| Accessibility is becoming increasingly critical to the | | | | According to the World Accessibility Initiative, providers |
| Internet experience. Is your site accessible to people | | | | have the following benefits: |
| with disabilities? Is it compatible with browsers other | | | | 1. Increase Market Share and Audience Reach |
| than Internet Explorer? | | | | Improve usability for non-disabled and disabled visitors; |
| Continue reading to discover how accessibility can | | | | Support for Low Literacy Levels; |
| benefit you, as well as your visitors. | | | | Improve Search Engine listings and Resource |
| What is accessibility | | | | Discovery; |
| It is a term that is more associated with architectural | | | | Support for the Semantic Web; |
| thought, rather than Web Site Design. There is a | | | | Re-purpose content for multiple formats or devices; |
| legislation, which determines the minimum standards for | | | | Increase support for Internationalization; |
| new buildings. As a result, new buildings today often | | | | Assisting access for low-bandwidth users. |
| have wheelchair ramps, accessible lifts and disability | | | | 2. Improve Efficiency |
| parking spaces, allowing anyone with disabilities to gain | | | | Reduce site maintenance; |
| access to a building, use the provided services, buy the | | | | Site Search Engine Improvements; |
| products, and talk with the people inside. | | | | Re-purposing Content; |
| With web sites, the term traditionally refers to the | | | | Address server-load; |
| development of sites that are accessible to "all" users | | | | Address server-bandwidth. |
| who may want to access them -- in other words, | | | | 3. Demonstrate Social Responsibility |
| "Universal Web Sites." Tim Berners-Lee, W3C director | | | | 4. Reduce Legal Liability |
| and inventor of the World Wide Web, defines it as | | | | Here you can read the whole draft: |
| "access by everyone, regardless of disability." | | | | Accessibility is critical for a web site's success |
| Even though the World Wide Web is continuously | | | | This narrow focus is at the expense of a much larger |
| growing, many users: | | | | segment of society with milder impairments, such as |
| - use speech browsers or eyes busy/hands busy, as | | | | partial sight, poor hearing, and poor language skills. The |
| businessmen in cars; | | | | needs of this larger group can be more easily |
| - don't have the latest graphical browsers and plug-ins; | | | | accommodated with simple and inexpensive design |
| - surf with slow modems, or reside in rural or remote | | | | tips such as resizable text, large tactile buttons, and |
| areas with limited access to the Internet; | | | | clear, easy-to-follow instructions. |
| - browse without graphics, using text-only browsers or | | | | We should try to look at things from the point of view |
| subscribe to non-graphic services; | | | | of people who have disabilities. For example, in the UK |
| - access in noisy, high- or low-light environments; | | | | alone, there are 8.5 million people who are classified as |
| There are also many users with disabilities as; | | | | having some sort of disability. That's a big percentage |
| - Visual - blind, low vision, color blind; | | | | to exclude from the web; from a moral viewpoint, it is |
| - Auditory - deaf, hard of hearing; | | | | surely wrong, but from a commercial viewpoint, it is |
| - Motor/physical - paraplegic; | | | | disastrous. |
| - Cognitive/learning - dyslexic, learning disabled. More at | | | | When designing web pages, try putting them through a |
| WebAIM: | | | | text reader, like the ones used by those with visual |
| Accessibility increases benefits for both parties: the | | | | impairment. You will soon realize how difficult it can be |
| User and the Web site Provider. | | | | for a user who cannot see that a new window has |
| Users benefits from accessibility | | | | opened - hence the need to overtly tell users that a |
| Every user, regardless of physical, sensory and | | | | new window has indeed opened. |
| cognitive disabilities, constraints and/or technological | | | | Apart from the moral and commercial considerations, |
| barriers can: | | | | there is also the legal. The United Kingdom enforces |
| - access the information; | | | | the Disability Discrimination, which requires all web sites |
| - use the services; | | | | to show that they have taken steps to enable access. |
| - buy the products; | | | | With a little bit of thought, accessibility is relatively easy |
| - talk to the people associated with each Web site. | | | | to implement. It does not require you to do away with |
| In other words, satisfied users may become loyal | | | | JavaScript, Flash or other Multimedia features, just as |
| users, continue using the web site, and even | | | | long as you provide an alternative, so your visitors |
| recommend to others. | | | | have a choice. |
| Providers benefits from accessibility | | | | Epilogue |
| - Increase audience; | | | | "For people without disabilities, technology makes things |
| - Improve maintainability and efficiency; | | | | convenient," says Judith Heumann, the U.S. Department |
| - Improve and regain reputation; | | | | of Education's Assistant Secretary of the Office of |
| - Satisfy existing and future legal requirements; | | | | Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, "For |
| - and much more. | | | | people with disabilities, it makes things possible." Just |
| Auxiliary benefits of accessible web design | | | | keep that in mind. |