Web Content Publishers Guide to the New Zealand Government Web Standards

Will Huthnance Senior Web Specialist Web Enablement Government Information Services

What are Web Standards?

Specifications that define and describe aspects of the World Wide Web.

What are Web Standards?

A set of standardized best practices for building web sites and a philosophy of web design.

What are Web Standards?

They concern the interoperability, accessibility and usability of web pages and web sites.

The benefits of Web Standards

Websites built according to Web Standards contain structural information. This makes it easier for search engines to access and evaluate information found on these websites. Search engines are in effect blind users.

The benefits of Web Standards

Old and new browsers Websites built according to Web Standards allow old and new browsers to access them this increases the audience (forward and backwards compatibility). Some legacy websites for example have been optimised for IE6 - this effectively alienates the 80% of the market not using this browser.

The benefits of Web Standards

Creates stability Standardised code allows different developers throughout the life cycle of the website to understand and edit the code. It is possible that a website built without web standards may take more resources to retro-fit so it is important to insist on standards at the development phase.

The benefits of Web Standards

Device independence

Websites build according to the Web Standards can allow people to access content irrespective of the device they are using e.g. tablet, smart phone, TV, desktop, screen-reader. This becoming very important as mobile devices will soon overtake desktops as the most popular way to access the internet.

The benefits of Web Standards

Smaller file sizes Reduces the size of the HTML files which increases the download speed - this ultimately may reduce band width which will reduce operating costs.

The benefits of Web Standards

No vendor lock-in. Independence from vendor lock-in as the HTML is non-proprietary.

The benefits of Web Standards

Less time Cleaner code as a result of Web Standards will mean less time for developers to maintain and develop code.

The benefits of Web Standards

Assistive technology Allows for people who use assistive technology e.g. screen readers, to access documents.

How do we define web accessibility?

"the inclusive practice of making websites usable by people of all abilities and disabilities... ...all users can have equal access to information and functionality" - Wikipedia

Types of Disabilities
Visual Blindness, low-vision, colour-blindness

Hearing Deafness/hard of hearing

Motor Inability to use a mouse, slow response time, limited fine motor control Cognitive Learning disabilities, distractibility, inability to remember or focus on large amounts of information

Website accessibility is affected by:

Website Developers
Their code affects accessibility

Website accessibility is affected by:

Website Content Authors

Their content affects accessibility

Website accessibility is affected by:

Users of assistive technology

Their skill at using assistive technology e.g. screen readers affects accessibility.

NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT

WEB STANDARDS

Currently 65 standards which comprise: New Zealand layer Web Content and Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0)

NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT

WEB STANDARDS
New Zealand layer comprises 1.Strategy and Operations 2.Content and Design 3.Legal and Policy 4.Technical

NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT

WEB STANDARDS
NZ 4.2.2:
Content in document formats other than HTML
With the exception of NZ 4.2.2 Content in Document formats other than HTML, this presentation is focused on the Web Content Accessibility Guides (WCAG 2.0)which also comprise part of the New Zealand Government Web Standards.

Strongly suggest that all documents are published in HTML as this is the most accessible format.

The New Zealand Government Web Standards were amended in 2010 as pressure on web teams to publish everything in HTML was found to be quite challenging. This was largely due to the high volume of documents being created and because large documents like annual reports took significant resources to be converted into HTML.

NEW ZEALAND GOVERNMENT

WEB STANDARDS

If you cannot publish in HTML then: 1. you must publish your document in at least ONE accessible format 2. and also the original document if you can.

New Zealand Government Web Standards Web Content and Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0) AA
Tim Berners-Lee was originally a physicist working in Switzerland who in the 1989 came up with a way for researchers to easily share information HTTP and HTML. Soon after he created the web, Tim Berners-Lee realized that an independent standards making body was needed to ensure universality of functionality across the industry. In 1994, the W3 Consortium was formally established with a mandate to oversee development of common web protocols and promote web interoperability.

New Zealand Government Web Standards Web Content and Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.0)
The W3C: Develops recommendations Has 321 members e.g. hardware and software manufacturers, academic institutions, telecommunications companies, content providers

New Zealand legislation

In terms of web accessibility, what New Zealand laws may affect organisations and how they publish information online?

1994
Human Rights Act
Requires non-discrimination in access to public places and facilities... (e.g. government websites)

2003

The 2003 Cabinet paper stated

"Discriminating against people online is the same as doing so anywhere else. Government websites are public property - all New Zealanders using the Internet should be able to access them as of right..."
It required key public sector agencies to formally adopt the Web Standards and required them to conduct annual self-assessments of their websites to test their level of compliance against the Web Standards

According to the mandate, the following agencies were required to adopt the Web Standards.

Ministry
Agriculture and Forestry Culture and Heritage Defense Economic Development Social Development Women's Affairs Education Environment Fisheries Foreign Affairs and Trade Transport Health Justice Mori Development Pacific Island Affairs Research, Science and Technology

Department
Building and Housing Conservation Corrections

Labour Prime Minister and Cabinet Internal Affairs Inland Revenue

Agencies
Archives New Zealand Crown Law Office New Zealand Defence Force Land Information New Zealand Serious Fraud Office State Services Commission Education Review Office The Treasury New Zealand Police New Zealand Security Intelligence Service National Library of New Zealand Statistics New Zealand Government Communications Security Bureau Parliamentary Counsel Office New Zealand Customs Service

2008
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
Then in 2008 the NZ government ratified a major UN Convention. The NZ government were one of the original authors of the convention.

The 2008 Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities specifically addressed website accessibility...

Parties should take appropriate measures to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to information and communications technology...

Web Standards (WCAG 2.0 AA) that directly affect web content people

There are 12 Web Standards that affect Web Content Publishers

12

1.1.1 Non-text Content

scanned

For any non-text content that delivers meaning, a text equivalent must be provided. This affects charts, graphs, photos and documents that may have been scanned.

This is an example of non-text content

But no alternative text is provided so users of screen-readers will be unable to read the content.

This is another example of non-text content

But in this example, the non-text content is insufficient as it does not adequately describe the visual content.

One way to write good alternative text is to imagine you are describing the visual content to your Grandmother over the telephone.

1.2 Audio and Video

For audio only: Provide a text transcript

For video only: Provide a text transcript + audio description

For video and audio: Provide captions and audio description (if the visual content delivers meaning). Also provide text transcript.

This is an example of video that uses captions and audio description

CaptionTube is a useful web application that allows users to easily create captions.

1.3.1 Information and relationships

Visual presentation of content structure

The visual presentation of content structure and relationships must equally be present in HTML e.g. if you present a list on your webpage ensure that it is marked up in HTML as <li> </li> to reflect this. Otherwise assistive technologies may struggle to interpret the content. This web standard also applies to documents published on the web like MS Word structure needs to be added to the document that reflects the visual presentation.

Here is a webpage that has been visually well structured with good use of headings, paragraphs and bullet points.

On inspection of the HTML, the code matches the visual presentation well.

1.3.3 Sensory characteristics

e.g. Click the button on the right e.g. Select the round button to access
People who are blind and people who have low vision may not be able to understand information if it is conveyed by shape and/or location.

This is an example of a failure of 1.3.3 as blind and visually impaired readers cannot relate to links on the right.

This is an another example of a failure of 1.3.3 as blind and visually impaired readers cannot relate to links on the left.

1.4.1 Use of colour

Do not rely exclusively on colour to demonstrate meaning in your web content. Colour can be used but also include some other method to show meaning.

1.4.1 Use of colour

So in this example people with colour blindness may struggle to distinguish between the different sets of data. Approximately 1 in 10 men have some form of colour blindness.

Instead, use triangle and squares to differentiate content in addition to colour.

1.4.2 Audio control

If audio on a web page plays automatically for more than 3 seconds, provide a way for it to be paused/stopped.

Stop / Pause
Individuals using screen reader software can find it hard to hear speech output if there is other audio playing at the same time. Therefore it is important for the user to be able to turn off the background sound.

1.4.3 Contrast (minimum)

Provide enough contrast between text and its background so that it can be read by people with moderately low vision.

4.5:1
Small text Between foreground text and background colour

3:1
Large text (18 points or 14 if bold) Between foreground text and background colour

In this example, the white text on a green background fails colour contrast for small text.

In this example, the dark grey text on light grey background fails colour contrast for small text.

In this example, the green text on a light green background fails colour contrast for small text.

1.4.5 Images of text

Dont use images to present text as some users need to be able to adjust the font size and this functionality is not possible with an image. In general, logos are OK as images but for other content, use actual text.

So this example, the main horizontal navigation uses images instead of text.

But if we increase the text size, the main horizontal navigation will not increase in size. This may create problems for some visually impaired users.

2.4.2 Page title

The title should clearly identify the content of the page and distinguish it from every other page. Use the pages main content heading, followed by the name of the site.

This is an example of a correct implementation of the standard. The page title Unions and the website name are clearly depicted in the page title.

This is another example of a correct implementation of the standard. The page title First Aid and the website name are clearly depicted in the page title.

2.4.4 Link purpose

Write link text that identifies the purpose of the link without the website users needing additional context. For example, it is considered to be bad etiquette to not inform a reader that the link they click will result in a 5MB PDF download!

In this example the link Find out more is not really telling the reader where they will be going. Also, if you look at the HTML code, the link is positioned in a separate <P> tag from its associated content this may make it difficult for users of assistive technology to understand the links relevance.

This example is similar to the previous. Read more is not really telling the reader where they will be going.

Again, if you look at the HTML code, the link is positioned in a separate <P> tag from its associated content this may make it difficult for users of assistive technology to understand the links relevance.

2.4.6 Heading and labels

When headings are clear and descriptive, users can find the information they seek more easily, and they can understand the relationships between different parts of the content more easily. They help users understand what information is contained in web pages and how that information is organized.

3.1.2 Language of parts

If a web page includes a section of content in another language, this section needs to be enclosed with HTML tags that specify that language.

3.1.2 Language of parts

<h2 lang=mi>Te Tari Taiwhenua</h2>

So in this example, mi needs to be added to the HTML. The current code is using a New Zealand English tag. Screen readers will attempt to read Maori using a English accent which may lead to problems understanding the text due to mispronunciation.

Managing third-party vendors during website development

with Web Standards in mind.

There is no set methodology

New Zealand Government Web Standards state

Web Standards compliance must be stipulated in contracts with vendors but nothing more

Research about vendors and Web Standards found

They believe they have a high level of Web Standards knowledge Most have government clients Their expertise is a main driver for Web Standards compliance Most test Web Standards compliance themselves But an audit of 57 government websites by DIA, found Govt websites to have varying levels of compliance.

Also, in the Government web development landscape...

There are few web developers working in Government Most website development is outsourced to vendors Many Government agencies stipulate they require Web Standards compliance in their contracts BUT there seems to be varying levels of web standards compliance with their websites Government agencies generally dont have the internal resources to test for compliance so many are reliant on vendors.

How to improve Web Standards compliance in website development?

Consider
Stipulating in your RFP/RFQ that Web Standards compliance is required IN ADDITION to Web Standards testing by an organisation that is independent from the vendor. Stipulating this also in the contract with the website development vendor.

How to improve Web Standards compliance in website development?

Consider
Including regular Web Standards compliance testing as key milestones as part of the project plan. Withholding sign-off on the project until Web Standards compliance has been meet Stating in the RFP that Web Standards testing is part of the project budget and is not to be considered an additional cost.

For more information about document accessibility and the New Zealand Government Web Standards contact:
Web Enablement Team, Government Information Services, Knowledge, Information, Research and Technology Department of Internal Affairs Te Tari Taiwhenua Website: http://www.webstandards.govt.nz Email: web.standards@dia.govt.nz