Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.
Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016 (RPD)
Date enacted: 2016
Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment
Type: Non-discrimination law
Scope: Public sector, Private sector
Type: Mandatory policy
WCAG Version Used: WCAG 2.0
Why Accessibility Compliance is Important
As an organisation your goals should be to provide the best experience for all of your readers, regardless of their limitations or disabilities.
This certainly provides a great experience for your website readers and in turn enhances brand value.
it’s not merely a brand equity to have an accessible website; it’s the law, And with regard to the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0 Level A, every single viewer must be provided an access to read your content.
What Shall I do to make my website compliant with W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.0
Ensuring Your Website is Compliant
Your website may already be compliant in some aspects, However making it 100% compliant could be critical.
Here are a few checkpoints and steps you can take to provide the best online experience for all of your viewers, especially those who are disabled.
Use Alt Tags for Images
Provide alternative text for images
All images within a page must be given an alternate text equivalent. Text equivalents for non-text elements communicate the meaning of images to users who cannot perceive the image such as users of screen readers.
Audio Descriptions for Videos
Video based contents are creating a wide impact on Internet
You would need to be extra careful to make it accessible to all readers, specially to those who are deaf or hard of hearing clearly.
To do that, you should always provide an audio description of what is being displayed in the video so those with vision problems can follow along.
It’s also important to provide written text, captions, etc visually disabled readers.
Proper Contrast Ratios
Everyone loves a colourful Website
Though a wrong hues can present contrast issues for those who are color-blind. WCAG 2.0 requirements are based on a 3:1 ratio for larger text and a 4:5:1 ratio for smaller texts
Forms Accessible/valid label for form fields
Provide a valid label for form fields
When on-screen labels are present, they must be pro-grammatically associated with form fields. When on-screen labels are not present, form fields must be given an accessible label.
Text-based Document Formats
Documents and PDF to be a available as rich text.
Website sometimes are also linked with documents and PDFs, do ensure that they are available in a text-based format such as HTML, Word, or rich text.
it’s the only way that screen readers can parse through the document and provide an audio-based rendering.
Links and frames opening onto a new window or tab must show a warning/alert
Ensure links or controls that open new windows or frames do not open without a warning
Developers should avoid creating links or other controls opening new windows without either indicating that fact to users or allowing them to control the focus change. Exceptions are made if the new window comes in the form of a dialog, one that is either predictable by its context (such as a “Print this page” link that triggers the browser’s Print dialog), or is implemented in an accessible manner (such as a “Delete” image link that triggers a simple JavaScript alert with an “Are you sure you want to delete this?” prompt).
Text Descriptions for Hyperlinks
Ensure link text is meaningful within context
It is important for users to be able to discern the purpose of all links. Meaningful link text should not be overly general and should clearly describe the content to be found or action to be performed by the link. For example, do not use generic text such as “click here”, “read more”, etc. unless the purpose of the link can be determined by meaning in the surrounding content. When a link’s purpose can not be determined users may be required to follow the link to determine its purpose. Returning to a previous location can often be more difficult for users with disabilities using assistive technology. Thus, developers must ensure that a link’s purpose is clear.
