Home
>
Web Development
>
Web accessibility for screen magnifier users

Web accessibility for screen magnifier users

The needs of screen magnifier users are overlooked when implementing web accessibility on to a website. Screen magnifiers are used by partially sighted web users to increase the size of on-screen elements. Some users will magnify the screen so that only three to four words are able to appear on the screen at any one time. You can try using a screen magnifier yourself by downloading the Zoomtext screen magnifier from http://www.aisquared.com/Products/ZoomText8_mag/FreeTrial/Z8FreeTrial.htm for a free 30 day trial.

The good news is that some of the basic principles for improving accessibility and usability for screen magnifiers users, also increase usability for everyone. To help, we've listed six ways to improve accessibility and usability for screen magnifier users:

1. Don't embed text within images

Text embedded within images can become blurry and pixelated when viewed in screen magnifiers, and therefore completely illegible. This is especially true when the image text is rather poor quality, so if you absolutely have to embed text within images then make sure the image is of high quality. Many screen magnifier users can find it quite difficult to read text at the best of times, so when it appears fuzzy to them it can become difficult to impossible to read.

It's not usually necessary to embed text within images anymore, as most presentational effects can now be achieved with CSS. By embedding text within images the download time of each page can become significantly greater due to the weight of these images - for users on dial-up modems it can be a real pain waiting for these images to download and render.

If you're not sure if a piece of text on the page is embedded within an image or not, try highlighting the text. If you can highlight each letter individually then the text is real text and isn't embedded within an image.

2. Clearly separate sections of the page

Different sections of each web page should be clearly separated through the use of borders and different background colours. Screen magnifiers users can only see one tiny section of a web page at any one time so it can sometimes be hard for these users to orientate themselves within the page.

By using a blue background colour for the navigation, for example, screen magnifier users can quickly move through the page and when they see a blue background they instantly know that the content are has finished and the navigation area begun.

Likewise, by separating different sections of the page with borders, when a screen magnifier user moves over that border they know they're moving into a different section. One especially common form of this, is using a vertical bar to separate horizontal navigation items.

Separating different sections of the page with background colours and borders doesn't only increase usability for screen magnifier users - it increases usability for everyone. When regularly sighted users scan through a web page, if the content, footer and navigation are all effectively differentiated it's very easy to quickly gain an understanding of the on-page layout.

3. Use clear and descriptive headings often

When screen magnifier users move their magnifier across the screen one of the items that stand out to them is headings. By ensuring heading text is large, and perhaps by differentiating it through the use of colour, it will stand out to these users.

Screen magnifier users usually have to stop the movement of the magnifier when they want to read a piece of text, so when they see a heading, they can stop and read it. Because headings (in theory at least!) describe the content contained beneath them, screen magnifier users can read a heading, gain an understanding of the content beneath it, and decide whether they want to read that content or not. If not, they can simply move the magnifier down the screen and stop at the next heading.

Headings are incredibly useful for fully sighted users too for essentially the same reason. When you scan through a web page, headings are one of the items that stand out to you. Again, you can read the heading (or listen to it for a screen reader user), and provided its descriptive, instantly gain an understanding of the content beneath it. You can then keep reading or skip on to the next heading down the page.

4. Ensure link text is descriptive of its destination

Link text such as 'click here' and 'more' should be avoided and replaced with link text that adequately describes the link destination. Link text, along with headings, is one of the items that stands out to screen magnifier users (and all users for that matter) when browsing a web page. If 'click here' is used then these users (and in fact all users) will have to search through the text before and after the link in order to work out its destination.

5. Avoid scrolling or flashing text

Scrolling or flashing text is generally known for offering poor usability, as it means that users can't read the text in their own time. This is doubly true for screen magnifier users who read web pages at a slower rate - chances are that they won't have time to read the text at all before it disappears.

6. Front-load paragraph content

By front-loading paragraph content, screen magnifier users can access the main point of each paragraph immediately. Front-loading means placing the conclusion first, followed by the what, why, when, where and how. By placing the conclusion first, screen magnifier users can read the conclusion of the paragraph straightaway and then decide whether they are interested in reading the rest of the paragraph or not.

If screen magnifier users aren't interested in the content of a paragraph, they can move the magnifier down the screen and when they see white space they know that the paragraph has ended and the next paragraph begun.

This rule about front-loading paragraph content actually benefits absolutely everyone. By putting the conclusion at the start of the paragraph, all users can instantly gain an understanding of the point of the paragraph and decide whether they want to keep reading it (or skip to the next paragraph).

Conclusion

All-in-all, there are quite a few things that can be done to improve usability and accessibility for screen magnifier users. The good news though is that all of them improve usability for absolutely everyone.

This article was written by Trenton Moss. He's crazy about web usability and accessibility - so crazy that he went and started his own web usability and accessibility consultancy (Webcredible - http://www.webcredible.co.uk) to help make the Internet a better place for everyone.

residential cleaning services Lincolnshire ..

In The News:

House Bill 469 would prevent AI systems from owning property, serving as executives, or gaining legal personhood in Ohio under Representative Thaddeus Claggett's proposal.

Public voter records expose retirees' personal details to election scammers who create targeted cons using names, addresses, and voting history data.

Instead of fearing what comes next with artificial intelligence, think outside the box. Here are high-earning AI jobs that don't require a computer science degree.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says polite words like "please" and "thank you" cost millions annually, while direct prompts may improve ChatGPT accuracy by several points.

Chattee Chat and GiMe Chat exposed intimate conversations and photos, revealing users spent up to $18,000 on AI companions before the breach.

New Instagram parental controls allow families to manage teen screen time and content limits through the Family Center with stricter safety settings.

Third-party security breach at Discord exposes sensitive user information including government IDs, highlighting cybersecurity risks from external service providers.

Survey of 1,000 students shows teens using AI for personal relationships while two-thirds of parents remain unaware of their children's AI usage.

Cybersecurity experts warn about a ShadowLeak vulnerability that weaponized ChatGPT's Deep Research agent to steal personal data from Gmail accounts through hidden commands.

Tesla's Full Self-Driving system faces federal investigation following 58 reports of crashes, with six vehicles running red lights before colliding with other cars.

The Fox News AI Newsletter brings you the latest developments on artificial intelligence, with news on OpenAI moving to soon allow erotica for adult users.

Eric Schmidt alerts that hackers can reverse-engineer AI models to bypass safety measures, citing examples like the jailbroken ChatGPT variant called DAN.

Cybercriminals exploit Microsoft Teams through impersonation, malicious links and fake profiles to gather intel and deliver ransomware to personal and work devices.

Google, Dior, Allianz and dozens of other companies lost sensitive customer data in Salesforce-related breaches affecting millions of records across multiple sectors.

Apple launches iOS 26 with new Preview app that combines document editing, PDF annotation and scanning features into one streamlined iPhone experience.

New AI road monitoring system uses sensor-embedded fabric to predict infrastructure problems, potentially reducing maintenance costs and traffic disruptions for cities.

Holiday charity scams target retirees through lookalike organization names, untraceable payment requests, and data broker information to steal donations.

The Federal Trade Commission says criminals are posing as IRS agents, law enforcement officers or other officials, often over the phone or online, to steal thousands of dollars at a time.

AI phishing scams now use voice cloning and deepfake technology to trick victims, but Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson reveals warning signs to watch for.

Inversion Space unveils Arc, a reusable reentry vehicle that can deliver up to 500 pounds of cargo from orbit to anywhere on Earth in under an hour.

Red flags like processing fees, urgent countdowns and requests for full Social Security numbers expose fraudulent settlement sites targeting consumers.

Comprehensive analysis of Google Maps, Waze and Apple Maps examines usability, routing accuracy, data handling and features across the top navigation platforms.

Expert analysis reveals whether wired Ethernet or wireless Wi-Fi connections are safer for home internet use, plus practical steps to secure your network from attackers.

Australian construction robot Charlotte uses sand, crushed brick and recycled glass to 3D print fireproof, floodproof homes with reduced carbon footprint.

Cybercriminals are using fake invitation emails to trick recipients into downloading malware and stealing personal information and data.

Web accessibility for screen magnifier users

Web Development