People with disabilities may take longer to read and interact with web content. Sometimes a time limit is present, for example, due to security requirements, and the browsing session is terminated after a period of inactivity. If there is no suitable warning or no ability to turn off or extend the time limit, there’s an increased risk that people with disabilities will be unable to successfully use the content.
- Allow users to turn off or extend the time limit. The preferable approach is to give users control over the length of the time limit or whether the time limit is present at all. But in some cases this is likely to be impractical.
- Allow users to extend the time limit. When the time limit approaches, provide a warning dialog that allows users to extend the time limit by a simple keypress, such as by pressing the spacebar.
Testing
If a time limit is present on a page or site:
- Is there a mechanism for users to turn off the time limit or change its length?
- As the time limit approaches, is there a message provided to alert users of the impending time out? Does the message allow them to extend the timeout?