving these aspects in the song, you can establish an more inclusive and accessible system.

A working procurement policy

An accessibility procurement policy is crucial to creating an accessible environment for your organisation. The same as you would audit any new tools for security, you should also assess them for accessibility. It is easier to purchase accessible software than it is to have the software customized to uplift it’s accessibility.

For information on accessible procurement processes check out more information from the following links.

• OZeWAI.org’s Product Accessibility List (PAL)
• Disability:In.org’s Building blocks of an accessible procurement program.
• Queensland Government Accessibility compliance in procurement.

Screen Readers

Screen readers are used by a variety of people not just people who are blind or have low vision. According to WebAIMs Screen Reader Survey 10, 71.6% of respondents use more that one screen reader. A common reason for this is likely to be using different screen readers on laptops and PCs to Mobile. However, this could also be due to using different screen readers for work versus for personal use.

Additionally did you know that many common point of sale services also have included screen readers? Next time you are at an ATM take a closer link and you might be able to spot the audio jack.

For more info check out

• WebAIM Screen reader user survey 10
• CBAs ATM Accessibility features

Skip-links

Also known as Bypass blocks, when skip-links are implemented correctly allow users to more easily navigate a website, skipping repeating content (such as navigation menus), to more easily access the primary content on a page. Skip-links however can be used to skip other content and not just menus. These functions are helpful to keyboard only users and screen reader users.

For more info on skip-links check out:

• W3C WCAG 2.2 Bypass Blocks
• W3Schools Accessibility Skip Links

Page landmarks

Landmarks improve accessibility by making it easier to group data and for screen reader users to automatically navigate by landmarks. HTML 5 supports different landmarks out of the box. Some of these include

• Header
• Navigation
• Main
• Aside
• Footer

Developers can also create their own landmarks. For more information check out

• W3Schools Accessibility Landmarks
• ZAG Interactive Understanding Website Landmarks

Size adjustable text

Websites which do not allow for text resizing is my pet peeve since I usually increase text size on all my tech, and often run into scenarios where websites and apps do not handle the changed size.

Text size should be able to be resized up to 200% without loss of content or function. To allow for this creators should consider:

• Using relative units (e.g. em or %) over fixed units (px)
• Using CSS media queries to adjust layout based on screen dimensions and user preferences

For more information check out:

• WebAIM Typefaces and Fonts
• Vision Australia Typography in Inclusive Design Part 1

Captioned Videos

Captions make content accessible to individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, have sensory disabilities, have cognitive processing disabilities and even people who are using a phone in a noisy place. There are Open Captions and Closed Captions

Open captions are captions which can not be turned on or off. They are always on display and sometimes referred to as “Burnt-in captions” These type of captions are best used where viewers will not have control over playback settings.

Closed captions are captions suitable for online streaming platforms, TV and other environments where viewers have control over use and may want to turn on and off, or change the style of the captions to make it easier for them to read.

For more information check out

• Media Access Australia’s Beginners guide to captions
• YouTube help Add subtitles and captions

7:1 Contrast ratios

When creating content there are a few minimum ratios which are advised for your audience. For meeting some WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 AAA criteria contrast ratios for text to background minimum is 7:1. With contrast ratios the higher the number, the better the contrast and easier it is for people with a range of different disabilities to consume the content.

For more information on contrast ratios see:

• W3C WCAG 2.1 Contrast (Enhanced Level AAA)
• WebAIM Contrast Checker

Accessible Designs

Accessible design focuses on creating products, environments, and experiences that are usable by everyone, including people with disabilities. It aims to remove barriers and ensure that all individuals can access and interact with content or spaces effectively. This approach benefits not only people with disabilities but also the broader population by creating more inclusive and user-friendly designs.

Accessible Design focuses on the principles

• Equitable use
• Flexibility in use
• Simple and intuitive use
• Perceptible information
• Tolerance for error
• Low physical effort
• Size and space for approach

For more information see:

• Relab Academy A Beginner’s Guide to Inclusive and Accessible Design
• The UD Project Accessible Design Vs. Universal Design (& more)

Keyboard Shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are a vital part of making technology accessible. They allow users to easier and more efficiently navigate. Not all users will operate tech through a mouse of gesture controls. Keyboard controls give an additional input mechanism and speed up processes.

For more information see:

• WebAIM Keyboard Accessibility
• Microsoft Keyboard Shortcuts in Windows
• Apple Keyboard Shortcuts on Mac

Labelled buttons (or any components for that matter)

For accessibility it is really crucial to know what an interaction with a website will do. Labels on buttons (or any controls) are pivotal for users to understand

• How to operate the control
• What the control will do
• Understand the result of the action

Visible labels and programmatic labels are essential so all users have access to this information. Often accessible labels can be overlooked causing many users to struggle to identify controls or understand how to interact with the controls.

For more information check out:

• WebAIM Creating Accessible Forms
• W3C WCAG 2.2 Criteria 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions

Easy Read articles

Easy read documents are simplified versions of texts designed to be accessible to people with cognitive disabilities, learning difficulties, or those with limited literacy skills.

Key features of Easy Read documents are:

• Simple language
• Visual Aids
• Clear structure
• Short sentences
• Larger font and spacing

For more information of Easy Read documents see:

• Australian Government Style Manual – Easy Read
• Accessibility Made Easy – How to Write Easy Read Content

Full WCAG Compliance

This is the dream. Every year we hope organisations move forward with making their websites in conformance with the WCAG. Sadly we still have a long way to go, but one day we will reach a point where more organisations are creating accessible content than those who are now.

Summary and Takeaways

There are many components which go into making a website accessible and accessibility is always a journey, not an end. Once you reach compliance you need to maintain that.

With your new knowledge around digital accessibility, perhaps try to tackle one of these items each week after the new year break, and maybe by the time the next International Day of People with a Disability rolls around you sing this song, look back and say “We delivered on the 12 Days of Access-i-mas”