Alt Tags

ALT tag

Definition

HTML tag that provides alternative text when non-textual elements, typically images, cannot be displayed.

Information

ALT Tags are commonly omitted from web pages, from the smallest personal pages to the largest web corporate sites. Yet, if properly used, ALT Tags can be quite useful. Among other things, ALT tags can:

* provide further detail for an image or the destination of a hyperlinked image.

* enable and enhance access for people with various disabilities.

* provide much-needed information for people who surf the Web with graphics turned off, and people who surf the Web with text-only browsers.

* assist in navigation when a graphics-intensive site is being viewed over a slow connection, enabling site visitors to make navigation choices before graphics are fully rendered.

http://www.marketingterms.com/dictionary/alt_tag/

web design website examples

Continuing with the Accessibility vs Design Blog i thought id have a look at some of the accessibility websites to look at how they get the balance between design and accessibility.

After looking at a number of different examples of different accessibility websites and they seem to prove what i already thought that design and accessibility doesn't seem to mix.

All of the websites I have found seem to have the same simple design examples of which are shown below:

Artifact Refresher

So its been the easter holidays and all everyone has been focusing on is the client project. Now thats all over and done with its time to get bak on with the gud old research project.

looking at the last one i did and the feedback i received from tutors and my peers i had the idea that i would look at design vs accessibility on the web. this however could lead to me opening a can of worms as they say as this is such a huge issue in the web world. this would be a very good issue to look into however i am unsure if it fits into the question

How effective are various accessibility methods and techniques used in WEB site design?

A Blog that maybe useful!

http://fortysevenmedia.com/blog/category/tutorials/

SPP3 Showreel Example

As part of our SPP£ module we have been given the task to create a showreel of our work, this is quite a difficult as a web designer to show our work effectivly within a showreel so i have had a look at some examples so this is one i really liked

Artifact 4 What I did

So as part of the final section of the research project we have created a number of artifacts, for my forth artifact i have looked at layout as part of the accessibility features i have been looking at as part of my research. for this i started by removing the table that was holding all of the content within my test site. this was a huge step to making my test site as accessibile as possible, as this allowed users with screen readers to view content instead of just reading the number of coloumns and rows in the table. this was a very successful step as i tested it using a screen reader to ensure that all of the content could be read. The next thing i did was to then look at different layouts and decide which was the most accessible i decided that the most accessible layout would be the most accessible layout for my test site. after looking at different accessiblity tips regarding layout i decided to put all of the important content within my site to the top then the lesser important content at the bottom. this would ensure that the important information can be access first when entering the site.

Golden Rules Accessibility vs Design

1. Accessibility is no longer optional.
There’s been plenty written on the motivations for accessibility. I won’t repeat it here. If you want to be taken seriously on the web, you must address basic accessibility issues first.

2. Visual design is no longer optional.
If you want to be taken seriously on the web, your site can’t look like it was made in 1996.

3. Accessibility cannot be absolutely measured.
Sure there’s Section 508 and WCAG and (insert accessibility standard/law here), but these are not measures of accessibility. They also are not written by the finger of god as the binding law of humanity. While in some rare cases, laws actually do apply to actual web sites and vaguely define what accessibility is, most of the time we will all be better served if we treat discrimination laws and accessibility guidelines primarily as tools in helping us determine how to best implement accessibility.

4. Accessibility is a continuum.
High levels of accessibility are possible without great amounts of effort, but there is ALWAYS more that can be done. Your site can ALWAYS be more accessible. Users and accessibility advocates should applaud designers that are providing accessibility, if not perfectly, rather than lambasting them for not doing everything they can do to implement every accessibility feature and gadget they believe is necessary. So, the key is for designers to determine what should and can be reasonably done and for accessibiliters to determine what should and can be reasonably expected of designers.

5. Accessibility and design have the same business goal.
It is the goal of each of us to make it so that the user experience with our sites is not less enjoyable than their experience on the sites of our competitors. We can work together toward that mutual goal.

http://webaim.org/blog/access_vs_design/

Artifact 3 What I did

For my 3rd artifact i looked at another accessibilty feature which was font for this i created a number of sample sites with different fonts and text sizes to then find out which is the most accessible and most readable. i also looked for simple tips on how to make text the most accessible and readable onscreen. for this artifact i also looked at different browsers to look at there accessibility features in order to get a better feel of what accessibilty features are out there to enlarge and decrease text size for people with sight difficulties. i also tested and looked into an number of different fonts inorder to find the best one for web accessiblity.

Twit twoo!!!

I've known about twitter for a while after a friend joined it and mentioned it to me since then it has exploded into the media spotlight so much so celebrates are joining it and mentioning it on all of the tv programs and news. so i have decided to join and write bout how it works and what i think. It was really easy to join just 4 or 5 simple questions including name, email address, username and password then a security question. it was really easy to use and i was impressed that the text and text boxes were really big even to start with without even having to enlarge the text so so far im a happy girl from an accessibility point of view. then im in so i added a few people to "follow", i think this is where the issues start for me i feel like a stalker. i mean the only people who i am following at the moment is my mate ben my cousin who has a slight obsession with gorge sampson and someone from galaxy who i heard on the radio mention it and altho they may have very interesting lives i just dont feel i need to know what they are doing all the time, however i do like the fact that you can have pics on it to bak up what you are doin, that makes it a little more friendly in my eyes. anyways we will see how it goes...

Client Project Update

As with any job dealing with the general public there was been many ups and downs with my client project and we are only at the beginning. these issues have not been to do with mine and hannahs relationship as i have always tried to keep things at a very professional level however things were becoming a little difficult. Due to lack of organisation hannah was missing meeting and had a lack of input into the project for a while. we have however seemed to have solved these issues as i have learnt to be a little more organised and forward in order to get what i need from hannah. i now have most of the images and work from hannah that i required in order to make a good start on hannahs website.