Everyone Deserves Access and Ease Online - Week 6

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   In our final week, we focused on accessibility and usability when digital writing. I would argue that these are some of the most important concepts we've learned in this class. I say that because I think they are concepts that are so often overlooked. Because of how massive the internet is, it may be easy to assume that once you put something out there, it's possible for anyone to see it. While this is partially true, it is so important to consider those that genuinely cannot access your work because you haven't taken extra steps to ensure that all people can access it. 

    So what is accessibility? According to the World Wide Web Consortium, accessibility is what we think of when we think about how to make everyday items and experiences equivalent for people with disabilities. How can we, as a society, make sure that they are able to experience everything that the average person can? Another important term that encompasses disabled and non-disabled people is usability. Usability is about designing things to be effective and efficient for the user. The important thing to keep in mind here is that when I say "user", the goal is for the design to be usable for all users. This brings us to one final term, inclusion, which is all about making sure that everyone is involved and can be an active participant.

    In "Writing Spaces", we read about three distinct ways to improve the usability of our digital writings. These include:

1. Alt Text: A "hidden" description of a picture or graphic in a digital space that is important for readers who use utilize programs that are able to read webpage texts to them. 

2. Headings and Styles: A title for a specific section of a document that gives readers a general idea bout that section of text, rather than having to read through an entire document to find information. 

3. Scripts: A script of a presentation that allows audience members to follow along.

    All three of these are tools that we can incorporate into our writing in order to make it more accessible to all people. These things benefit both disabled and non-disabled people, and even benefit you, as the writer, by expanding the amount of people that have access to your work. 

    Usability, however, does not just come down to the extra features we add, but to the way that we format and layout our information for the ultimate user experience. According to UXmyths, making a document concise and scannable resulted in 124% better usability. This is because of the fact that most people aren't going to read through an entire webpage. Things that could be considered deterrents for readers are long paragraphs of text and unnecessary instructions or filler words. These make the page look packed with information, and makes the reader think that they need to read through every word in order to get the information they were looking for. 

    All of this just means that when you are designing a web page, putting a little extra thought into how you layout your information could make the difference between someone comprehending what you're trying to get across, and them just leaving completely. This can be done by creating a prototype. First you would want a low fidelity, or Lo-Fi, prototype where you are merely sketching and arranging your information in a way that you think it user friendly. Then you could move on to a high fidelity, or Hi-Fi, prototype, which is more thorough and can be tested more diligently using eye-tracking softwares or hear maps. Keep in mind that when people scan a page, the most common pattern seen is the "F" shaped pattern, so positioning your key information in those places can help grab the attention of the reader. 

    These are just a few tips and tricks about usability, but I hope that if you take anything away from this post, it's that accessibility is a necessary step when you are creating something, whether it's digitally or not. It might seem a little daunting to have to add all of these extra things every time you put something out into the world, but by just being mindful of the issue and putting in a little effort, you are helping someone else have access to more information. 



Have you ever had a frustrating experience when using a product or a website? I know that I have, and I find it sad to think that some people have a frustrating experience with almost all of content they consume. Let's make the web an inclusive space for everyone!

Resources: 

Driscoll, D., Vetter, M., Stewart, M., & Heise, M. (Eds.). (2022). Writing spaces: Readings on writing. Parlor Press.


Tucker, V. (2023). Usability Research Findings [Powerpoint Slides]. Canvas@ODU. https://canvas.odu.edu/courses/128495/files/24908630?wrap=1


Uxmyths. (2010, May 30). Myth #1: People read on the web. UX Myths. https://uxmyths.com/post/647473628/myth-people-read-on-the-web 


(WAI), W. W. A. I. (2010, May). Accessibility, usability, and inclusion. Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). https://www.w3.org/WAI/fundamentals/accessibility-usability-inclusion/


Image by: https://www.searchenginejournal.com/web-accessibility-best-practices/415631/


Image by: http://www.friendshipcircle.org/blog/2014/03/25/11-different-definitions-of-inclusionthe-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly

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