Date or reference

Web Accessibility - short introductionPatrick H. Lauke

Chapel Street Business Group - 28/2/2006

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Introduction

What we’ll cover:

• some of the misconceptions about accessibility

• reasons why accessibility is important

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Some misconceptions

What is accessibility?

“making sure our web site works for the blind…”

There is a wide range of disabilities:

• visual impairments

• auditory impairments

• mobility impairments

• cognitive disabilities

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Some misconceptions

Why bother?

Marketing executive:

“such a small market is not worth the hassle”

Web designer:

“no time to create a separate accessible site”

Site owner:

“blind people won’t be using my web site”

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Some misconceptions

Marketing executive:

“such a small market is not worth the hassle”

It is estimated that there are 7 million disabled people in the UK and that around 19% of the working age population has some form of disability.

Source: Disability Rights Commission – Disability briefing January 2004

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Some misconceptions

Web designer:

“no time to create a separate accessible site”

In majority of cases, no need for special “disabled only access”

• Inclusive design, not segregation

• Separation of content and presentation, using web standards, structural markup: single site, accessible to all

• Accessibility included in planning stage, not as an afterthought

• “Text only” is not a solution

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Some misconceptions

Site owner:

“blind people won’t be using my web site”

Accessibility not just about the blind, but…

A possible scenario: visually impaired customer buying photographs or paintings for a sighted relative?

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Legal requirements

If the ethical / moral and financial reasons were not enough, there are legal requirements:

• UK - Disability Discrimination Act 1995provision of goods and services

• Australia – Disability Discrimination Act 1992• USA – Americans with Disabilities Act• USA – Section 508 of Rehabilitation Act

procurement policy for federal government agencies

Other countries have similar legislation.

Cases are being brought to court: SOCOG, RNIB, Ramada/Priceline, Target

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Access for all

More importantly

• Accessibility is not just about users with disabilities

• Provisions and changes made for accessibility can benefit all users

“Real world” example: access ramps

With regards to web:

• Benefits to users of alternative browsing devices (PDAs, web phones, etc)• Not a permanent disability, but “situational” – library PC, loud environment, etc

Crossover between usability and accessibility

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Accessibility and SEO

Google and co.world’s largest “disabled users”

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What to do?

If you're a business owner:

• understand that accessibility is relevant to you (legal requirement, but also potential market)

• commission accessible sites (specify in tender documents, BSI PAS 78 “Guide to Good Practice in Commissioning Accessible Websites”)

• beware of snake oil salesmen (check GAWDS, RNIB, etc)

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What to do?

If you're a web designer/developer:

• understand the problem (not just a technical solution)• familiarise yourself with legislation and guidelines• best practices (“it's just what we do”)• continuous learning

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Automated validators

The infamous “Bobby”…(now WebXact)

• Automated accessibility checkers are dumb.

• “Bobby” and co. are just a tool and do not replace human checks.

• False positives, false negatives.

All my images have an ALTernate text of “image”…is that accessible?

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Conclusion

Hopefully, what you’ll take away from this presentation:

• Accessiblity not just about “the blind”

• Moral, financial and legal reasons to ensure web sites are accessible

• Accessibility can benefit all users

Worth noting: accessibility not about rote mastery of a few guidelines. Many cases where there is no one single solution – requires judgement and compromise.

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Resources

• W3C Web Accessibility Initiativehttp://www.w3.org/WAI/

• Accessifyhttp://www.accessify.com/

• Accessifyforumhttp://www.accessifyforum.com/

• WebAIM: Web Accessibility In Mindhttp://www.webaim.org/

• Isolanihttp://www.isolani.co.uk/

• Dive into Accessibilityhttp://www.diveintoaccessibility.org/

• “Evaluating Web Sites for Accessibility with the Firefox Web Developer Toolbar”http://www.webaim.org/techniques/articles/evaluatingwithfirefox

• WaSP (Web Standards Project)http://webstandards.org