Web Accessibility - short introduction

Patrick H. Lauke

Introduction

What we’ll cover:

• some of the misconceptions about accessibility • reasons why accessibility is important 28/2/2006 2

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 28/2/2006 3

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” 28/2/2006 4

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 28/2/2006 5

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 28/2/2006 6

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 1995 provision of goods and services Australia – USA – Disability Discrimination Act 1992 Americans with Disabilities Act USA – Section 508 of Rehabilitation Act procurement policy for federal government agencies Other countries have similar legislation.

Cases

are

Target being brought to court: SOCOG , RNIB, Ramada/Priceline , 28/2/2006 8

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 28/2/2006 9

28/2/2006

Accessibility and SEO

Google and co.

world’s largest “disabled users”

10

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) 28/2/2006 11

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 28/2/2006 12

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 Initiative http://www.w3.org/WAI/ Accessify http://www.accessify.com/ Accessifyforum http://www.accessifyforum.com/ WebAIM: Web Accessibility In Mind http://www.webaim.org/ Isolani http://www.isolani.co.uk/ Dive into Accessibility http://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

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