Text-to-Speech Feature On BPK Perwakilan Provinsi Lampung Website
A new accessibility feature developed during an internship at BPK Perwakilan Provinsi Lampung, integrating text-to-speech functionality via the Web Speech API as a floating WordPress plugin.
During my internship at the Badan Pemeriksa Keuangan (BPK) Perwakilan Provinsi Lampung, I developed a crucial accessibility feature for their official website: a text-to-speech functionality. The primary purpose of this enhancement is to improve the website's accessibility for the community of Lampung, particularly for individuals who may have visual impairments or prefer consuming information audibly.
This feature was implemented as a WordPress plugin, allowing for seamless integration into the existing website infrastructure. It leverages the native Web Speech API, a powerful browser-based API that enables web applications to incorporate speech synthesis (text-to-speech) directly. The functionality is presented as a floating button, making it easily accessible and unobtrusive for users as they navigate the site.
The development involved writing custom JavaScript to interact with the Web Speech API, handling the selection of text and triggering its spoken output. PHP was utilized to create the WordPress plugin itself, managing its integration, settings, and ensuring it loads correctly across different pages of the BPK website. This project allowed me to gain practical experience in building a user-facing accessibility tool within a real-world governmental website, directly benefiting the public. It highlighted the importance of inclusive web design and the power of browser APIs in enhancing user experience.