All posts by Léonie Watson

Writing good link text

Links are like sign posts. They should tell you what you’ll find when you follow them. Writing good link text isn’t difficult, but there are a few things to be aware of when you do.

iOS Accessibility traits

Apple has made accessibility part of the iOS app SDK. With integrated screen magnification and the VoiceOver screen reader available on all recent iOS devices, it’s an ideal platform for great accessibility.

How ARIA landmark roles help screen reader users

This video from Nomensa demonstrates how ARIA landmark roles help screen reader users understand the purpose of different areas of a web page, such as search, navigation or main content.

VizWiz app review

The VizWiz app for the iPhone is humanising technology at its best. It’s a remarkable fusion of social networking and innovative technology. Blind and partially sighted people can take a picture of an object, voice record a question about the object, and send it out into the ether for identification.

How do you detect a screen reader?

The short answer is that you can’t. At the time of writing there isn’t a way to reliably detect whether someone visiting your site is using a screen reader (or screen magnifier). You might have heard that Flash will do the trick, but that might not be quite the solution you’re expecting.

Getting accessibility testing right

When it comes to accessibility testing, there are three approaches. Automated testing, manual testing and user centred testing. All three have their uses, and all three have their limitations. Understanding how they fit together is the key to successful accessibility testing.

Using HTML lists

HTML lists are simple but extremely useful. Like HTML headings, they help give semantic meaning to information on a web page. Coded correctly, lists also give screen reader users important insights into the nature of the content they’re exploring.

iOS App Accessibility

Making iOS apps accessible is remarkably straight forward. The iOS SDK includes a few basic accessibility settings (enabled by default for native UIKit controls), that can be accessed through the Interface Developer.