Review of Twitter
Twitter
Reviewed 02 May 2012
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Average score 80%
Summary
The registration process was difficult for the screen reader user (using NVDA) with a lack of labels but it was keyboard accessible and could be followed in text only mode. If using the tab key reaching messages took time - the <a href="http://www.seoservicesgroup.com/blog/2010/09/twitter-introduces-new-keyboard-shorcut-keys/18852/">short cut keys</a> were not obviously available. Colour contrast levels, fonts and zooming were good.
Detailed Results
| # | Test | Outcome | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Login, Signup and Other Forms Accessible | 0% | There were no labels on the registration form which may impact on a screen reader user - NVDA read the fields as blank. Keyboard access was possible and the fact there was no CAPTCHA is a bonus. |
| 2 | Image ALT Attributes | 100% | The user name is available to screen reader users as the alt tag for their images. |
| 3 | Link Target Definitions | 67% | Links are generated by the user and may be shortened so not understanable to anyone but generally not repeated and tend to fit with the content. |
| 4 | Frame Titles and Layout | 67% | The frames do not impact on layout and the site can be used with text only view. |
| 5 | Removal of Stylesheet | 100% | Removal of styles does not affect the ability to read the tweets. |
| 6 | Audio/Video Features | 100% | Audio and video are not usually used on Twitter. |
| 7 | Video/animations - audio descriptions | 100% | Audio and video are not usually used on Twitter. |
| 8 | Appropriate use of Tables | 100% | Data is held in frames rather than tables and screen reader access is possible when working through the messages. |
| 9 | Tab Orderings Correct and Logical | 67% | Tab order is logical but as there is no skip link the user must go through many links before reaching the tweets if using the tab key. The areas were not highlighted when tabbing around in Firefox, Chrome or IE. |
| 10 | Page Functionality with Keyboard | 67% | There maybe some issues with full keyboard accessibility. We were unable to return to the registration via keyboard access. Lack of highlighting areas does not help some users. |
| 11 | Accessibility of Text Editors | 67% | It took time to access the edit box to retweet and reply but it is possible. There are some short cut keys available but not easy to find on the Twitter site. |
| 12 | Appropriate Feedback with Forms | 100% | Clear warning when errors made or information missed otherwise the user is taken to the next page automatically. |
| 13 | Contrast and Colour Check | 67% | The main pages have good colour contrast but some help pages use pale grey text on white which is harder to read. |
| 14 | Page Integrity when Zooming | 100% | Good zooming and easy to read with enlarged fonts. |
| 15 | Text size, style, blinking elements and Readability | 100% | Easy to read with clear layout. |