Quick Tips from WebAim:  http://www.webaim.org/

 

Constructing Accessible Websites

These simple tests are a good starting point for anyone who wants to gauge the accessibility of their site. For more detailed information, see the "How-To" section of the WebAim site:   http://www.webaim.org/

--Shawn Lawton Henry

1.      One of the easiest fixes is also one of the most important:
Make sure that all of your images have "alt" text. The text should be brief but descriptive of the image's purpose. Unimportant decorative graphics and spacer images still need alt text, but it should be empty, like this: alt="". Complex images, such as charts and graphs, should be explained in detail elsewhere on the page (or on another page), in addition to having alt text. One common way of linking to another page is to create a "D" link. Simply put the letter D after the image and link the D to a separate page with a detailed description of the graphic.

2.      Keyboard Accessibility: If you cannot navigate through your site without a mouse, or if important information is presented only when the mouse hovers over a particular area, then you are excluding people from your site. Test your site by using the TAB, SHIFT + TAB, and ENTER keys* to navigate your pages . If you can't do it, your site is inaccessible to most blind people and to some people with mobility impairments (e.g. tremors or no use of the hands).
*Note: some browsers have different keyboard shortcuts.

3.      Audio and Video Transcripts: If you have audio or video clips on your site, you will need to provide transcripts and/or captions so that those who are deaf can access the content. A transcript is a text or HTML file with all of the important dialogue and/or narration. Captions are a part of the video file which synchronizes the dialogue and narration with the video itself.

4.    Disability Types: If you think that Web accessibility is all about making things accessible to the blind, you're only getting part of the story. Disabilities that affect Web access include: Visual (blindness, low vision, color-blindness), Hearing (deafness, hard-of-hearing), Mobility (inability to use hands, tremors, slow muscular movement), Cognitive (mental retardation), and Others (learning disabilities, reading disorders, attention deficit disorders, etc.). Be sure to design your site with all of these audiences in mind.

5.      People with Low Vision can use the Internet, but they may have difficulty with small text or low contrast. Often, they use screen enlarger software. Some people change the page display settings to increase the contrast. For this situation, it's best if all words are true text, rather than graphics with text in them, because enlarged graphical text becomes pixelated and difficult to read. Also, avoid juxtaposing colors of similar contrast. Test this by viewing your page on a black and white monitor or printing your page (with all colors intact) to a black and white printer. This won't be a true simulation of either low vision or color blindness, but it will help you spot low contrast areas on your pages.

6.      Accessibility is a subset of a more general pursuit: usability. Put simply, usability means designing a user interface that is effective, efficient, and satisfying. Important elements of web site usability are:
Learnability: Can visitors use the web site effectively the first time they visit it without becoming frustrated?
Memorability: Will visitors remember how to use the web site the next time?
Effectiveness: Can visitors easily navigate through the web site, determine what to do next, and understand the content? Is the design consistent and predictable?
Efficiency: Can visitors find what they need and accomplish their goal in a reasonable amount of time?
Satisfaction: Do visitors have a good feeling about using the web site? Will they use it again? Is the content presented effectively?

7.      In order to design inclusively, designers need to consider the widest range of possible users and environments ... Many users may be operating in contexts very different from the designers' context:
They may not be able to see, hear, move, or may not be able to process some types of information easily or at all.
They may have difficulty reading or comprehending text.
They may not have or be able to use a keyboard or mouse.
They may have a text-only screen, a small screen, or a slow Internet connection.
They may not speak or adequately understand the language in which the document is written.
They may be in a situation where their eyes, ears, or hands are busy or interfered with (for example, driving to work, or working in a loud environment).
They may have an early version of a browser, a different browser entirely, a voice browser, or a different operating system.

8.      Accessibility is about designing so that more people can use your web site effectively in more situations.  A broad definition of accessibility covers people operating under situational limitations as well as functional limitations:
Functional limitations pertain to disabilities, such as blindness or limited use of the hands. Functional limitations can be visual, auditory, physical, or cognitive (which includes language and learning disabilities).
Situational limitations relate to the prevailing circumstances, environment, or device. These limitations can affect anybody, not just people with disabilities. Examples include mobile devices and device limitations, such as having no mouse, or constraining circumstances, such as interacting with a web site through a computer integrated into a car's dashboard, where the use of the hands and eyes is limited.

References:

Constructing Accessible Web Sites

Authors: Jim Thatcher, Paul Bohman, Michael Burks, Shawn Lawton Henry, Bob Regan, Sarah Swierenga, Mark D. Urban, Cynthia D. Waddell

CSM ­ Making Your Web Pages Accessible

http://ctlonline.net/websavvy/access.asp

WebAim ­ Expanding the Web’s Potential for People with Disabilities

http://www.webaim.org

On-line Accessibility Checkers

Bobby http://www.cast.org/bobby LIFT http://www.usablenet.com

WAVE http://www.wave.webaim.org/index.jsp

Carolyn Fiori

Assistive Technology Specialist

College of San Mateo - Bldg. 16 Room 151

fiori@smccd.net