Automated accessibility testing: Leveraging GitHub Actions and pa11y-ci with axe A blog post describing how to install pa11y-ci to your project and run it automatically with GitHub Actions. pa11y-ci is a Continuous Integration wrapper around pa11y, which is an automated accessibility tool that scans your web pages for issues. You can configure the WCAG standard… [Read More]
iPhones can now tell blind users where and how far away people are An article from October 2020, but it taught me something I didn’t know: iOS 14.2 allows you to detect whether there are people in view (using your camera), and how far away they are. iOS will say how far the person is… [Read More]
3D-printed exoskeleton allows paralysed woman to “walk” An blog post by accessibility consultant Nicolas Steenhout, which has resurfaced recently. It gives his opinion of a CNET article about a paralysed woman whose 3D-printed exoskeleton allows her to “walk”. As Nicolas points out, the $150k exoskeleton holds the woman up, and moves her in a way… [Read More]
Wearable tech helps this blind runner compete in ultramarathons In 2017, Englishman Simon Wheatcroft was the first blind person to run the New York City Marathon solo, without being tethered to a sighted running guide. He managed this by wearing a “Wayband” on his wrist; the device has built-in GPS and vibrates to keep the… [Read More]
In Praise of the Unambiguous Click Menu Mark Root-Wiley shares his thoughts on why hover-based menus should be a thing of the past. They violate Jakob’s Law of Usability: that users prefer your site to work the same way as all the other sites they already know. This is because there are several different hover menu… [Read More]
iPhones can now tell blind users where and how far away people are An article from October 2020, but it taught me something I didn’t know: iOS 14.2 allows you to detect whether there are people in view (using your camera), and how far away they are. iOS will say how far the person is… [Read More]
Android update adds scheduled texts and improves accessibility Whilst Android 12 will likely be released in September 2021, a first developer preview is out now. One accessibility improvement is that you will be able to make calls, set timers and play music from the lock screen, using Android’s ‘Assistant’. This will benefit those with mobility… [Read More]
The Automated Accessibility Coverage Report (PDF) Thanks to GDS colleague Anika Henke, who discovered this report via the “Accessibility Testing Coverage: Automation and Intelligent Guided Testing” talk at axe-con. According to the report, Deque’s accessibility testing engine axe-core finds 57.38% of accessibility issues, rather than the “widely accepted belief that automated accessibility testing only provides… [Read More]
Building an Accessibility Library Stephanie Hagadorn, UX Design Lead at Indeed, writes about the creation of the “A11y Annotation Kit“. This is a Figma-based ‘accessibility library’, designed to improve the handover from designer to developer and prevent both roles from making the same old accessibility mistakes around things like colour contrast issues. See the screenshot… [Read More]
Show/hide password accessibility and password hints tutorial Nicolas Steenhout describes how he implemented a standard show/hide feature for password inputs, with accessibility in mind. Show/hide is useful for those with memory issues, or essential tremors, or anybody who wants to double-check what they typed in. Nicolas’ tutorial is for a registration form rather than a… [Read More]
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