Website accessibility is one of the major issues these days, be it the traditional classroom website or a virtual classroom website. These websites are not built for everyone to use, and hence many learners are kept devoid of the information they seek. That is when the term, ‘508 compliance’ comes to play. Section 508 ensures that your website can be accessed by all, irrespective of their disabilities, whether the mode is that of asynchronous learning or synchronous learning. Now, before diving into the “ what will happen if not complaint?” let's take a brief of what this 508 complaint is and how does it work?
What is 508 Compliance?
Disability-based discrimination is prohibited in government programs, programs receiving federal funds, and employment under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The Rehabilitation Act has undergone a few amendments since it was first introduced, most notably in 1998 when Section 508 was added and the "digital" part of accessibility was included, and once more in 2017.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Communications and Video Accessibility Act of 2010, and Section 255 of the Communications Act are those that are most pertinent to information and communication.
In order to be fully safe and accessible for those with disabilities, all digital government services must comply with the 508 standard, which is a legal obligation. The law addresses numerous topics pertaining to supporting individuals with various disabilities.
Regulations under Section 508 address "information and communication technology" accessibility. Websites, printed materials, printers, desktop software, and mobile apps are all included in this because they are all related to information and communication technologies. Section 508 expanded the definition of accessibility to include more than just having access to a website. Access to desktop applications, mobile apps, documents, and even hardware interfaces like your TV or PC is also included.
Why is 508 Compliance Needed?
Online learning is made simpler for folks with certain types of disabilities because of 508 compliance. These people are intelligent enough to understand the information, but the traditional format makes it challenging for them to understand, especially those who have hearing and vision-related issues. The most recent revision to Section 508 (added in 2017) gauges compliance with the same global standard—WCAG 2.0 AA. WCAG 2.0 AA, like the original Section 508, does not specify any particular requirements that websites must meet in order to be compliant and accessible. Instead, the guidelines provide a precise picture of what accessible websites must do, with a more concentrated focus on functionality.
For websites to increase accessibility for users with disabilities and hence increase traffic and conversion rates, 508 compliance is crucial.
Websites inevitably incur the danger of lowering page views, limiting website statistics, and reducing their target audience if they ignore the accessibility requirements of the public.
How to make a website 508 compliant?
Easier navigation: Users who use screen readers or have various motor limitations heavily rely on keyboards. Because of this, websites must support interactions with assistive technology. For instance, to promote accessibility, buttons, links, or input fields should be easily manipulated using the arrow, tab, or other keys instead of requiring a mouse click. Additionally, users should be able to navigate the website by simply skipping over the headers, paragraphs, and other page elements. Therefore, websites must enable keyboard navigation for visitors and make all of their site's elements available through the keyboard.
Options for both image and text description: The term "alternative (ALT) text" refers to text that describes what is shown in the image. People with visual impairments can understand what the picture is about since screen readers can readily comprehend this text. Simply said, alternate image text provides context for on-page images that viewers cannot see. Accurate, evocative, and helpful ALT descriptions are necessary for 508 compliance. The link destination must also be stated in the ALT text if any links have been added to the image such that when the user clicks on the image, a new webpage opens.
Capacity to use a screen reader: Users must be able to use a screen reader to access the website's content. Simply put, these screen readers turn digital text into artificial speech. When using screen readers to read online material aloud, those with vision impairments or other people with cognitive and/or learning challenges can benefit from this function.
Caption for videos and audio: The spoken content from audio and video files is typically represented in written form through transcripts and captions. While subtitles normally display in tandem with spoken words in the video, a transcript is a text representation of the content delivered in a separate document. Auto-generated captioning is frequently prone to errors, while manually writing captions is typically quite time-consuming. However, lots of businesses now provide podcasts or movies with closed captioning transcripts.
Color contrast: Color-based accessibility difficulties can be solved quickly and easily by adding color-coded fields, labels, or icons. Websites must be color-smart in order to adhere to Section 508 regulations. Use the color green in an online form to indicate that all information was put correctly, and red to draw attention to any mistakes.
No time limit: You must not impose any temporal restrictions on the website to adhere to 508 compliance. This is merely due to the fact that some users may need longer time to complete a specific action, making it difficult for them to finish activities in the allotted time. Forms that ask for personal information frequently have a timeout feature. Make sure the user is given enough time or that a warning is supplied to postpone a time out. Making it feasible for users to resume the action after the session has expired is crucial if a timed response is still required.
Avoid objects that flicker on screen: Some people can experience seizures as a result of specific color combinations and screen flickers. Websites must be made in such a way, so as to prevent screen flickering at a set frequency that is higher than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.
Text description along with videos: Websites must include alternative descriptions for videos that are embedded on the page, much like they do for ALT text for photos, so that screen readers can readily describe the video to users with visual impairments.
Conclusion: It can be difficult if an organization's website is not accessible and does not accommodate all website users given that a sizeable portion of visitors have learning or cognitive problems. Having a fully accessible and 508-compliant website is unquestionably a best practice to follow, regardless of whether your company is legally compelled to be so or not.
