Pro HTML5 Accessibility: Building an Inclusive Web

by Joshue O. Connor

Pro HTML5 Accessibility helps designers come to grips with building exciting, accessible and usable web sites and applications with HTML5. The book covers how to use HTML5 in order to serve the needs of people with disabilities and older persons using assistive technology (AT). It aims to be a useful ‘go-to’ guide, providing practical advice. It takes several approaches, including a look at the new semantics of HTML5 and how to combine its use with authoring practices you know from using earlier versions of HTML. It also demonstrates how HTML5 content is currently supported (or not) by assistive technologies such as screen readers, and what this means practically for accessibility in your web projects. The HTML5 specification is huge, with new APIs and patterns that can be difficult to understand. Accessibility can also seem complex and nuanced if you have no experience interacting with people with disabilities. This book walks you though the process of designing exciting user interfaces that can potentially be used by everyone, regardless of ability. Accessibility is really a quality design issue, and getting it right is often more a matter of approach than having sophisticated, cutting-edge tools at your disposal. This book will be your companion in your journey to understand both HTML5 and accessibility, as the author has many years of experience as a designer and web developer working directly with people with all types of disabilities. He has been involved with the development of HTML5 from an accessibility perspective for many years, as a member of the W3C WAI Protocols and Formats working group (which is responsible for ensuring W3C specifications are serving the needs of people with disabilities) as well as the HTML5 Working Group itself.

Genres: Technology, Website Design

405 pages, Paperback

First published March 26, 2012

Reviews

[Panos Koutsodimitropoulos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books I have ever read for web accessibility. The author's close relationship with W3C (he is a 'W3C Invited Expert') and the fact that he is a Senior Accessibility Consultant of NCBI since 2005 grabbed my attention before I read this book.
What I enjoyed the most by reading 'Pro HTML5 Accessibility' was that except the theory, I could use (almost) ready-made code snippets.
I recommend this book to anyone who seriously want to build accessible web sites authored with HTML5.

[Dhuaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an "okay" book, not ground-breaking, but a pretty good and concise overview. There isn't that much new stuff about HTML5, so most of the book is padded with general accessibility tips and a section about screenreaders, which I really liked. WAI-ARIA is given a chapter, but it's more of an invitation to do your own research than a thorough overview.
Summing up: good book in itself, but if you're an accessibility pro, don't expect to be awed.

[Kevin · Rating 2 out of 5]

The style of writing was way too casual for a "professional" book; the book could easily have lost 25% of its length had the friendly discussion been cut.

There were some interesting accessibility ideas, and some background information over the limitations some users face was interesting. There could have been more specific details on what is required according to different major standards -- too much hand waiving and opinion; not enough fact.

[Karin Carlson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Technical book, super-comprehensive, very good resource for all things HTML5 that relate to web accessibility.