Mobile Internet Sites and Turning Off "Style Sheets"

Smart phone and tablet technologies have made the need for lighter weight websites greater.  A mobile website general lists the links of a page, going down, without most of the pictures.  This is often referred to as a linear format.  Think of the standard website as having areas of text and links, and buttons, all over the screen.  Now imagine that same web page with links running straight down the page.  While the first instance of the web page is visually appealing, it is not the best option for the screen reader user.  Having links and other web page items going straight down the web page makes for easier access with key commands.  Also, on most mobile web sites, articles come up with mainly the text, and not all of the pictures and advertisements that are on the standard article page.  You will need to experiment with different websites to determine the difference for yourself.  Remember that when you are in the web browser Address Bar (Control l, Alt d, F6 key commands to get there), type the letter "m" (without the quotes), followed by the name of the website, followed by a period, then "com" (without the quotes), or whatever the extension is.  Following are some examples of mobile web pages.  You will need use you backspace, or Alt left arrow, or whatever key command you are used to in order to move back from the web page you are exploring, to this web page.  Or, you can press Control "t" to make a new tab, type in the name of the mobile website and hit Enter to go there.  Use Control Tab to move back to this web page.

Not all websites have a mobile page.  You may hear that the web page cannot be found, or be placed on the regular "www" page for that site. If this happens there is a technique of turning off "style sheets" that makes a page linear. All "style sheets" do is make a web site have visually appealing items. When "style sheets" are turned off, the web page is taken back to its most basic parts, much like this web page. It will still have elements such as headers, links, and even search boxes. What will be missing are those hard to navigate areas, and items that like to pop up when you do not want them to because they impact your screen reader or screen enlarger. If you are sharing the computer with others such as family, you can always turn the "style sheets" back on when you are finished using the computer. In both Internet Explorer and Firefox, the key command Alt v brings up the "View" menu. In Internet Explorer press Alt v then down arrow to "Style," right arrow and hit the Enter key one the "No Style" menu item. In Mozilla Firefox press Alt v and down arrow to the "Page Style" menu item, right arrow, and hit the Enter key on the "No Style" menu item. It is suggested, but not necessary, for you to be at the top of the web page (Control Home) when you turn on and off "style sheets." An activity for turning off "style sheets" is included in this page.

There is a "BACK" link at the bottom of this web page that will take you back to the "Internet Lessons" web page.

m.facebook.com

m.cnn.com

m.reuters.com

m.wishtv.com

Challenge:  Compare the above five websites with their standard "www" pages.  For example, compare www.cnn.com to m.cnn.com and determine which works best for you.

Activity for exploring a mobile site.

1.  Open your web browser.
2.  Go to the Address Bar.
3.  Type "m.cnn.com" (without the quotes).
4.  Hit the Enter key one time.
5.  Move through the links on the web page with the letter "u" (unvisited links), or "v" (visited links), or use your screen reader key command or list for links.  The letter "k" will work on some screen readers to move through all of the links on a web page.
6.  Find an article you wish to read.
7.  Hit the Enter key one time.
8.  Hit the letter "h" to move to the article heading.
9.  Use your screen reader's "read all" key command to listen to the article.
10.  Hit backspace or Alt left arrow to move back to the main "m.cnn.com" web page.
11.  Find another article and repeat the above process.
12.  Do the above again-and-again until you are familiar with using the mobile web page.

Activity for turning off "style sheets" on a web site.

1. Open your web browser.
2. Go to the Address Bar.
3. Type "www.cnn.com" (without the quotes).
4. Hit the Enter key one time.
5. Press and hold down the Control key and hit the Home key one time to make sure you are at the top of the web page.
6. Press and hold down the Alt key and hit the letter v to bring up the "View" menu.
7. Release the keys.
8. Down arrow to the Internet Explorer "Style" menu item, or down arrow to the "Page Style" menu item in Firefox.
9. Right arrow one time and you will be on the "No Style" menu item.
10. Hit the Enter key one time and the "style sheets" will be turned off, and you will have a linear page, much like this page.
11. To turn "style sheets" back on, do numbers "8" and "9" above, and down arrow from the "No Style" menu item to one or more other menu items, and then hit the Enter key. Some web pages have three "style sheets" settings. One for "No Styles, another for basic styles, and a third for full settings--it depends on the web page.
12. Practice the above on web pages you like, experiment with other key commands after you turn "style sheets" off, and see for yourself if this is helpful.

NOTE: When you turn off "style sheets" you will have to use your screen reader key commands to quickly move to what you want. For example, if "style sheets" are turned off on the CNN website, and you pick an article to read, it will not be at the beginning of the page. Use a key command such as h for heading to move to the article, and then issue the "read all" key command.

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