With the rise in the use of assistive technologies (AT) in enhancing and facilitating web accessibility, it’s crucial for developers to understand how ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications) can work with these technologies. However, there tends to be some level of inconsistency in ARIA support across different user screen readers and web browsers. It is for this reason that the importance of ARIA’s first rule cannot be overstated: wherever possible, semantic HTML should be relied upon. However, ARIA remains an essential tool for web accessibility, especially where content cannot be semantically defined using native HTML or for web sites with complex or dynamic content.
ARIA Support Tables: A New Step
In a recent move towards comprehensively addressing the inconsistency issues, the ARIA and Assistive Technologies Community Group (ARIA-AT) announced the publication of its first Assistive Technology Support tables in April 2023. These tables are available through the ARIA Authoring Practices Guide (APG) and are designed to indicate how ARIA is supported by various combinations of screen readers and web browsers.
As a starting point, these support tables only detail pattern implementations for three screen readers and a limited number of patterns but promise more updates in the future according to the World Wide Web Consortium’s (W3C) official announcement.
Making Sense of the AT Support Tables
The introduction of AT support tables is a significant step in overcoming the challenges that developers face when they attempt to code for assistive technology users. These tables help to predict screen reader behaviors, providing important insights for developers who are not regular screen reader users.
The ARIA-AT group recognizes the struggle developers face in creating experiences that are accessible to users of all assistive technologies. Coding for one AT may result in a less optimal experience for another AT. The AT support tables can help to prevent this.
Current and Future Support Tables
Currently, five ARIA authoring pages feature these AT support tables:
- Button Examples
- Link Examples
- Radio Group Example
- Using aria-activedecendant
- Alert Example
The support tables are expected to be added to the ARIA APG over time. The ARIA-AT group is in collaboration with the developers of the three most used screen readers: JAWS (Jobs Access with Speech), NVDA (NonVisual Desktop Access), and Apple Voiceover. The group is working on making a publicly available quarterly schedule for the entire APG.
Resting Not on Our Laurels
While the support tables are highly useful, they do not remove the need for regular screen reader testing. It is necessary to actively test content for conformance with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG).
When conducting screen reader tests, it is important for the tester to be an experienced AT user and versed in web accessibility. Regular testing not only ensures accessibility but also reduces the long-term costs of development and the probability of barriers affecting your audience.
Contribute to a More Accessible Future
If you wish to contribute to the APG Support Tables project, you can visit the W3C’s “Contributing to the ARIA and Assistive Technologies” wiki page. For specific ARIA issues or guidance in building a testing strategy for your content, feel free to send us a message to connect with an accessibility expert.
Tags: #WebAccessibility, #AssistiveTechnology, #ARIA, #WCAG
[Reference Link](!https://www.boia.org/blog/aria-team-announces-assistive-technology-support-tables)