This post continues our series explaining why Ephox is the only choice for rich-text (aka WYSIWYG) content creation and editing. Our previous post explores the features behind our premium TinyMCE plugin PowerPaste.
The emergence of the World Wide Web has made it possible for individuals with appropriate computer and telecommunications equipment to interact as never before. It presents new challenges and new hopes to people with disabilities.
— Tim Berners-Lee
When Tim Berners-Lee created the web, he spent a lot of his time fighting for our right to privacy, freedom, and openness. For Ephox, this means making web content accessible for everyone.
Ephox is committed to helping make the web accessible to everyone, especially people using screen reader technologies to consume content. Our Senior Director of Product and colleague Damien Fitzpatrick added to the discussion in a previous blog post, where he discussed his thoughts on a recent TED talk by disability rights lawyer and design thinker, Elise Roy. We sincerely believe that when we design for disability, we all benefit.
We develop products for customers who create content for readers with disabilities in mind. Our Accessibility Checker plugin (a11y) was released as a premium add-on for TinyMCE and as a feature in Textbox.io 2.0. The plugin enables a content author to check the editor contents for various WCAG & Section 508 accessibility problems. It has a repair feature that steps a user through identified problems and in many instances will automatically correct the error.
Without the a11y checker installed, users need to manually check for errors, have an advanced knowledge of accessibility and typically have a good understanding of HTML. In reality, most authors creating content don’t possess these technical skills. Even if they do, fixing these errors can be a very time-consuming task that negatively impacts productivity.
The most common authoring issues include:
- Missing alt text for images
- Header ordering
- Incorrect markup for headings and lists
- Split hyperlinks
- Captions on tables
Why is this important?
Firstly, because it’s the right thing to do.
Secondly, with the right technology, delivering accessibility compliance isn’t a cost to business, in fact, these services can save companies money.
Lastly, because ignoring the hundreds of thousands of people around the world using a screen reader or other assistive technologies, companies are missing out on engaging with a massive audience.
Ephox’s Accessibility Checker solution catches and helps clean up common accessibility errors before authors post their content. It saves time, money and for organizations like universities, government agencies, and various non-profit entities, who are mandated to ensure WAI-ARIA compliance, it could circumvent a lawsuit.
If you want to get a feel for the Accessibility Checker plugin yourself, check out the demo. If you have any other questions, our sales team is here to help.
Stay tuned as we continue our “Top 10 reasons why Ephox is the choice for WYSIWYG content creation” series, with Reason #7: File Management.
