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aria design layout table

Layout Tables Tip

It’s 2015, so hopefully web developers know that table elements should not be used for layout. There are many reasons why CSS for layout is better but at the core, HTML tables are data tables; they’ve always been meant for data.

But even today, sometimes a table is used for layout, for whatever reason—time constraints, lack of CSS skills, legacy code, etc.

If a table is used for layout, add ARIA role of presentation to the table element. This will remove the table elements from the Accessibility API which provides for a better user experience for users of assistive technology, particularly screen readers.

Other elements such as caption, summary, and thead should be removed. See the Microsoft resource ARIA Presentation Table Error.

Here’s a code example derived from a W3C example for the use of role=presentation. The following code in the HTML tree:

<table role="presentation">
<tr><td>Foo bar</td><tr>
</table>

Becomes this in the accessibility tree:

<>
<><>Foo bar</></>
</>

Further reading:

Categories
design layout monitor podcast resolution screen

Podcast #38: Screen Resolution

Dennis and Ross discuss many considerations and techniques concerning screen and browser resolution when designing an accessible web site including:

  • Fixed vs. 1024 x 768 vs 800 x 600
  • Using Javascript with layout design
  • Recent screen resolution stats of users
  • Min/max-width and IE support
  • Considering content/audience

Download Web Axe Episode 38 (Screen Resolution)

Other links:

Categories
code color design layout navigation podcast text

Podcast #34: Design Considerations for Accessibility

Considerations for designing an accessible web site, including discussion on web site conventions, navigation, color, text, and layout.

Download Web Axe Episode 34 (Design Considerations for Accessibility)

[Transcript for Web Axe 34]

Stick to Conventions

  • Search upper right
  • Global navigation across top
  • Sub navigation on sides
  • Icons

Navigation Considerations

  • Skip navigation
  • Indicate visited pages, current page
  • Use breadcrumbs where possible

Color Considerations

  • Ensure enough color contrast
  • Light on dark, or dark on light?
  • If you change the color of an anchor state, change them all
  • Never use color to convey information

Layout Considerations

  • If you have a low vision/large text style sheet, convert layout to one column
  • Pay attention to if it is obvious you can scroll downward or not
  • If Article is broken up between several pages, provide a link to a single page with the whole article for easy printing
  • Try and design for 760px minimum width

Text Considerations

  • Sans-serif fonts are generally easier to read on a screen
    • Print serif fonts are, but light reflects off of paper where screen illuminates light
  • Text Sizing
    • Ensure font can be enlarged with out breaking the design
    • Headers should be larger than regular text (to indicate more importance)
    • Fonts should be decent size, not everyone knows how to resize text

Other Considerations

  • Limit the use of Flash
  • Print Style Sheets
  • Graphical buttons should be text with graphical backgrounds (for sizing without pixelation)
  • Include an access guide, or site help
  • No flickering
  • Audio–plan for text-only version and links
  • Video–plan for real-time captioning