<html>access

Topic:

You should try out your web pages to see how accessible they are. Start with the self-test and move up to the validation service.

Self-Test

Play with your own page as you did with a favorite web page at the beginning of this unit:

Turn off the graphics display in your browser and see how the page looks, whether you can still understand it.
Turn off sounds and make sure you can still understand the page.
Change the default font sizes on your browser to see how the page displays.
Resize the browser window to be smaller and larger.
Try navigating using the "tab" key.
Make a list of all the text highlighted to be links. Is the list useful or nonsense?
Select all the text on the web page and copy it to a word processor page (such as Word or WordPerfect) to see what appears. Does it make sense, or is it scrambled into gibberish?

Return to Unit 8

Lynx View of your page

Try a text-based browser:

If you do not have Lynx on your computer, try going to this site that shows your page in Lynx display. Lynx is a text-based browser. What you see in text display is approximately what screen readers will repeat.

Looking at your page in text display is helpful for other purposes. For me, text display clearly shows the vacuity when there is no substantive content to a web page. There are no gimmicks to hide behind. I also find it easier to proofread pages in the text-based browser.

It was by looking at these pages in Lynx that I recognized that having the navigation bar at the top of the page could be a nuisance for screen readers or text-based browsers since every page begins with the nineteen links to other units and tools. That is why I added an anchor link so that people can immediately skip the navigation bar and go to the text.

Bobby

Validate with Bobby

The Center for Applied Special Technology has created a computer program called "Bobby" that will check your page against the WAI Guidelines. You enter the URL of your page, answer several questions about the page, and Bobby generates a report.

Note that the Guidelines for the Final Project in this class require that you submit at least three pages to Bobby. Even if you do not "pass" the Bobby test, turn in the report.

Other comment notes for this unit:
universal | disability issues | alternatives | design

Readings	Resources	<head>	<p> etc.	<b> etc.	<li> etc.	<a href>	<img src>
Access	<table>	<frame>	<style>	<form>	<script>	<object>	validate

<html>access

How to check your page

Self-Test

Try a text-based browser:

Bobby

Validate with Bobby