December 19, 2001

By: Bryan Hubbard
Website: http://www.iimage.com

Understanding Accessibility: Toward a Universally Accessible Web

Understanding Accessibility
Universal accessibility seeks to provide equal ease of access to all people regardless of their physical capabilities. Within the United States, more than 54 million people cope with disabilities that may affect how they access electronic information (World Health Organization). More than 10 percent of the world's population deals with disabilities.

With that many people, it makes good business sense to ensure your applications and Web sites are accessible by all. For federal agencies and commercial companies supporting the federal government, it's also the law. Section 508 of the Americans With Disabilities Act requires 'all electronic and information technology that is developed, procured, maintained, or used by federal agencies be accessible to people with disabilities.' The law applies to all contracts and tasks orders signed after June 21, 2001.

Accessible Web Pages Do Not Need To Be Boring
Web accessibility is not about making text-only pages or writing 'down' to older browsers. Instead, guidelines generally require applications and Web sites to offer alternative features for those that with disabilities to match features available to those without disabilities.

Developing For Accessibility Is Affordable
Producing an application that is accessible from step one is much less expensive than remediating large applications or Web sites afterward.

Web Accessibility Is Easy Too Learn
Designing for accessibility involves three basic principles. 'Don't assume everyone has the same computer you do.' 'Make sure your information is not getting lost.' 'Provide alternative ways to get at that information.' These principles apply to all good design not just to developing for accessibility.

Assistive Technology Can't Solve All Accessibility Problems.
Assistive technology allows disabled folks to do many things others take for granted and can involve speech synthesis, voice recognition, braille terminals, and a wide variety of specialized input devices.

Assistive technology requires developers assistance by providing structure and alternatives that allow technologies like screen readers to work effectively.

Developing For Accessibility Helps Everyone
Web accessibility is not just about helping blind people "see" your content or deaf people "hear" multimedia content. Designing for accessibility helps improve your applications and Web sites in many ways: 1) Compatibility with the latest technology like wireless applications and palm-top computing will improve, 2) Search engines will index your site easier, and 3) People without disabilities will find your site easier to navigate.

Degrees of Accessibility
Development of accessible products must consider that disabilities may involve vision, hearing and mobility. Partial disabilities can be assisted simply by considering contrast, type size and providing text-based alternatives. People with more severe disabilities may use assistive technologies to access the information and services they need. These technologies (screen readers, Braille displays, voice recognition, magnification, breath control and even retinal scanning) often require further consideration in the design and composition of applications and Web sites.

Test For Accessibility
Validate your pages. Valid HTML doesn't guarantee accessibility but helps. Unplug your mouse and switch off graphics in your browser. Can you can still access, navigate and understand your Web site? What does your site sound like to people using a screen reader?

Whenever possible, ask a range of people with various abilities and disabilities to test your pages and give you feedback.

Finally, use free tools like 'Bobby' (http://www.cast.org/bobby/) to test your pages as a starting point. Don't rely on "automated tools" alone. Automated tools that claim they can diagnose, recommend and implement fixes have serious drawbacks and deal with a very limited number of Web languages and standards.

Get Help
InterImage experts can evaluate your site or application for accessibility, and recommend and implement improvements. Call InterImage at 703-522-7400 or visit http://www.iimage.com for more information.

About InterImage
Since 1996, InterImage has worked with commercial, defense, federal and municipal clients to provide quality information technology solutions to meet business needs. InterImage applies industry-leading process management to every challenge with expertise in e-business consulting, project management, database and application development, design and systems architecture. For more about InterImage, visit http://www.iimage.com or call 703-522-7400.

About the Author
Bryan Hubbard serves as project director and corporate communications manager for InterImage. He is a published scholar and has more than a decade of experience in the professional communication and Internet technology industries.

Also See: cell phone definitions.

Author Notes:

Bryan Hubbard contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.iimage.com.  InterImage leads the way as a small woman-owned Web-based solutions firm.