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Use plain language instead of abbreviation for A11Y button

147
3
Friday
Status: Open
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HannahWilson3
by
Regular Contributor

Instead of using a button labeled "A11Y" to auto-calculate tab order, label it with something that makes it clear what it actually does.

Possible labels: 

  • "Auto-calculate tab order"
  • "Accessible tab order"
  • "Accessibility"

Currently it requires two tooltips to explain what it does!

A11Y button requires two tooltips to explain its function.A11Y button requires two tooltips to explain its function.

 

App creators at my organization have been ignoring that button because it's tiny, cryptic, and not in a location that makes sense. (It would probably be used more if located near the page outline instead of grouped with the zoom buttons.)

I think the use of "A11Y" when you mean "accessibility" makes sense for casual discussions and contexts with character limits, but it can also be jargon-y, confusing and excludes anyone who isn't "in the know". If you want people to use this tool to create more accessible apps, it should be immediately understandable. Even The A11Y Project recommends writing out the whole word when possible. 

Understanding Success Criterion 3.1.3: Unusual Words | WAI | W3C

Understanding Success Criterion 3.1.4: Abbreviations | WAI | W3C

3 Comments
JoshKalov
by
Friday

+1 to all of this. The naming is confusing. The location is confusing.

It makes it seem like accessibility is an afterthought in Experience Builder. Accessibility shouldn't really be an opt-in kind of thing anyway. Why isn't it enabled by default?

TonghuiMing
by Esri Regular Contributor
15 hours ago

Hi @HannahWilson3 - A11Y button is an entrance to not only one setting - it now has two, and if we have more, they will show up here:

TonghuiMing_0-1784185474370.png

 

As for the "A11Y", it is a standard shorthand in the tech and web design industries, and for ESRI products, words like "Accessibility" require translations, so they will show differently in different locales. It's more of a design choice.

 

@JoshKalov Enable by default - we couldn't do that because there are some apps with overlapping widgets where the owner might not need this feature, but turning it on will mess with their overlapping order. We need to make sure this won't break any existing features.

 

As for the location, we will keep a note of that and see whether there is a better place where we could integrate it. It is for the builder, and that's why you cannot put it together with the app settings.

 

Thanks for bringing that to our attention.

Tonghui

 

HannahWilson3
by
7 hours ago

@TonghuiMing - thanks for responding. A few thoughts regarding your response:

  • "it is a standard shorthand in the tech and web design industries"- isn't the whole point of Experience Builder to be a low/no-code app builder that's approachable for users who aren't immersed in the industry of tech and web design? As I mentioned in the original post, accessibility best practices include limiting the use of abbreviations and jargon.
  • "for ESRI products, words like 'Accessibility' require translations, so they will show differently in different locales" - this doesn't seem like a huge roadblock to me? If it needs translation, translate it like everything else.
  • "more of a design choice" - My main point in the original post is that it's a poor design choice.