Guide: Internet navigation for individuals with low vision or blindness

Top Disability Websites Directory from The Focus on Disability Team

Visual impairment can make navigating the internet a challenge, but it is far from impossible says NVISION: https://www.nvisioncenters.com

The types of vision loss commonly associated with computer problems include:

Blindness. A traditional internet experience is visual. If you cannot see, navigating a mouse, typing in comments, and otherwise interacting with the virtual world is tough.
Low vision. Tiny type and moving shapes are hard to discern when you can’t see clearly.
Colour blindness. Designers use colour to set buttons, menus, and other navigation tools apart from plain text. Those can be hard to see if colors are absent or distorted.
Low contrast sensitivity. Buttons and navigation items can look like plain text if you can’t distinguish their differences.

This is just a sample of the vision issues that harm your internet experience. There are many more. When you can’t work with the internet, many details about modern life may elude you.

Many computers come with built-in tools you can use to interact with the web.

Adding elements to your computer can help you do even more. And web designers use techniques to make some sites more accessible for people with vision loss.

To change the size of this text in a Windows PC web browser, hold down the ‘Control’ keyboard button and press ‘+’ or ‘-‘ to zoom in and out.

On a Mac, hold the ‘Control’ button down and use the ‘Scroll’ function on your mouse. With an Apple Mouse, this is done by dragging a finger up or down the area where the tips of your fingers rest. With a non-Apple mouse, it is done through a scroll wheel.

If you’d rather listen to this text than read it, try this:

On a Mac:

Choose the Apple menu.
Select “System Preferences.”
Click “Accessibility.”
Click “Speech.”
Select “Speak selected text when the key is pressed.”

On a PC with Windows:

Click the “Start” button, or the Windows icon in the bottom left corner.
Click “Settings”, which may be a ‘gear’ icon, depending on your version of Windows.
Click “Ease of Access.”
Click “Narrator” in the left-hand menu.
Click the sliders from “off” to “on.”
Alternatively: Click the ‘Search’ field, in the lower left corner, and type in ‘Narrator’.

On an Android device:

Open “Settings.”
Select “Screen Reader.”
Turn the function on with the slider.

On an Apple device:

Open “System Preferences.”
Click “Accessibility.”
Click “Speech.”
Enable “Speak Screen.”

Help May Be Built Into Your Computer

Computer operating systems allow you to work with the machine even if you can’t write computer code. Deep inside some programs, you will find accessibility features. They could make working online easier.

Microsoft Windows, for example, includes the so-called “Microsoft Ease of Access Center.” A built-in screen magnifier and screen reader are included here. You can use them to make the text much bigger, to have a voice read the words, or both. There is no fee for this service. It is included in the program.

To access this program, do this:

Select the “Start” button.
Select “Settings.”
Select “Ease of Access.”

Consider enabling these tools to make your internet experience better:

Narrator: Enable this function, and your computer will read the text on the screen.
Magnifier: Use this tool to make text bigger, so you won’t have to squint to see the screen.
High contrast: If you struggle to see the differences between colours, this function will help. Turn it on, and your computer’s color spectrums will shift, so buttons and other colourful items will be easier to see.

Apple OS also includes an accessibility suite. Once again, these tools are free to use, as they’re part of your operating system. You can use your Mac to:

Highlight a small piece of text. Hover over the piece of text you can’t see properly, and press “Command.” The text will appear much larger within a grey box. Use Zoom to blow up the size of the entire screen.
Use your ears. Mac’s VoiceOver command will read the text to you, along with descriptions of onscreen elements. Navigate pages with your fingers as they tap on your trackpad.
Enable colours. Invert display colours to help you discern colour shifts around buttons.

Apple makes accessing tools really easy. To find them:

On a built-in keyboard of a laptop: Press Fn-Command-F5.
On an external keyboard: Press Option-Command-F5.
With Siri: Click the Siri icon, and say “Turn on” followed by the feature you’d like to use.

If you’re struggling with an older system, Computers for the Blind may help. This organization has provided 12,000 computers to customers since 1995. There is a small purchase fee, so this is not free. But each computer comes loaded with assistive software for low vision. That could save you money and time.

If you’re happy with your current computer but struggle to use it effectively, adding a few key elements could help.

Adding Tools to Your Computer

When the existing software doesn’t help you surf with ease, it’s time to start building. Swapping out your keyboard, adding a screen reader, and seeking out voice apps may be useful.

The organization AbilityNet suggests focusing on your keyboard. People with optimal vision often use a mouse or a touchpad to move from place to place on the computer. That isn’t always easy for people with low vision. Many commands you hope to perform with a mouse you can execute with your keyboard. But picking the right one is crucial.

You can choose from:

High visibility keyboards. Letters and numbers are printed in a large font. You can see them easier.
Large-key systems. Bigger buttons also have larger letters and numbers on them.
Braille. These systems allow you to both control your computer and type.
Chording keyboards. These systems enable you to press a few keys simultaneously to create letters. It’s a bit like playing the piano.

With the right keyboard, you can navigate through pages. You can enter data when you need to. Build on that experience with a screen reader.

Screen reader programs do more than dictate big blocks of text. These programs also read small bits of data, including information in navigation bars. Turn them on, and you can listen for the part of the page you need to interact with. Then, you can use your keyboard to take action.

The program JAWS works like this. It is designed, the developers say, to let you navigate the web without touching a mouse at all. You can also use it to skim web pages. You can even create presentations with the program. It is not free software, but it might be well worth the investment.

Screen reader technology is popular. In a 2017 study, researchers proved that. More than 75 percent of those with vision loss used screen reader audio exclusively. If you have vision loss and have not tried a program like this, it could be a good place to start.

With a new keyboard and screen reader technology, you may be ready to surf. But your experience can differ from one site to another. Web designers don’t always prioritize their websites for your use.