Ashley Thompson is a member of DubBot’s Support team, serving as our newest Support Engineer. The following post is the fifth and final post of a blog series documenting her experiences as she prepared for the CPACC exam. The fourth...
Dark mode, or dark theme or night mode, is a display setting for digital user interfaces. It means that, instead of the default dark text on a light background, the user sees light-colored text against a dark or black background. "The idea behind...
Recently, an article from HubSpot titled "Website Accessibility: 25 Statistics that Prove It Matters" was shared with me by a colleague. It's chock-full of solid, research-based facts and figures on why accessibility really does matter. The...
What is assistive technology? Assistive technology ensures that individuals with disabilities can interact with websites and digital content effectively. The types of assistive technology needed to interact with a website can vary depending on...
On the heels of the Justice Department sending a notice of proposed rulemaking "to improve web and mobile applications (apps) access for people with disabilities," the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has "published a proposed rule designed...
In a recent case, we assisted a client in realizing that despite encountering a "404 Not Found" error for a page on their site, their web server was incorrectly indicating a "200 OK status." This 200 OK status suggested the page was found at the...
Ashley Thompson is a member of DubBot’s Support team, serving as our newest Support Engineer. The following post is the third part of a blog series documenting her experiences as she prepares for the CPACC exam. The third blog entry...
Are you ready? The HighEdWeb Accessibility Summit is right around the corner. It’s happening on Tuesday, July 25, to be exact. Have you registered yet? No? What are you waiting for? Register Now! Here at DubBot, we are especially...
If you subscribe to the DubBot Quarterly Newsletter, you saw in the Product Updates section that "PDF checker version 2.0 is now live with more abilities to filter your PDFs by types of issues found." I thought you might find it helpful...
Awww, summer vacation! Who doesn’t anxiously await that time away to unwind, unplug and recharge? I recently returned home from my long-awaited summer vacation in Destin, Florida. Since I live in Virginia, I traveled by plane to...
The lighting of the "Flame of Hope" took place on June 18 at the Olympiastadion in Berlin, Germany, in front of an audience of 50,000 individuals, consisting of 3,000 coaches, officials, and 18,000 volunteers. This significant event marked the...
People have written a lot about the pros and cons of artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on people with disabilities. I do not pretend to be an expert, and I certainly can not cover the breadth of the subject adequately in just one blog...
Ashley Thompson is a member of DubBot’s Support team, serving as our newest Support Engineer. The following post is the third part of a blog series documenting her experiences as she prepares for the CPACC exam. The second blog entry...
DubBot is excited to announce the release of our Drupal module!! This release is a result of collaborative effort with our friends at Lullabot. Our Drupal module will empower DubBot subscribers to enhance their websites by integrating...
On May 19, the U.S. Justice Department (DOJ) and the Department of Education, Office of Civil Rights (OCR) released a "Dear Colleague" letter. This letter serves as a reminder to colleges, universities, and post-secondary institutions about the...
A few weeks ago, I was preparing for a webinar and reviewing a list of potential questions. One question, in particular, caught my attention: "Is it acceptable to release a product or website that is partially accessible?" As I began to formulate...
Suppose you identified an issue on your website that was causing your organization to lose money, tarnishing your organization’s reputation and could possibly land you in court, would you fix it? Of course you would. And then, would you...
Closed captioning is the process of adding written text to movies, TV shows, commercials…any type of video or audio media to make it accessible to people who are deaf or hard of hearing. But, closed captioning not only benefits those...
Ashley Thompson is a member of DubBot’s Support team, serving as our newest Support Engineer. The following post is the second part of a blog series documenting her experiences as she prepares for the CPACC exam. The first...
I attended my third axe-con conference last week. As usual, I was not disappointed. I found myself drawn to the sessions that focused on the people of accessibility and not the technology. Sometimes I think the longer I’m in the...
There are many ways to prioritize the issues found during your last accessibility audit…matrices, formulas, comparisons...all kinds of methods. Your organization may already have a process in place. If not, this blog post is for you....
According to the Jan. 5, 2021 issue of Forbes Magazine, "...based upon growing trends in the market, building an inclusive brand will soon transform from a 'nice to do' to a 'must do.'" The Universal Marketing Dictionary defines inclusive...
Ashley Thompson is a member of DubBot’s Support team, serving as our newest Support Engineer. The following post is the first part of a blog series documenting her experiences as she prepares for the CPACC...
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (FDR) is considered one of the most successful and effective American presidents in history. Below is a brief timeline of his life: FDR was born in 1882 in Hyde Park, New York, to James and Sara Roosevelt ...
"The Higher Education Web Professionals Association (HighEdWeb) is an international organization of professionals working to design, develop, manage, and map the future of digital in higher education." DubBot has supported the HighEdWeb...
I’ve noticed a couple of articles/blog posts popping up regarding the April 2023 date the DOJ intends to publish its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on new web accessibility regulations for state and local government...
We all know that adding ALT text to our images is a very simple way to help add accessibility to our websites and digital assets. But there are other forms of text alternatives that, when used properly, also make your digital creations...
NOTESince this article was published, the W3C has made the following changes to WCAG 2.2:Changes from the January 2023 CR to the May 2023 CR include: 2.4.7 Focus Visible — Changed from Level A back to Level AA, as it is in WCAG...
Well, it’s that time of year again. The time that many of us reflect on the year gone by and look at the coming year as an opportunity for change, personal growth, and goal-setting. Whether it's committing to losing those pesky 10...
Simply put, sensory overload means "too much information." According to WebMD "Sensory overload is when your five senses — sight, hearing, smell, touch, and taste — take in more information than your brain can...
Why are web content writers, designers and managers still using "Click Here" (or "Read More," "Learn More," etc.) as link text when it has been shown repeatedly it's just not best practice? Maybe it’s time for a refresher course on...
Back in October, October 9-12 to be exact, Little Rock, Arkansas hosted #HEWeb22 - HighEdWeb’s Annual Conference. DubBot’s own Penny Kronz was a conference speaker, sharing her expertise in her session...
National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM)! Next month marks the 34th annual observance of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Every October is a celebration "honoring the achievements and contributions of U.S. workers...
Disability Voting Rights Week, formally known as National Disability Voter Registration Week, is September 12 - 16, 2022. Disability Voting Rights Week is coordinated by the REV UP Campaign. REV UP stands for "Register, Educate, Vote,...
According to Google’s English dictionary, which is provided by Oxford Languages, the definition of a business case is "a justification for a proposed project or undertaking on the basis of its expected commercial...
The problem with overlays is that they are still a problem! In February of 2021, I posted about the havoc that overlays cause to assistive technology and its users. According to a recent article in the New York Times (July 13, 2022), not...
What is an invisible disability? According to the Invisible Disabilities Association, "an invisible disability is a physical, mental or neurological condition that is not visible from the outside, yet can limit or challenge a...
The Hiring Process The use AI, or Artificial Intelligence is finding its way into the hiring, promotion, and other employment decision-making processes. For example, software that screens out applications using a pre-defined list of keywords or...
To answer that, we need a little history lesson. Back in 2008, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) published the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0. Fast forward to 2018. Wow…a lot has changed on the web…live...
Because infographics are visual, they inherently present accessibility barriers to users with visual and cognitive disabilities. Infographics can also be challenging for those who use keyboard-only navigation. People with color blindness may miss...
On the third Thursday of May, we celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). GAAD "started" on Sunday, November 27, 2011, when Joe Devon penned a post on MySQLTalk.com challenging his fellow back-end programmers to increase their...
Web forms should be easy to navigate, complete, and submit while being keyboard accessible from the first input field to the submit button. Instructions, input format requirements, and error messages should be written in plain language and...
Supporting the Higher Education Web Professionals Association (HighEdWeb) is not new for DubBot. We have been Silver or Gold sponsors of the Annual Conference since 2018 and the Accessibility Partner in 2021 and again for this year’s...
The University of West Florida utilizes a CMS to manage their website content which allows non-technical users to manage their own web content. While this is a great practice that allows UWF to output timely content, manually reviewing all content...
Even a mild case of COVID-19 can cause long COVID. "It is estimated that anywhere from 10% to 30% of patients might experience long COVID after recovering—even if they weren’t very sick in the first place." ~ What...
We all want that web page we’ve been searching for to be viewable, usable, and interactive with lightning speed. But alas, that is not always the case. We have all had to "Let the Spinning Wheel spin," much to our displeasure and...
There are many different models of disability, along with varying titles and definitions, so it can get confusing. For the purpose of this post, we will be looking at just three of those models…medical, tragedy / charity, and social....
What is Microcopy? According to Adobe, "...microcopy refers to the tiny tidbits of copy found on websites, applications, and products - from the words that comprise a call to action, to the disclaimers that assure users that their email address...
Did you know that just by making your website accessible you also are boosting your search engine optimization (SEO) efforts AND improving your organic search rankings? Pretty awesome, right? DubBot scans and tests for six in-page elements...
What is Artificial Intelligence? According to the Oxford dictionary, artificial intelligence (AI) is "the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks that normally require human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech...
According to the Center for Plain Language, "Readability is about making your digital content clear and easy to understand. When you focus on readability, you increase the chance your target audience will actually read and interact with your...
According to Psychology Today, "a heuristic is a mental shortcut that allows an individual to make a decision, pass judgment, or solve a problem quickly and with minimal mental effort." Heuristics are also referred to as "a rule of thumb," which...
Happy New Year to you and yours from your friends at DubBot! 3 New Year's Resolutions Invite people with lived experience to the table.Systemic barriers in policy, practice or procedure mean that some people are excluded or receive less than...
What’s the difference between accessible design and inclusive design? Accessible design and Inclusive design, "Along with other human-centered concepts such as Ethical Design and Responsible Design, they [form] a vanguard of design...
3Things - Procuring Accessible ICT Asking the Right Questions for Procuring Inclusive, Accessible TechnologyPostsecondary institutions have obligations to ensure the accessibility of electronic content, especially content purchased from third...
3Things - User Testing Edition Why You Need to Do User Testing with Deaf and Hard of Hearing PeopleOne of the most powerful ways to ensure your content is accessible is to involve people with disabilities at all stages of development and...
What is the Accessibility Tree? Simply put, the Accessibility Tree is what all operating systems use to power assistive technology. It is a modified Document Object Model (DOM). A browser takes the DOM and modifies it into a form that is useful...
WCAG 3.0: What you need to know about the future of accessibility standards WCAG 3.0 will be here soon and it will represent a significant shift in how accessibility is measured. Apple’s IPad Gets Assistive Technology...
Before emojis, there were emoticons. Emoticon is short for "emotion icon." Emoticons are "pictorial representations of facial expressions using characters — usually punctuation marks, numbers and letters — to express a...
Introducing updates to make it easier for guests with disabilities to travel Under our new accessibility review process, Hosts simply submit photos of the accessibility features in their home, which are then manually reviewed by a...
Those of us in the digital accessibility field can spot an accessible video at 20 paces. But what about an inclusive video? What does one look like? Producing an inclusive video means designing with accessibility in mind — captions,...
3Things - Thanksgiving Edition How to Be a Good Thanksgiving Host to Guests with DisabilitiesWhile disabled needs may not be as familiar as non-disabled needs, they’re not...
CVS withdraws Supreme Court case on disability rights, announces new partnership The plaintiffs objected to changes to the company's terms that meant they could not opt out of mail-only delivery or utilize another pharmacy with...
It’s been said that disability is the "missing D" in diversity and inclusion discussions and initiatives. In December 2020, research conducted by The Valuable 500 showed that "only three percent of articles discussing diversity...
Lauren Ridloff, Marvel's first deaf superhero"[I] hope that, by bringing my story to the audience, people from marginalized communities will feel that there’s room for their own stories." Nyle DiMarco, deaf super model"I sent in my...
The 3 functions of alternative text: Screen readers announce alternative text in place of images, helping users with visual or certain cognitive disabilities perceive the content and function of the images. If an image fails to load...
On November 2, DubBot’s own Blaine Herman will be joining other experts in accessible technology for the November Meetup of the NY Tech Alliance. The NY Tech Alliance was created in 2016 when the NY Tech Meetup and the New York...
3 Higher Ed Accessibility Professional Organizations Access Technology Higher Education Network (ATHEN)ATHEN is a professional association and network for Access Technology in Higher Education. The purpose of ATHEN is to collect and disseminate...
3 Things, 3 Jobs WatchOS Accessibility Engineer - Apple, Inc. - Santa Clara Valley (Cupertino), CaliforniaApple's Accessibility team is looking for a motivated Software Engineer to help develop and enhance features that make watchOS more usable...
Happy National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM)! This year's theme is "America’s Recovery: Powered by Inclusion." As our nation begins the process of recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s more important...
3 Things, 3 Disability Activisits Marilyn Golden"Radicalized" after an accident left her disabled, she became a "linchpin" in the fight for the Americans With Disabilities Act as a leading policy analyst. Robert Marx"We had a common experience...
Ensuring that your organization utilizes appropriate alt text for images within your website is pretty much considered Accessibility 101. For those readers who are not familiar, alt text or alternative text is the text version of an image read to...
Colorblind Accessibility ManifestoBefore designing a website, or even making a small change to an existing one, ask if your design choices consider the needs of people with color blindness. Changing the button color on your website may seem...
Carousels. Some people love ‘em, and some people hate ‘em! Yet they are one of the most popular ways of displaying content. One reason for that is carousels are a quick way to appease multiple stakeholders who want their...
A case for accessibility statements in app stores In Apple’s App Store and Google’s Play Store, apps can have certain bits of meta data. Categories, localisations, price, privacy policy URL… but where is...
Back in 2018, I met quite an amazing young man. His name is Tyler. He was attending the university where I work and was in the last semester of his last year. I had actually sought him out. I desperately needed an expert in the use of screen...
3 Things - 3 TED Talks Edition Simple Hack for a Life with Parkinson's Mileha Soneji is a trained strategic product designer, originally hailing from the city of Pune in India. The Cost of Failing to Design AccessiblyKings Floyd is a...
In the constantly evolving digital environment, where the effective sharing of information is vital, selecting the correct format for presenting your content is essential. Two prominent contenders in this arena are HTML and PDF. It's essential to...
The Summer Paralympics, sometimes referred to as the Games of the Paralympian, are held in the same host city as the Olympics, with two weeks between the close of the Olympics and the opening ceremony of the Paralympics. The first official...
Creating an accessible PDF from InDesign is a relatively simple process, but depending on the file size, it can be time-consuming. To keep me on track, I keep a list of accessibility "must do's" when preparing an InDesign document for export to...
Some History on Disability Pride Month Did you know July is Disability Pride Month? I admit it wasn’t until last week when I read an article in Diversability Magazine that I learned about it. In July of 1990, when the...
What is ALT text? ALT text (ALT being short for alternative) is referred to in several different ways: ALT text, ALT tag, ALT attribute, ALT description and simply, alternative text. ALT text serves several purposes: It is read by screen...
Incorporating accessibility testing into the product development phase is a non-negotiable aspect of creating an inclusive digital experience. By identifying and addressing accessibility issues early on, businesses can save time, resources, and...
Using automated scanning software, such as DubBot, and manual testing are two excellent ways to identify potential accessibility issues in your digital assets. There is one more tool you can add to the mix and that is analytics. Finding an...
Creating a business case for web accessibility can be difficult, especially when, as accessibility professionals, we just "get it!" We know why accessibility is important and that it should be baked into all of our information and communication...
Happy Global Accessibility Awareness Day!! Participate! Spread Awareness! Talk about it! Think about it! Learn about it! Create digital access, opportunity, and inclusion for everyone. GAAD website | ...
Recently, I was asked to review an email newsletter and report any accessibility issues that I found. Wow, was I surprised! I don't expect most people to know that they need to build digital communications with accessibility in mind. But I did...
Each year on the third Thursday of May, we celebrate Global Accessibility Awareness Day (GAAD). But how did GAAD begin? Who started it? What’s GAAD really all about? GAAD "started" on Sunday, November 27, 2011, when Joe...
What is plain language? "A communication is in plain language if its wording, structure, and design are so clear that the intended readers can easily find what they need, understand what they find, and use that information." ~ Center for...
What are the components of a robust procurement process for technology that ensures accessibility needs are identified and addressed in the planning, requirements gathering, research and evaluation phases as well as the determination of...
VPAT: Voluntary Product Accessibility Template A VPAT is a document used to describe the level of conformance of an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) product against the standards outlined in WCAG, Section 508 and EN 301 549. An ICT...
"A national emergency does not exempt federal, state, and local governments from providing equal access," wrote Mark Riccobono, president of the National Federation of the Blind, in a letter to the U.S. Health and Human Services...
Look at the two images below. Both are the footer section of the White House website. The first one is dated Jan. 15, 2021. The second one, Jan. 25, 2021. Putting the obvious difference in the look and feel aside, what do you notice? Think A11Y....
What, exactly, are tags? In a PDF, tags provide the logical structure that controls how the content is presented or “read” by assistive technology. Tags identify the content type, such as Sect, P, Table, Span, to name just a...
What Is an Overlay? According to Dictionary.com, an overlay is: noun something laid over something else; covering. a layer or decoration of something applied: an overlay of gold. Accessibility overlays are very similar ... they are laid...
An accessibility statement is a public communication that reflects your organization’s policies, standards, methods, and goals related to the accessibility of your web content, web and mobile applications, and information communication...
'Persona' Defined A persona is defined as "a single representation of a cluster of target users who represent similar behaviors, goals and motivations." ~ © Nielsen Norman Group More simply put, personas are models, usually...
Today’s websites and web apps can be very complex. Many consists of 1000s of code lines, multiple user interactions, custom color palettes, and video and audio content. Automated quality assurance tools, such as DubBot, are critical in...
Color blindness encompasses a large number of causes and conditions, and it's complicated and complex. Wait! Come back! I promise I won’t be talking about cones and rods...whew! When we talk about color blindness, we refer to the most...
