The Problem of Custom Widgets

Problem

• Starting around the year 2000 developers and designers began using HTML + CSS + Javascript to create custom user interface widgets (e.g. interactive controls) for web pages that were not available from the standard set of HTML form controls.
• There was no standard and inter-operable way to make these custom widgets accessible.

Issues

• Keyboard support.
• Describing the widget behavior (e.g. role).
• Labeling the features of the widget (e.g. accessible name).
• Identifying properties and states. (e.g. checked, expanded, has popup)
• Communicating information through platform specific accessibility APIs.
• Interoperability between browser and accessibility APIs.