Making Your Web Site Accessible to All

Good accessibility design is also good Web site design. Trying to be too clever or trying to use too many groundbreaking features is simply not effective when you're trying to communicate on the Web. Make your site simple, clear, and consistent; the result will be a Web destination that is more accessible for everyone.

Minimum accessibility standards are increasingly becoming legal requirements, much like the equal access laws that apply to buildings. Finding out the basics of what is required of your Web site is important, particularly if your Web work represents a large organization, one that is likely to be a primary target of any legal action.

HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) is how Web pages are built. Anyone working on a Web site should be familiar with both the basics and the nuances of HTML coding. Ensure that the HTML coding for your Web site follows high standards and avoids sloppiness and shortcuts that can make it hard for any visitor to use your site.

Clear and consistent layout of content is important for accessibility. While it may not seem exotic or eye-catching, black text on a white background actually improves readability for everyone. While it is not that hard to find faint red text on a stark yellow background on some "artistic" Web sites, you should avoid the use of colored or graphical backgrounds, particularly where substantial quantities of text are presented, especially if you are trying to increase accessibility to your Web site. It is also important that font sizes should be reasonable and that visitors should be able to change the font size if they wish.

Implementing consistent and clear navigation allows everyone to move through the Web site easily and in a logical manner. If you go to a sub-page on your Web site, users should be able to get back to where they started and to be able to easily go to any other related Web page that is also part of your site. Navigation design should embrace clarity and simplicity.

All images should have text associated with them: this is called ALT (or alternate) text. This ensures that a blind person can understand everything that is on a page by means of a screen reader that converts text into audio. Also, use only client-side image maps.

It is very difficult to read text that is married to moving images. Where animated ads are absolutely required, they should animate a couple of times and then stop. Where tickertape elements are used, provide a facility that allows the visitor to turn them on or off. Too much motion makes a Web site dizzying, not compelling.

Keep all designs and technologies to a common standard where possible; again, the more basic the technology required to convey information, the better. If content has to be delivered that requires a plug-in or other special feature, please make it easy for the visitor to obtain that plug-in. Better yet, also provide the content in a standard HTML environment if possible.

Tables are both a popular method of laying out content on a Web page and one that enhances a logical structure. Make sure that tables are properly marked up, in terms of HTML coding. Clearly identify row and column headers. Be aware that tables can cause difficulties for blind people who use screen readers, so try to make sure that your tables also make sense when laid out in a linear fashion.

The use of frames can create a lot of problems, not simply for people with disabilities but for everyone who uses the Web. Frames basically offer the possibility that you can have a Web page within a Web page, with both offering information and links. However, very few of the largest and most popular Web sites use frames. To promote accessibility, frames are not recommended; but, if you have to use them, make sure they are properly titled—and keep the framing as simple as you possibly can.

Where possible, and especially if you are promoting total accessibility, Web pages should be capable of being viewed with a browser that doesn't support applets, scripts, or other programming elements. It may be necessary to create two versions of the Web page in order to achieve this. In this way, you can offer the visitor the choice of how to view the information you are placing on the Internet.

Studies show that the average consumer is not particularly interested in multimedia features. Not every computer can handle music and movies. However, where visual multimedia is required, try to provide an audio or text description of the content presented, just in case the visitor or the equipment being used is impaired.

The purpose of any form is simply this: to collect information. People with disabilities should be able to use assistive technology to fill out forms or should be offered an alternative means of providing the information required. This gives all visitors the choice of responding to a Web page in the way that is most comfortable for them.

Clark, Joe. Building Accessible Web sites. New Riders Press, 2002.

W3C Guidelines on Web Content Accessibility: www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT

Watchfire Accessibility Test: http://webxact.watchfire.com