Re: Copywriting for Screenreaders (was Alt text for URL's)

>>>> "david poehlman" <david.poehlman@handsontechnologeyes.com>
2/17/2005 9:48:40 AM >>>
>To bring this thread back to its original topic, one of the proposed
copy 
>rights is skip nav.  I ask that it not be done for all the reasons I
have 
>stated and more.

OK, we get that. What alternative are you proposing? I don't think
anyone can seriously respond to your proposal without first
understanding what that proposal is.

Let's try an example. Let's create a fictional company, that provides
three related services. On their web site, they have basic company
information, 8-10 separate pages of information about each of those
three services, and the usual contact info, search, etc.

On each of the pages dealing with the three services, the company wants
a dozen paragraphs of text describing one aspect of one particular
service. They also want links to the other 8 or so pages describing
other aspects of that service. They also want links to the other two
services, the general company info, the contact and search info, etc.

The average, garden-variety "web designer" is likely going to lay out
that information so that, visually, you'll get: 

1 - The company logo on the top left of the screen
2 - A horizontal row of links to company info, each of the three
services, contact and search
3 - Below the first two items, a left-side vertical menu containing the
links to the other 8 pages in that service area
4 - Main content to the right of the left-side menu

With a screen reader or a linearizing text browser, you'll get those
same elements, in the order presented above. That's a pretty standard
layout, seen on thousands of sites currently in existence.

Now, obviously, it would be extraordinarily inconvenient for someone
using a screen reader, or otherwise navigating with a keyboard, to tab
through two collections of links, containing at minimum 14 items. So the
"skip link" is used, so that people can bypass the two groups of links
and go straight to the content.

Question 1: What's wrong with this?
Question 2: How would you implement the better structure you're
advocating?

Received on Thursday, 17 February 2005 15:22:44 UTC