Making Web Pages Accessible

1
Making Web Pages Accessible

• Teaching and Learning Research and Scholarship
  Symposium
• (May 13 2003, 1030am)

2
Accessibility is really about being polite to ALL
your visitors.

• Dont insult them for not using the browser you
  think they should use.
• Dont assume they are lazy if they dont upgrade
  their browsers.
• Use the ltnoscriptgt ltnoframesgt etc. tags to help
  people, not to insult them.
• Not just a good idea, its the law.

3
What does Accessible mean?
4
Accessible Web Site

• Visitors can access the information on the site.

5
What makes a site Inaccessible?
6
Causes of Inaccessibility

• Site relies on physical abilities the visitors do
  not have. (hearing, sight, mobility, cognitive
  problems)
• Site only works using technology the visitors do
  not have. (no support for slow modems, limited
  hardware like PDAs, older browsers)

7
Accessibility vs Usability Two sides of the
same coin.

• Accessibility is the ability to get at the
  information on the site.
• Usability is how easy it is to use the
  information once you access it.
• A site can be accessible, but not usable.

8
What makes a site less usable?
9
Causes of Poor Usability

• Complex Navigation
• Unclear Wording / Labelling
• Centred on one mode of access (visual and mouse),
  with less thought to other modes of access
  (aural, keyboard, etc.)

10
Whos visiting your site and what accessibility
problems could they have?
11
Whos accessing your site?

• People with older browsers / hardware.
• People with wireless PDAs
• Automated programs like search engines which
  dont understand multimedia.
• Oh, right, people with Disabilities.

12
Lets Meet Some Visitors

• Georgia State Division of Distance Distributed
  Learning Video

13
Simulations of Disabilities

• Cognitive Simulation (Dyslexia)
• Screen Reading Simulation
• Low Vision Simulation
• Colour Blindness Simulation
• Search Engine Simulation
• Mobility simulations
• Dont use mouse
• Use mouse with secondary hand
• Type with one hand

14
Tools in MS-Windows XP

• MS-Word Dictation and Voice Recognition
• Accessibility options (Start -gt All Programs -gt
  Accessories -gt Accessibility)
• Accessibility control panel

15
Organizations

• W3C Web Accessibility Initiative
• WebAIM
• Viewable with Any Browser

16
Accessibility Testing Tools

• Bobby
• Lynx viewer
• Macromedia Dreamweaver 508 Accessibility Suite
• Others

17
Checklists

• WAI Quick List Reference Card
• Other WAI Resources
• Other Guidelines

18
Resources

• All items listed in this talk can be found at
  http//www.usask.ca/web_project/uwebd/links/desig
  n/accessibility/
• (Visit the Site)

19
Conclusion

• Accessibility is not just for people with
  disabilities, its for search engines, people
  with PDAs, etc.
• An accessible site is not a bland lowest common
  denominator site.
• Most accessibility options are easy to add to a
  web site, and the benefits are enormous for
  everyone.