Robust - Compatibility across current and future devices

Shawn Sandy (Ally.Cafe) ~ May 8, 2024

One of the key principles of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) is “Robust.” This principle focuses on ensuring that content is robust enough to be interpreted reliably by a wide variety of user agents, including assistive technologies. This means that as technologies evolve, the content should remain accessible.

Understanding Robustness in Accessibility

Robustness ensures that web content works well with both current and future user agents and assistive technologies. This is critical because the web is constantly evolving, and new technologies and devices are continuously being developed. To achieve this, developers should use standard, valid, and well-formed code.

Key Concepts of Robustness

Compatible with Assistive Technologies: Content should be designed to be usable by assistive technologies, such as screen readers, screen magnifiers, and speech recognition software.
Valid Code: Using valid HTML, CSS, and JavaScript helps ensure that content is interpreted correctly by all user agents.
ARIA (Accessible Rich Internet Applications): Implementing ARIA landmarks, roles, and properties can enhance accessibility, especially for dynamic content.

Relevant WCAG 2.2 Guidelines

Under the principle of Robust, there are specific guidelines and success criteria aimed at ensuring content remains accessible as technology evolves:

Guideline 4.1: Compatible

4.1.1 Parsing (Level A)

Ensure that in content implemented using markup languages, elements have complete start and end tags, elements are nested according to their specifications, elements do not contain duplicate attributes, and IDs are unique.
```
<div id="unique-id">
    <h1>Title</h1>
    <p>This is a paragraph.</p>
</div>
```

4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (Level A)

For all user interface components, the name and role can be programmatically determined; states, properties, and values that can be set by the user can be programmatically set; and notification of changes to these items is available to user agents, including assistive technologies.
```
<button aria-label="Close" role="button">X</button>
```

Best Practices for Robust Content

To create robust web content, follow these best practices:

Use Valid and Semantic HTML: Write HTML that adheres to W3C standards and use elements according to their intended purpose.

<main>
    <article>
        <header>
            <h1>Accessible Web Content</h1>
        </header>
        <p>Ensuring web content is accessible...</p>
    </article>
</main>

Ensure Compatibility with Assistive Technologies: Regularly test your web content with different assistive technologies to ensure compatibility.

Implement ARIA Correctly: Use ARIA roles, states, and properties to provide additional information to assistive technologies. Ensure ARIA attributes are used correctly and do not duplicate or conflict with native HTML semantics.

<nav aria-label="Main Navigation">
    <ul>
        <li><a href="home.html">Home</a></li>
        <li><a href="about.html">About</a></li>
        <li><a href="contact.html">Contact</a></li>
    </ul>
</nav>

Keep Up with Web Standards: Stay informed about updates to web standards and best practices to ensure your content remains robust.

Relevant Resources

For more detailed information about making web content robust, refer to the following resources:

By following the Robust guideline, you can ensure that your web content is compatible with a wide range of user agents, including assistive technologies, and provide an accessible experience for all users. Robust

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