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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