Making portals WCAG/ADA compliant

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) are essential standards aimed at making digital content more accessible to all users, including those with disabilities. Ensuring that your Power Pages (or any web portal) is WCAG and ADA compliant is crucial for providing an inclusive user experience. These standards help ensure that individuals with visual, auditory, cognitive, and motor impairments can access and navigate your portal effectively.

Below, we will explore step-by-step strategies to make your portals WCAG/ADA compliant, enhancing accessibility and meeting legal requirements.

1. Understand WCAG and ADA Requirements

WCAG Guidelines:

The WCAG guidelines are divided into four principles: Perceivable, Operable, Understandable, and Robust (POUR). Each principle has specific guidelines that can help improve web accessibility.
- Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presentable to users in ways they can perceive (e.g., providing text alternatives for non-text content like images).
- Operable: User interface components must be operable (e.g., users must be able to navigate the portal using a keyboard, and not just a mouse).
- Understandable: Information and operation of the user interface must be understandable (e.g., instructions should be clear, and error messages should be informative).
- Robust: Content must be robust enough to work across a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies (e.g., screen readers, voice commands).

ADA Compliance:

ADA compliance focuses on the legal requirements set forth by the Americans with Disabilities Act. Websites and portals must be accessible to people with disabilities, and failure to comply can result in legal action.
ADA compliance often refers to meeting WCAG 2.0 guidelines, which are broadly recognized in court as acceptable standards for accessibility.

2. Ensure Text Alternatives for Non-Text Content

Images and Media:

All images should have descriptive alt text to provide context for users who rely on screen readers.
Use the alt attribute in the img HTML tag to describe the image content. Example:
<img src="image.jpg" alt="A person standing in front of a building">

Videos:

Provide captions and transcripts for videos. This allows individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing to understand the video content.
You can integrate Microsoft Stream or other video platforms that support captions and transcripts into your Power Pages portal.

Audio:

Provide text alternatives for audio content, such as transcripts or captions, so users who are deaf or hard of hearing can access the information.

3. Keyboard Navigation and Focus Management

Ensure Keyboard Accessibility:

Your portal should be fully navigable via the keyboard. Users should be able to use the Tab key to navigate between all interactive elements such as links, buttons, forms, and menus.
Use the tabindex attribute to set the order of focus and ensure a logical, intuitive flow when navigating with the keyboard.

Focus Indicators:

Ensure that when a user navigates through your portal with a keyboard, there is a clear visual indicator (e.g., outline or highlight) to show which element currently has focus. Example: :focus { outline: 3px solid #ffbf47; }

Skip Navigation:

Include a “Skip to content” link that allows users to bypass repetitive navigation elements and directly access the main content. Example:
<a href="#main-content" class="skip-link">Skip to content</a>

4. Color Contrast and Text Readability

High Contrast Text:

Ensure sufficient contrast between text and its background to make content readable for users with low vision or color blindness. A contrast ratio of at least 4.5:1 for normal text and 3:1 for large text is recommended. Example: body { color: #333; background-color: #fff; }

Avoid Using Color Alone:

Do not rely solely on color to convey information. For example, instead of just changing the color of a text field’s border to indicate an error, also use an icon or text. Example: cssCopyEdit.error { border-color: red; color: red; } .error::before { content: "Error: "; font-weight: bold; }

5. Text Resize and Viewport Flexibility

Responsive Design:

Ensure your portal has a responsive design that adapts to different screen sizes. This will help users on mobile devices, users with low vision, and users who zoom in on text.

Text Resizing:

Allow users to resize text without breaking the layout. This can be achieved by using relative units like em or rem instead of absolute units like px for font sizes. Example: cssCopyEditbody { font-size: 1em; }

6. Provide Accessible Forms

Labeling Form Fields:

Every form field must be properly labeled using the label tag. Ensure that labels are clear and descriptive. Example:
<label for="username">Username:</label> <input type="text" id="username" name="username">

Error Handling:

When a user submits a form with missing or incorrect information, provide clear, specific error messages that indicate what needs to be corrected. Example:
<div class="error-message" role="alert">Please enter a valid email address.</div>

7. Semantic HTML Structure

Use HTML Elements Properly:

Use semantic HTML tags (e.g., <header>, <footer>, <nav>, <article>, <section>) to structure your content meaningfully.
This helps screen readers and other assistive technologies understand the layout and context of your content.

Headings and Structure:

Use headings (<h1>, <h2>, etc.) to create a logical content hierarchy. This allows users to navigate through sections of your page easily, particularly for users relying on screen readers.

8. ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications)

Using ARIA Roles:

Use ARIA roles and attributes to enhance accessibility, especially for custom controls that may not be natively accessible. Example:
<button role="button" aria-label="Close" onclick="closeModal()">X</button>

ARIA Landmarks:

Define key sections of your page using ARIA landmarks such as aria-labelledby, aria-describedby, role="navigation", etc., to help users navigate directly to important areas.

9. Testing and Validation

Manual Testing:

Conduct manual testing using assistive technologies like screen readers (e.g., NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver) and keyboard navigation to identify accessibility issues.
Ensure that all interactive elements are accessible, and test the portal’s functionality under various conditions (e.g., using only a keyboard or with screen magnification).

Automated Testing:

Use automated accessibility testing tools such as axe or WAVE to identify potential issues quickly and fix them before deployment.

10. Ongoing Accessibility Audits

Continuously monitor your portal for accessibility as it evolves. Every time you add new content or features, verify that they are still WCAG/ADA compliant.
Include accessibility checkpoints in your CI/CD pipelines to automatically check accessibility issues during development and deployment.