Accessibility of AJAX Applications

AJAX is a smorgasbord of web technologies put together to allow dynamic client-server interactions to occur in web applications without requiring pages to reload or refresh. AJAX stands for Asynchronous JavaScript And XML. AJAX itself is not a technology--it is a combination of technologies used in a certain way.

WebAIM (2006). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Ajax

Accessible Web 2.0 Applications with WAI-ARIA

Our web applications can suffer from inaccessibility problems due to inherent markup limitations. Martin Kliehm helps us sort through the WAI specs for Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) to increase usability.

Kliehm, Martin. List Apart, A (2007). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Ajax

AJAX Accessibility for Websites

Discover the accessibility problems caused by AJAX and how it can be used to enhance web accessibility.

Simard, Brigitte. Webcredible (2008). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Ajax

AJAX and Screenreaders: When Can it Work?

We've all heard a great deal of buzz about AJAX in the last few months, and with this talk has come a legion of articles, tips, presentations and practical APIs designed to explore the possibilities and try to arrive at best-practice techniques. But, for all of the excitement and hype, still very little has been said on the subject of AJAX and accessibility.

Edwards, James. SitePoint (2006). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Ajax

The AxsJAX Framework for ARIA

Charles L. Chen and T. V Raman have developed a common JavaScript framework to enhance the accessibility of AJAX-based applications. The framework is called AxsJAX, pronounced, 'Access JAX.'

Lemon, Gez. Juicy Studio (2007). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Ajax

Making Ajax Work with Screen Readers

The accessibility community is understandably concerned about the accessibility of client-side scripting, in particular using Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (Ajax) to produce Rich Internet Applications. Steve Faulkner of Vision Australia and founder member of the Web Accessibility Tools Consortium (WAT-C) and myself on behalf of The Paciello Group (TPG) have collaborated in an effort to come up with techniques to make Ajax and other client-side scripting techniques accessible to assistive technology.

Lemon, Gez and Steve Faulkner. Juicy Studio (2006). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Ajax

Usability and Accessibility with AJAX

The Ajax express train rumbles on, threatening to crush anything in its path. Recent discussion has turned to those critical elements of good web development, usability and accessibility. Accessibility is a major issue with Ajax, mainly because anything that relies on JavaScript to function is inaccessible pretty much by default. There are two solutions: either provide a fall-back system where the site remains useful without its Ajax enhancements, or provide a whole separate interface that works without scripting.

Willison, Simon. SitePoint (2005). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Ajax

Stop Using Ajax!

We got things like browser wars, browser-specific DHTML, and table-based layouts. These were things that got in the way of the original vision, because people wanted rich content when the technology wasn’t ready. And now it’s happening again.

Opera (2008). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Ajax

AJAX Aids Accessibility?

Yes, if you do it right, using Ajax techniques can improve accessibility. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. Ajax is like most techniques and technologies on the web—they are what you make of them.

Spool, Jared M. User Interface Engineering (2009). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Ajax