Designing Accessible Websites

Life without the use of a computer?  What about not having access to the internet?  Hard to imagine isn’t it?  Most people have 24 hour access to  internet news, emails, online shopping, youtube, etc.  “Now, at the click of a mouse, the world can be ‘at your fingertips’—that is, if you can use a mouse… and see the screen… and hear the audio—in other words, if you don’t have a disability of any kind. “  (WebAIM: Introduction to Accessibility)

Did you realize that “the internet is one of the best things that ever happened to people with disabilities…?”  (WebAIM Introduction to Accessibility). Many would be unable to use a computer or the internet without the software programs that have been developed to help them gain access. Individuals with disabilities today have the full potential of the Web.  They can use screen readers to hear text, if they cannot see it; use other assistive technologies to emulate the functions of a computer keyboard and mouse, if they have limited motor movements; and read fully captioned transcripts of multimedia content, if they are deaf.

Have you ever considered whether your website is accessible to the nearly 50 million people (18.5%) in the United States with disabilities? Businesses may be excluding 5, 10, or even 20 percent of their potential customers from their web sites. Schools, universities, and government entities may even be breaking the law for not having accessible web sites.  Although technology has opened the door for most, if websites are not fully accessible, that door remains shut to those with disabilities.

The CPD houses an important project on web accessibility, and they offer help that is sought after nationally, and internationally. WebAIM (Keeping Web Accessibility in Mind) works with web developers and other technical folks to give them the knowledge, skills, and tools to make web content accessible to people with disabilities.  Their resources are free (albeit for a more technical audience), and they have a great tool (WAVE.WebAIM.org) that can help individuals determine if their web content is a barrier to someone with a disability.  The WAVE tool is also available in Spanish.

I would recommend that everyone spend a few minutes reading their “Introduction to Web Accessibility”.  It will help you understand how people with disabilities use the web, the frustrations they feel when they cannot access the web, and what you can do to make your sites more accessible. Most accessibility principles can be implemented very easily and will not impact the overall ‘look and feel’ of your web site.”

Here are a few other resources you might find interesting or want to pass along to those who create web content:

•    Introduction to Web Accessibility (recommended to all)
•    Design considerations for individuals with disabilities (recommended to technical staff)
•    List of technical tutorials on “How to” accomplish web accessibility (recommended to technical staff)
•    Creating accessible PDFs (recommended for anyone who cvreates PDF documents)
•    Creating accessible Word (recommended for anyone who creates Word documents)
•    Creating accessible PowerPoint. This resource is slightly out of date and will be updated in the near future. (recommended for anyone who creates PowerPoint documents

CPD staff can find further tips about making their web content more accessible on the CPD Intranet link,  “Accessible Web Design.”

Making web content accessible is doable and takes only a little extra time when creating most pages.  However, your efforts will be highly rewarded, as they will allow people with a variety of disabilities access to your content for years to come.

Besides, it’s the right  thing to do.