| # Accessibility | |
| This document provides some background on accessibility and how it fits in with our goals for Calypso. | |
| If you're mainly here to learn what to test for as you write or review PRs, we also have an [Accessibility Checklist](accessibility-checklist.md). | |
| ## Overview | |
| We need Calypso to be accessible to all our users. According to surveys done by WebAIM, | |
| - 97.6% of screen reader users… [(2014)](http://webaim.org/projects/screenreadersurvey5/#javascript) | |
| - 99.5% of users with low vision… [(2013)](http://webaim.org/projects/lowvisionsurvey/#javascript) | |
| - 100% of users with motor disabilities… [(2013)](http://webaim.org/projects/motordisabilitysurvey/#javascript) | |
| … use the internet with JavaScript enabled. These users can use Calypso if we make sure it's accessible and works with assistive technology. | |
| For us, accessible means: | |
| - There are text alternatives for non-text content (videos, images, audio, interactive elements like charts). | |
| - Content can be accessed in different ways, from a computer, phone, or assistive technology, without losing meaning. | |
| - All functionality is available using a keyboard. | |
| - Users have enough time to read and react to content. | |
| - Content is clearly outlined and well-labeled, so that users always know where they are and how to find what they want. | |
| - Content is always localized, and the language of the page and sections are clearly labelled. | |
| - We use labels and accessible notifications to let users know about errors and how to correct them. | |
| - [We don't cause seizures](https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/#seizure) with animations or flashing notifications. | |
| - We do all this within markup standards and best practices to ensure future compatibility. | |
| — (paraphrased from the [WCAG 2.0 Overview](https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/glance/Overview)) | |
| For a detailed list of requirements, you can go to [the WCAG 2.0 customized quickref](https://www.w3.org/WAI/WCAG20/quickref/?currentsidebar=%23col_customize&levels=aaa&technologies=smil%2Cpdf%2Cflash%2Csl). There are 3 levels of criteria for each guideline, A (lowest), AA, and AAA (highest). For Calypso, we aim for WCAG 2.0 Level AA (which also includes level A). This is generally an agreed-upon standard for compliance with equal access laws. | |
| ## Automated Testing/Checking | |
| Our ESLint rules include some basic accessibility checks using the [jsx-a11y plugin](https://github.com/evcohen/eslint-plugin-jsx-a11y). | |
| ## Resources | |
| A collection of resources that will introduce you to the concept of accessibility and some of the standards behind it. | |
| - [WebAIM](http://webaim.org/): WebAIM has provided comprehensive web accessibility solutions since 1999, and is one of the leading providers of web accessibility expertise internationally. WebAIM is a non-profit organization within the [Center for Persons with Disabilities](http://www.cpd.usu.edu/) at [Utah State University](http://www.usu.edu/). The site brings together a huge collection of information about web accessibility. Most of it is up to date and evergreen enough to help you. The [organization's blog](http://webaim.org/blog/) tackles many modern-day, evolving topics related to web accessibility. | |
| - [W3C’s Web Accessibility Initiative](http://www.w3.org/WAI/): The World Wide Web Consortium's Web Accessibility Initiative provides strategies, guidelines and resources to make the Web accessible to people with disabilities. | |
| - [The Six Simplest Accessibility Tests Anyone Can Do](http://www.karlgroves.com/2013/09/05/the-6-simplest-web-accessibility-tests-anyone-can-do/): A handful of simple things you can do to think about and implement accessibility with little effort as you work on projects. | |
| - [Intro to Cognitive Accessibility](http://jkg3.com/Journal/cognitive-accessibility-101-part-1-what-is-cognitive-accessibility) | |
| - Presentation: [Explorations in the Virtual DOM: How React.js Impacts Accessibility](https://marcysutton.github.io/react-a11y-presentation/) | |
| - [Inclusive Design Fundamentals](https://isner.github.io/inclusive-design-fundamentals/), especially the [disability types](https://isner.github.io/inclusive-design-fundamentals/handouts/disability-types.html) to learn about how different disabilities affect how people use technology. | |
| - [Inclusive Components Project](https://inclusive-components.design/): A growing list of component patterns for things like menus, tooltips, etc. along with information on why to use which ARIA properties. | |
| ### Going in depth | |
| A set of blogs, written by accessibility consultants and evangelists that go in depth on all things accessibility. | |
| - [The Paciello Group Blog](http://www.paciellogroup.com/blog/): A blog about web accessibility by one of the first accessibility consulting firms. | |
| - [Simply Accessible](http://simplyaccessible.com/): A blog with in-depth web accessibility tutorials. | |
| - [WebAxe](http://www.webaxe.org/): A blog and podcast about web accessibility. | |
| ## Tools | |
| Find tools that will help you bring accessibility into your workflow. | |
| ### UX and Design | |
| - [Accessibility for Designers](http://webaim.org/resources/designers/): An infographic about how designers can help create good, accessible websites. | |
| - [The Complete Beginner's Guide to Universal Design](http://www.uxbooth.com/articles/the-complete-beginners-guide-to-universal-design/): A blog post that describes universal design, a set of considerations made to ensure that a product, service, and/or environment is usable by everyone, to the greatest extent possible, without the need for adaptation or specialized design. | |
| - [Colllor](http://colllor.com/) and [0to255](http://0to255.com/): Both are tools that will generate different shades, tints and tones of colors, helpful when creating an accessible color palette. | |
| - [Color Palette Evaluator by NC State](http://accessibility.oit.ncsu.edu/tools/color-contrast/index.php): Evaluate the contrast of different color palettes with the Color Palette Evaluator by NC State. | |
| - [Tanaguru Contrast-Finder](http://contrast-finder.tanaguru.com/form.html): Find high contrast colors when you need them. | |
| ### Web Developers | |
| - [aXe](https://www.deque.com/products/axe/): A browser add-on for evaluating the accessibility of web pages within the developer console. | |
| - [Wave](http://wave.webaim.org/): A web tool and browser add-on for evaluating the accessibility of web pages. | |
| - [NVDA](http://www.nvda-project.org/): A screenreader for Windows (open source). | |
| - [JAWS](http://www.freedomscientific.com/products/fs/jaws-product-page.asp): The most popular screenreader. Available for Windows; costs money. | |
| - [VoiceOver](http://www.apple.com/accessibility/voiceover/): Built-in screenreader for Mac. | |
| - [VoiceOver for iOS](http://www.apple.com/accessibility/iphone/vision.html): Built-in screenreader for iOS. | |
| - [Chrome Vox](http://www.chromevox.com/): A screenreader for ChromeOS. | |
| - [WCAG 2.0 Cheat Sheet](http://www.w3.org/2009/cheatsheet/#wcag2) A simplified look at WCAG 2.0. | |
| - [An Alt Text Decision Tree](http://dev.w3.org/html5/alt-techniques/developer.html#tree): A decision tree for deciding when and how to implement alt text in your work on the web. This is a work in progress by the editors of the HTML5 spec, but it's extremely useful in its current form. | |