Improved accessibility with accessiBe

 

Last updated: November 16, 2021 - Estimated read time: 4 minutes

At RevAUlusion, we are committed to providing an equal and inclusive experience, which is why we are happy to announce a new feature that you can use on our website called accessiBe. 

What is accessiBe?

accessiBe is an AI-powered solution that provides users with easier accessibility whilst on the web. It uses smart, new technology to automatically transform a website into a fully compliant and easily navigable page, allowing you to adjust and optimize certain features specialized to your needs. 

How do I use it?

When you’re on RevAUlusion’s home page, you’ll notice a blue icon on the bottom right corner. Click on this and you’ll be presented with accessiBe’s accessibility features. 

To get started you can simply toggle on the most appropriate pre-built profile, which will automatically adjust the website to suit your needs. If you wish for something more bespoke, you can mix and match its features to build the right look for you. If you’re not happy with the changes you’ve made, there’s a ‘reset settings’ button to get things back to how they were.

How does it work?

accessiBe uses two different applications that are each responsible for monitoring and adjusting separate elements on a webpage. The accessibility interface manages the design side of the website, while the AI technology handles the more complicated aspects like screen-reader and keyboard navigation for those with visual or motor impairments. 

After installation, the program will scan and analyze a website to apply the necessary adjustments on top of the existing interface. accessiBe rescans the website every day, keeping content, widgets, and other features updated to meet the ‘Web Content Accessibility Guidelines’ established by the World Wide Web Consortium. These rules ensure that websites are accessible for people with disabilities, such as visual impairments, motor impairments, color blindness, cognitive impairments and epilepsy. 

When activated, accessiBe works overtop of the existing webpage, so the overall design and performance of the website won’t change, but a set of tools will be made available to make it easier to use. 

How can accessiBe help you?

If you suffer from any visual, auditory, cognitive or motor impairments, then accessiBe can be used to make your experience on the internet more enjoyable and accessible. 

You can adjust the website’s design and interface to suit your individual requirements, which will completely personalize the experience to aid you. The program was developed alongside people with disabilities, so you can rest assured that the tools are worthwhile and efficient. 

What features are available?

accessiBe brings with it a whole range of features that can be altered and applied to the website to meet your needs:

• Font - you can change the font size, the font type, adjust the spacing between words, alter the alignment on the page, and change line heights
• Colors - you can select different color palettes to make the webpage easier to visualize, such as dark or light mode, or inverted or monochrome. You can also swap the color schemes of titles, texts, and backgrounds. This can be helpful for people with dyslexia, as both background and word color can play a role in how easy it is to read content
• Animations - if you have epilepsy, you can halt all animations with one click, stopping flashing videos and GIFs from disrupting your viewing experience
• Content highlighting - you can emphasize certain elements, like links, titles, and important information by highlighting parts of the page 
• Audio - you have the option of muting all videos that play automatically whilst on a website. This can be helpful for people who use hearing devices
• Cognitive disorders - accessiBe includes a search engine linking directly to Wikipedia and Wiktionary to help in deciphering the meanings of phrases, initials, and slang
• Cursor - you can change the color of the cursor and its size 
• Viewing - you can view the webpage in printing mode and access a virtual keyboard for easier typing 

What if I don’t want or need accessiBe?

The AI solution is designed for people who struggle to see or type on screens, but it will only become available once it’s activated. It won’t automatically be present or installed on the web page unless you manually do it, so if you don’t want or need accessiBe, that’s fine - nothing will change for you. 

Resources

1. If you don’t already have a screen reader NVDA screen reader is a free option, designed by a blind software engineering graduate, James Teh, for use with Windows computers. This free and open source screen reader has a synthetic voice that reads whatever the cursor hovers over, and can be used directly from a USB stick, making it ideal for students. https://www.nvaccess.org/download/

2. Emacspeak is a free speech interface and that allows visually impaired users to  interact independently and efficiently with the computer. Its technology enables it to produce rich aural representation of electronic information. Emacspeak offers audible interface of the different aspects of the Internet such as browsing and messaging as well as local and remote information via a consistent and well-integrated user interface. http://emacspeak.sourceforge.net/

3. Google ChromeVox is a free Google Chrome screen reader extension for visually impaired users. https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/screen-reader/kgejglhpjiefppelpmljglcjbhoiplfn

If you have any questions about this new feature, don’t hesitate to contact us at contact@revaulusion.org.