Creating an accessible website
Ever since the start of the Internet, people with visual disabilities have been able to hear what is on a website by using a screenreader. However, early websites often did not present the content in ways which were helpful when heard through a screenreader.
In 2008 a set of standards for making websites accessible was published and, since then, a series of improvements have been published to make the job of screenreaders easier and thus the experience of visually disabled users better.
The HOBA website was upgraded in 2015 in part to take account of these improvements and was further upgraded in 2019 to take advantage of a new feature which allows the same material to appear on a website in an order which suits sighted users while at the same time presenting it to screenreaders in a different order more suited to screenreader users.
On the Webmaster took part in the openSUSE Virtual Summit contributing this video presentation in which he shared his experience of making the HOBA website more accessible for screenreader users.
If you are interested, you can read the technical details in the website documentation (a PDF).
If you are using a screenreader and have any comments or suggestions to make, please contact the Webmaster.