Designing for accessibility

Web accessibility is a practice of breaking down barriers that prevent people with disabilities from effectively using a web application. These disabilities include, but are not limited to: visual impairments including blindness, users with less motor skills, auditory impairments, seizures caused by visual strobe or flashing effects, and cognitive impairments affecting a user’s memory and attention span. Users with visual impairments including blindness often use a keyboard instead of a mouse as their preferred input device, as well as text-to-speech / screen reader software to translate into speech what is visually presented in the browser. Using thoughtful design, a web application can be created or modified to allow users with disabilities the same comfort and ease-of-use as a user without disabilities. Mongoose administrators and form designers should design their applications and forms properly to create a user-friendly Mongoose web client experience for all.

Beginning in Mongoose version 9.03, most common Mongoose web client navigation and form components are accessible by default. A person using a screen reader, such as Job Access With Speech (JAWS) or NonVisual Desktop Access (NVDA), to consume and read the application can navigate the application using a keyboard and use the base Mongoose forms and their components. Designers must make sure that screen readers can interpret and present pertinent information and make applications usable for vision-impaired users.

Screen readers and browsers work together in tandem. The list of available software solutions for web users with disabilities is growing. You can use these tools to make your applications and forms accessible to users with disabilities by following the recommendations here and in the next topics.

The best way to understand how these tools work is to try them firsthand. When you are developing your Mongoose application and forms, test your form with different combinations of browsers and assistive technologies before recommending to your users the ideal combination for users with disabilities to use your application with ease.