Visual disabilities are conditions that affect a person's ability to see, including blindness, low vision, and color blindness. People with visual disabilities may use assistive technology, such as screen readers or magnifiers, to access web content.
What barriers might people with visual disabilities encounter on the web?
There are several potential barriers, but here are a couple of examples:
- Inaccessible multimedia content: Websites that rely on images, videos, or other multimedia content may not be accessible to people with visual disabilities who cannot see the content. Providing alternative text descriptions for images and captions or transcripts for videos can help make multimedia content more accessible.
- Inaccessible design: Websites with poor design or layout, such as those with small font sizes or low contrast, may be difficult for people with visual disabilities to read or see. Using larger font sizes and high-contrast color schemes can help make web content more accessible.
- Inaccessible navigation: Websites that require precise mouse movements or keystrokes may be difficult for people with visual disabilities to navigate. Providing keyboard shortcuts and clear navigation labels can help make web content more accessible.
- Inaccessible forms and tables: Websites that rely on forms or tables may be difficult for people with visual disabilities to use if they are not labeled or structured correctly. Providing clear labels and alternative text descriptions for form fields and table cells can help make web content more accessible.
- Inaccessible audio and video players: Websites that include audio or video players may not be accessible to people with visual disabilities who use screen readers to navigate the web. Providing accessible audio and video players that are compatible with screen readers can help make web content more accessible.