For discussions of the issues and solutions to creating webpages that are accessible to people with a disability
The Issue
In the 21st century increasingly we all communicate across the Internet. Whether to learn, to consume, to play or just to interact, the internet and websites are a crucial medium for us all. But for some users with a disability the very medium is rendered unusable as a result of poor design not only by individuals, but sometimes because the platform upon which the website is constructed does not allow the designer to support people with a disability.
There are many organisations and individuals seeking to support users to access the web both through Assistive Technology and through the education and training of designers and engineers.
Access to the internet is a very real issue for us all. The moral and sociual case is clear indeisgning for an inclusive society. But equally the business case is strong. There are 9.8 million disabled people on the UK alone offering a huge market for business as well as being voters and members of communities. website accessibility is an issue that touches us all.
Research
AbilityNet carries out regular state of the enation reports which explore the current state of play in accessible design for a specific sector of industry or government.
http://www.abilitynet.org.uk/enation takes you to the archive of these
If you are interested in dsocial networking AbilityNet is conducting research into the accessibility of Social networks
Go to www.abilitynet.org.uk/socialnetworking to take part
Techniques and solutions
The WebAim website contains a wealth of useful information on accesible design
Useful AbilityNet Articles
Key New Features of the Web Accessibility Toolbar 2.0
Since our article on 19th September 2006 – Testing Your Website for Accessibility, the Web Accessibility Toolbar has been updated and improved. Version 2.0 of the toolbar which has been available from June 2007 is currently in beta and can be downloaded from http://www.paciellogroup.com/resources/wat-ie-about.html#download.
Understanding sensory impairment when designing a website
When dealing with website design and sensory impairment, we need to consider both Vision and Hearing. Thius article address some of the key issues to consider in the design process
Useful Resources
Tools
AIS Toolbar – an excellent tool to help check the accessibility of websites.
http://www.nils.org.au/ais/web/resources/toolbar/
Macromedia Accessibility Resource Centre provides a downloadable accessibility validation and reporting tool for Dreamweaver Version 3.0 and up. The Accessibility checker will check pages for conformance to the Web Accessibility Initiative's "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Checklist, Version 1.0" on all three Priority levels.
http://www.macromedia.com/macromedia/accessibility.
Vischeck
Colour blindness simulator.
http://www.vischeck.com/
General Websites
BBC Research
http://www.bbc.co.uk/commissioning/newmedia/websites.shtml
Disability Discrimination Act – The Disability Rights Commission provides useful information on the legal aspects of web accessibility.
http://www.drc.org.uk/thelaw/thedda.asp
Outlaw.com – contains the popular 'Disabled access to websites under UK law' guide, and news articles relating to accessiblity and the law.
http://www.out-law.com/
The Irish National Disability Authority IT Accessibility Guidelines - The Irish National Disability Authority website provides a plain English interpretation of the W3C guidelines together with the reasons behind why each checkpoint is important.
http://www.accessit.nda.ie/guidelineindex_1.html
The Web Standards Project – The Web Standards Project website provides advice and information on the implementation of web standards and runs a campaign to encourage browser developers to ensure they adhere to W3C standards for code compliance. For an introduction to the rational behind standards they have an excellent educational FAQ at http://archive.webstandards.org/edu_faq.html.
http://www.webstandards.org
Usable Web – The Usable Web website includes a collection of links about information architecture, human factors, user interface issues, and usable design specific to the World Wide Web.
http://www.useableweb.com
Useit.com – Useit.com provides advice on both accessibility and usability featuring articles and news links.
http://www.useit.com
Web Accessibility Initiative – The W3Cs Web Accessibility Initiative is a good place to start when learning about web accessibility. It offers an excellent resources section, together with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and Checklists.
http://www.w3.org/WAI/
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/ – Web Content Accessibility Guidelines.
http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/full-checklist.html – Web Content Accessibility Guidelines Checklist
http://www.w3.org/WAI/Resources – The resources section is a good place to start learning.
WebABLE – The WebABLE website offers a wealth of disability-related internet resources, including an extensive (North-American biased) database on all aspects of accessibility.
http://www.webable.com
WebAim – WebAim, the Web Accessibility in Mind Project provides a number of articles, a discussion forum and a number of simulations which is useful for testing websites.
http://www.webaim.org
The Web Design Group are excellent at demystifying the W3C recommendations and providing tutorials on accessible implementations.
http://www.htmlhelp.com
For Developers
A List Apart – resources for people who make websites.
http://www.alistapart.com/
Accessify – Accessify provides up to date accessibility news, advice and resources. It also hosts the Accessify Forum which is an accessibility related discussion group.
http://www.accessify.com
http://www.accessifyforum.com
AskTog – AskTOG by Bruce Tognazzini is perhaps the best place to start learning about human computer interaction (HCI).
http://www.asktog.com/basics/firstPrinciples.html
Aware Centre – (Accessible Web Authoring Resources and Education) serves as a central resource for web authors for learning about web accessibility.
http://aware.hwg.org
Dive Into Accessibility – Dive Into Accessibility is an online book which discusses accessible design issues and techniques.
http://www.diveintoaccessibility.org
Juicy Studio – Juicy studio provides a repository of useful articles on accessible techniques and practices together with some useful tools to assist developers in creating accessible content.
http://juicystudio.com
W3C Schools – Whilst not specifically about web accessibility this website includes many tutorials on learning HTML, CSS, XML and much more.
http://www.w3schools.com
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