Screen reader users have multiple ways of navigating within a page. You can also use WAVE to view the underlying, un-styled content of the document. The order of these is important.įor a crude approximation of this linearized effect, you could copy the entire web page (not the source code, but the regular web page in the browser), then paste everything into a text editor that does not support text formatting, styling, or images.
#On screen reader for chrome code
Now, they don't hear the source code directly, but all text content within the page markup and any relevant structure and semantics. When reading the content of a page, the screen reader users hear the title of the web page (assuming there is one), then each text element in the order that it appears in the source code of the document. There are two primary methods for exploring web content in a screen reader - reading the content of the page or navigating the elements of the page. Then how do screen reader users experience web pages?
This type of information is simply useless to them.
Positioning and visual artistry do not inherently help or hinder the accessibility of web content for screen reader users. It is irrelevant to them whether the most important content is visually in the middle with the boldest colors and most artistic design. They don't often think in terms of left and right or position on the page. Screen reader users cannot survey the entirety of a web page with such immediacy. Good designs draw your visual attention to the content and use visual cues to help you understand the site's organization almost instantaneously. They often have graphics designed to attract your attention to "important" elements like new content, specially-priced merchandise, or other things. Most web pages have navigation features either at the top or side of the viewable area. A sighted person tends to think of web sites in terms of blocks of information organized visually. In a very real sense, screen readers make you think differently. Both of these are habits that a sighted person must set aside while testing with a screen reader.īut habits and techniques of navigating web content are only part of the story. They're also accustomed to visually scanning a page in all directions almost simultaneously. Sighted users are accustomed to using a mouse for navigation. Many keyboard shortcuts are available, most of which the user has to memorize. To begin with, screen readers exclusively or primarily use the keyboard for navigation. What are the main differences between the way sighted users and screen reader users access web content?īlind users access web content in fundamentally different ways compared to sighted users. If you don't understand these differences, you won't understand what the accessibility challenges are for screen reader users, and you won't be able to design effectively for this audience.
Too many people focus on blindness to the exclusion of people with other disability types (motor, auditory, cognitive, low vision, etc.) whose needs are just as relevant.Īlthough a screen reader isn't a "browser" in the same way that Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer are browsers (in fact, in most cases the screen reader depends on those browsers), screen readers are a way of accessing web content that is different from the way that sighted people use browsers. Of course, you don't want to fall into the trap of thinking that accessibility is only relevant to screen reader users. Screen reader users are one of the primary beneficiaries of your accessibility efforts, so it makes sense to understand their needs. Well, that would be an easy way out, but before you start making excuses, let's take a look at what you'd be missing out on.
#On screen reader for chrome how to
So if I don't know how to use a screen reader, I shouldn't even try?
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