Equalize Digital Accessibility Checker Plugin Adds New Frontend Highlighting Feature Funded by NASA – WP Tavern

Equalize Digital, a WordPress accessibility services and products firm, has added a brand new frontend highlighting function to its free accessibility checker plugin, which is used to carry out audits on self-hosted websites. The function was funded by the Nationwide Aeronautics and Area Administration (NASA), by means of Equalize Digital’s consulting work on the brand new NASA web sites.

NASA just lately launched the beta version of its WordPress-powered flagship website, which WordCamp US attendees could hear about subsequent week throughout the workforce’s periods, together with Friday’s keynote deal with: For All Userkind: NASA Web Modernization and WordPress and one other presentation titled Hands on with NASA’s new digital platform.

Equalize Digital was contracted to carry out accessibility testing, person testing with display screen reader customers, and supply accessibility governance suggestions.

“As a part of the contract for these companies, additionally they contracted us to develop this function for the plugin,” Equalize Digital CEO Amber Hinds stated. “They’ve an enterprise license however we determined in collaboration with them that we’d make it a function within the free plugin so everybody may benefit, not a paid-only function.

“They have been really actually inquisitive about that as a result of it’s a part of their mission to present again to humanity.”

Previous to creating the frontend highlighting function, the accessibility checker plugin solely had studies contained in the publish edit display screen, with output that’s practically indecipherable for much less technical customers who usually are not accustomed to studying HTML.

The brand new frontend highlighting function makes the accessibility report’s output much more approachable for customers who might not be builders. It places a “view on web page” hyperlink subsequent to every situation discovered within the report, which brings customers to the frontend the place the aspect in query is highlighted with a dashed pink field. It additionally shows a panel that explains the difficulty in a method that’s simpler to grasp in addition to tips on how to repair it.

The report within the admin has been up to date as nicely in order that it’s simpler to learn. A brand new picture column shows any photographs associated to points and the Actions column features a “View on Web page” hyperlink resulting in the difficulty highlighted on the frontend.

Hind stated her workforce is engaged on making the software extra pleasant to content material creators and never only a growth software. The plugin will keep on the NASA web site to assist their workforce as they add and edit content material over time.

“Sooner or later, we’re planning so as to add the power to leap to the aspect within the block editor as nicely,” Hinds stated. “(That’s barely tough as a result of we scan the entire web page, not simply the content material space so we now have to exclude components created by different elements of the editor or theme.)”

Because of NASA’s funding, the brand new frontend highlighting function is offered to customers on the free version of the plugin on WordPress.org.

“Our objective is to make accessibility testing simpler for each WordPress person, not simply builders,” Equalize Digital CEO Amber Hinds stated. “Accessibility Checker was developed to incorporate a strong free model with this in thoughts. We need to make constructing web sites that work for individuals with disabilities customary apply and have been excited to work with NASA to make accessibility testing studies simpler for non-developers to grasp and take motion on. Including this function to the free plugin was a no brainer for us. We’re trying ahead to seeing extra WordPress web site homeowners discovering and fixing accessibility issues on their web sites.”