Web Accessibility

Web accessibility is for blind people

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Web accessibility is for the disabled

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Web accessibility is for EVERYONE

An overview

How are people using your site?

Keyboard and mouse?

How are these people using your site?

Mobile devices

How are these people using your site?

Alternative input devices

Your users are not all the same

Is your audience male or female, old or young?

Your users are not all the same

Your users may be colour blind

Your users are not all the same

Your users may suffer from epilepsy

3 flashes within one second can cause a seizure

Legal requirements

Disability Discriminations Act (UK)

Section 508 (US)

a service provider has to take reasonable steps to change a practice which makes it unreasonably difficult for disabled people to make use of its services.

Other legislations in different countries

Legal casesMaguire v SOCOG (2000)

Target (US)

Odeon Cinema (UK)

Threat of legal action by RNIB and many other pressure groups against many largecompanies and organisations if they do not make their websites more accessible

Not just a legal thing

Enabling more people to use your website increases sales.

Enable your brand across a wider range of technologies, and environments

An accessible site is generally faster leading to reduced hosting costs

An accessible site is generally more search engine optimised leading to increasedbrand visibility

It’s Ethical

Accessibility guidelines

WCAG 1 & 2

PAS 78

RNIB See it right

Not all about checklists

Web accessibility means dull, boring websites

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Accessible sites can look great too

Accessible sites can look great too

Accessible sites can look great too

Not just people using your website

Search Engines don’t care what your site looks like

Basic Requirements (single A compliance)

PERCEIVABLE - alternatives for non-text content - captioning - transcripts

OPERABLE - keyboard navigation - timing of moving content can be adjusted - epilepsy - good semantic code

UNDERSTANDABLE - Do not open new windows within pre-warning user - Do not change focus from what is expected - Form input assistance - Error handling

ROBUST - good semantic code to withstand different user environments

Conformance to WCAG 2.0 Guidelines

Each page of the website has to conform for the whole site to achieve conformance

Claiming conformance is optional

By using the W3Cs logos on your site, you are claiming conformance

Do not rely on automated accessibility tools

Let real users loose on your website

Let real users loose on your website

Summary

Accessibility is for EVERYONE

Use REAL USERS to test your site

People use the web in a variety of different ways, and in a variety of environments

Accessibility should be an integral part of the whole process, not just a checklist, or an afterthought

There’s more than just legal reasons to make your site’s more accessible

More information

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