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Accessibility Improvements

This document outlines the accessibility improvements made to the blog to ensure it’s usable by people with disabilities and complies with web accessibility standards.

Implemented Improvements

1. Image Accessibility

  • Alt Text for Images: Added proper alt text to all images using the responsive-image.html include
  • Automatic Alt Text Generation: Implemented fallback alt text generation for images that don’t have explicit alt text
  • Smart Alt Text for Gallery Images: Added logic to detect generic image names (like IMG_1234) and provide more meaningful alt text

2. Keyboard Navigation

  • Skip to Content Link: Added a skip link that allows keyboard users to bypass navigation and jump directly to main content
  • Focus Indicators: Added visible focus styles for all interactive elements
  • Proper Tab Order: Ensured logical tab order through the page
  • User Scalability: Removed user-scalable=no from the viewport meta tag to allow users to zoom the page

3. ARIA Attributes

  • Navigation: Added aria-label="Main navigation" to the navigation element
  • Current Page: Added aria-current="page" to indicate the current page in navigation
  • Social Links: Added descriptive aria-label attributes to social media links
  • Theme Toggle: Added aria-label to the theme toggle switch
  • Cookie Consent: Added proper ARIA roles and labels to the cookie consent dialog

4. Screen Reader Support

  • Visually Hidden Elements: Added a .visually-hidden class for content that should be available to screen readers but not visible
  • Decorative Elements: Added aria-hidden="true" to purely decorative elements
  • Semantic HTML: Used appropriate semantic HTML elements like <nav>, <main>, <header>, <footer>, etc.

5. Color Contrast

  • Navigation Links: Improved contrast of navigation links to meet WCAG 2 AA standards (4.5:1 ratio)
  • Button Colors: Enhanced button colors in the cookie consent banner for better visibility
  • Focus Indicators: Added high-contrast focus indicators for keyboard navigation
  • Link Styling: Added underlines to links for better visibility and added stronger color contrast
  • Social Media Icons: Improved background colors of social media icons for better contrast

6. CSS and Structure

  • Dedicated Accessibility CSS: Created a separate CSS file for accessibility-specific styles
  • Contrast Fixes CSS: Added a dedicated CSS file for color contrast improvements
  • Touch Target Size: Ensured all interactive elements are at least 44×44px for better touch accessibility

7. Theme Switcher Improvements

  • Better Positioning: Moved the theme switcher to the top of the page for immediate visibility
  • Clear Labeling: Added “Light” and “Dark” labels with sun and moon icons for better understanding
  • Visual Feedback: Improved the switcher design with a pill-shaped container and better contrast
  • Responsive Design: Adapts to different screen sizes while maintaining accessibility

8. Icon Accessibility Improvements

  • Icon Library Strategy:
    • Simple Icons for brand icons (Twitter/X, LinkedIn, GitHub, etc.)
    • Use UTF-8 characters for general purpose icons
  • Proper Icon Labeling: Added appropriate aria-label attributes to all icon links
  • Icon Visibility: Ensured icons are visible in both light and dark modes with proper contrast
  • Semantic Markup: Used aria-hidden=”true” for decorative icons and alt=”” for icon images
  • Hover States: Improved hover states for better interactive feedback

Remaining Tasks

  • Heading Hierarchy: Ensure proper heading hierarchy throughout the site
  • Form Accessibility: Review and improve form elements for better accessibility
  • Comprehensive Testing: Test with screen readers and other assistive technologies

Resources

  • WebAIM - Web Accessibility In Mind
  • WCAG 2.1 - Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
  • The A11Y Project - A community-driven effort to make web accessibility easier