Gimme Access

“Technology is accessible if it can be used as effectively by people with disabilities as by those without.” (Thatcher, 2008) In designing an accessible website, we must consider people who use talking browsers, screen readers, text browsers, small devices, and pointing devices other than a mouse, and who may have specific needs for text sizes and colors to be readable.

A usable website supports “effective and efficient computer-human interactions” (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, 2006, Chapter 2), so people will make the best use of their time on the web site, will not become frustrated, and will find the information they need in a timely fashion. An accessible website can be used by humans with a wide range of physical and intellectual abilities. By combining usability with accessibility, a website can be used effectively by many more populations than would be possible otherwise. Accessibility is a step toward narrowing the digital divide.

Interestingly, some of the same web design techniques address both usability and accessibility. These are some techniques I plan to use to increase the accessibility of my Web pages:

• Use headings to structure content. By using the H1, H2, etc. attributes for – and only for — topic headings, I will allow typical users to scan the text for needed content and will also enable keyboard navigation by headings. Along with the headings, I will take care that the text content is in a logical order, so a screen reader will read it in the correct sequence. One feature of this logical order is to place the main navigation links at the top of the page, where they are read first by screen readers.
• Include meaningful alternative text. The alt attribute for images or the longdesc attribute for charts allows text to state the function of an image or to show that the graphic contains no relevant information.
• Use ems or % in the CSS to control font size. As Krug (2005, p. 178) points out, specifying the font size value in ems or %, rather than points or pixels, makes it possible for site viewers to use the browser text size controls to make the text larger if needed for visibility.

While there are many other techniques to increase accessibility, such as including a hidden “skip to content” link and ensuring high contrast between text and background colors, the three techniques listed above are simple but powerful ways to make a web site conveniently accessible to everyone.

References

Krug, S. 2005. Don’t Make Me Think. Berkeley, CA: New Riders Press.

Thatcher, J. 2008. Web Accessibility for Section 508. Retrieved October 16, 2008 from http://www.jimthatcher.com/webcourse1.htm#tutorial

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 2006. Research-Based Web Design & Usability Guidelines. Retrieved October 16, 2008 from http://www.usability.gov/guidelines