ADA Compliance – Frontend Developer’s Guide

Why ADA Compliance matters in web development

Making web content accessible to everyone is not just a requirement – it’s a commitment. ADA Compliance in front-end development ensures websites are navigable and usable for all, including people with disabilities. This enhances user experiences, boosts search engine optimization (SEO), and protects against accessibility-related legal issues.

ARIA Roles and Properties for Web Accessibility

ARIA roles and attributes play a vital role where semantic HTML alone may not fully address the accessibility.

Here I have listed some essential ARIA roles and properties commonly used in front-end development along with practical examples.

Key Role Attributes

navigation: Use <nav> tag and role=”navigation” for navigation areas, providing structure for screen reader.

<nav role="navigation">
    <ul>
        <li><a href="#home">Home</a></li>
        <li><a href="#about">About</a></li>
    </ul>
</nav>

button: Use role=”button” for elements that act like buttons but aren’t in <button> tags.

<span role="button" tabindex="0">Click Me</span>

dialog: For modal pop-ups, use role=”dialog” to notify the screen reader that they are within a separate dialog.

<div role="dialog" aria-labelledby="dialog-title">...</div>

State and Property Attributes:

aria-hidden: Hides elements from screen readers.

<p aria-hidden="true">This is a text.</p>

aria-label: Adds an accessible name to elements that lack a visible label.

<button aria-label="Submit Form">Submit</button>

aria-labelledby: Create an element with a specific label

<div id="modal-title">Modal Title</div>
<div role="dialog" aria-labelledby="modal-title">...</div>

aria-describedby: Links an element to additional descriptive text.

<button aria-describedby="tooltip">Hover over me</button>
<div id="tooltip" role="tooltip">This is additional information.</div>

Aria Properties to Prioritize:

Aria properties improve navigation, button controls, dynamic content, and modals. Here are the examples:

Button controls:  aria-pressed and aria-expanded indicate state of the toggle buttons or dropdowns

<button aria-pressed="true">Toggle</button>
<button aria-expanded="false" aria-controls="dropdown-menu">Menu</button>

Dynamic Content: aria-live property keeps users informed about the changes.

<div aria-live="polite">New message received!</div>

Build accessibility in the development process

While developing a section of the website starting with accessibility in mind created a better experience. Here are some of the best practices:

• Semantic HTML: Tags like <header>, <nav>, <section>, <button>, <footer> should be the foundation.
• Color Contrast: Make sure background colors and text makes a minimum contrast ratio of 4.5:1
• Keyboard Focus states: Retain focus outlines, and test for keyboard-only navigation.

Useful examples and code Snippets:

Accessible Toggle Button:

The property aria-pressed helps to indicate a button’s toggle state.

The aria-pressed values:

• true: The button is currently pressed.
• false: The button is not currently pressed, but it supports being pressed.

<button aria-pressed="false" onclick="toggle(this)">Subscribe</button>

<script> 
  function toggle(button) { 
    // current state of aria-pressed
    const pressed = button.getAttribute('aria-pressed');
    // Toggle aria-pressed state
    button.setAttribute('aria-pressed', pressed === 'true' ? 'false' : 'true');
  } 
</script>

Grouping fields with fieldset and legend:

The related form items need to be grouped using <fieldset> and <legend> to provide better understanding for screen readers.

<fieldset>
    <legend>Address Information</legend>
    <label for="street">Street:</label>
    <input type="text" id="street" name="street" />
    <label for="city">City:</label>
    <input type="text" id="city" name="city" />
</fieldset>

Assign unique ID for the form fields:

Providing unique ID is important for accessibility. A page might contain two short forms in the same page containing similar fields. It is necessary to provide a unique ID in such cases.

<form>
    <!-- First Name Field -->
    <label for="firstname">First Name:</label>
    <input type="text" id="firstname" name="firstname" />
 
    <!-- Last Name Field -->
    <label for="lastname">Last Name:</label>
    <input type="text" id="lastname" name="lastname" />
 
    <!-- Email Field -->
    <label for="email">Email:</label>
    <input type="email" id="email" name="email" />
 
    <!-- Date of Birth Field -->
    <label for="dob">Date of Birth:</label>
    <input type="date" id="dob" name="dob" />
</form>

Best Practices for SEO and accessibility:

Headings: The heading tags need to be organized a page must have only one h1 tag and the rest of the heading needs to be in hierarchical order (<h1>, <h2>, etc.) this improves readability and SEO.

ALT Text: The alt attribute is important on images. The content of the alt text needs to be descriptive. This helps screen reader and enhances SEO.

Descriptive Links: Providing meaningful aria-label for the links improved readability. If a page has multiple Learn more action, the aria-label content should be “Learn more about respective section” rather than “Learn More”.

Focus Management: Test the website with keyboard focus flow using tab and arrow keys, this helps to capture issues.

Accessibility Testing Tools:

To capture the issues, the tools below will be helpful during development.

• Silktide: Provides an in-depth actionable suggestions and accessibility report.
• Lighthouse: It is a built-in chrome option, offers an accessibility score and improvement tips.
• Axe: A browser extension for automated quick checks.
• Andi: Open-source tool Visually highlights issues on webpage.
• Screen Readers: NVDA (Windows) and VoiceOver (Mac) helps access screen reader experience.

Prioritizing web accessibility is both a responsibility and an opportunity to create inclusive digital spaces for all users. It not only enhances user experience but also boosts SEO, user retention, and brand loyalty. Explore more on accessible design, check out UX for Accessible Design series. For more information, contact our technical experts. Design sharp, code smart!

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