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Section 508

Decent Essays

The best practices for developing a universally usable interface are as follows. The existence of a search box. It should be effortlessly visible otherwise the user will assume that the search functionality does not exist or if the user does find it furious or irritated. The search box should, therefore, be easy to see and this can be achieved by keeping it simple through the use of white or light grey colors. In addition, the search box should be big enough for the user to see, and also to input the content that he or she wants to search for within the interface. The search box is an integral part of the interface and should be created with great care to ensure that it meets all the end user diverse needs (Lauesen, 2005). Secondly, the …show more content…

The interface should be clearly organized and not cluttered. This will allow the user to use the interface comfortable, get the information he or she requires will little or no effort. Section 508 affects developing user interfaces through the following ways. One must have text equivalents on the user interface produced. This is done on each object found on the site and assists visitors with disabilities, access the interface fully. The web designer must also use multimedia formats that have synchronized captioning to also aid disabled users access the interface freely and holistically. This is crucial and of great importance in section 508 as users should be able to access all information on the site freely and with minimum effort. Information on the site should be available both in colour and without colour. This requirement calls on web designers to scrutinize their pages with colour removed to make sure that critical information is not lost. When using a table to show information, section 508 requires that it must be properly seen or labeled. This is of great importance as it allows screen readers to communicate or speak out the row and column labels associated with each cell. The site should also contain navigation shortcuts which allow users the option to skip parts of the page that consist only of navigation. This is done through the use of bookmark anchors. The user should be free to move within the site and …show more content…

This is conducted at any time and looks keenly at whether the interface meets the guidelines. This form of verification is extremely efficient and very fast. The problem with expert reviews is that it does not leave room for improvements. Verification can also be done through the use of usability testing labs. Here, testing is done on the interface and whether it meets the guidelines. The main advantage of this form of verification is that improvements can be done on the interface to meet the guidelines set out well before completion. Verification through use of testing labs only focuses on first time users and does not look beyond them. Use of multiple interface option rather than one is possible, but not as viable to users. Navigating multiple sites is cumbersome and users at the end of the day seek convenience that is having one interface that caters to all their needs. The implementation might not be easy to share across platforms and as such would make the creation and use of the multiple user interface option difficult to use (Mandel, 1997). The multiple user interface option is both enjoyed and frowned upon by users. On one hand, it allows users to access various platforms at a go and at the same time it is not easy to use and as a result makes navigation difficult

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