Skip to content 
Translations
About RSS
SearchIntroduction to "How People with Disabilities Use the Web"
Quick link: How People with Disabilities Use the Web [Draft]
Page Contents
The draft document "How People with Disabilities Use the Web" provides examples of people with different disabilities using Web sites, applications, browsers, and authoring tools.
The draft document will soon be updated to reflect current best practice; for example, the references will be updated to WCAG 2.0 instead of WCAG 1.0. We expect it to be completed and published by 2010, as part of the WAI-AGE Project.
What is in the document
"How People with Disabilities Use the Web" provides cross-linked information in the sections described below.
Scenarios
The Scenarios of People with Disabilities Using the Web section illustrates people with disabilities using assistive technologies and adaptive strategies to access the Web. It provides examples of accessibility features.
- Online shopper with color blindness - user customized style sheets
- Reporter with repetitive stress injury - keyboard equivalents for mouse commands, access keys
- Online student who is deaf - captioned audio from multimedia
- Accountant who is blind - appropriate table markup and alternative text
- Student with dyslexia - use of supplemental graphics, freezing animated graphics, multiple search options
- Retiree with aging-related conditions managing personal finances - screen magnification, stopping scrolling text, avoiding pop-up windows
- Supermarket assistant with cognitive disability - clear and simple language, consistent design, consistent navigation options, multiple search options
- Teenager who is deaf and blind seeking entertainment - accessible multimedia, device-independent access, appropriate table markup
Different Disabilities
The Different Disabilities that Can Affect Web Accessibility section includes examples of the kinds of barriers someone with a specific disability might encounter using the Web. They are grouped under visual disabilities, hearing impairments, physical disabilities, speech disabilities, cognitive and neurological disabilities, multiple disabilities, and aging-related conditions.
Assistive Technologies and Adaptive Strategies
The Assistive Technologies and Adaptive Strategies section briefly introduces a range of hardware (such as alternative keyboards or switches and refreshable braille), software (such as scanning software, screen magnifiers, screen readers), and techniques (such as navigating through structural elements).
Referencing How People with Disabilities Use the Web
Please link to this introductory page (http://www.w3.org/WAI/intro/people-use-web), which will always point to the latest version of the main document. (See also Referencing and Linking to WAI Guidelines and Technical Documents.)
Because the main document is currently an unapproved draft, please do not link to, reference, or quote it. "How People with Disabilities Use the Web" is copyright© W3C and licensed under the W3C Document License. After it is completed, we will grant additional permission to create modifications of the material with appropriate reference.
Who develops the document
"How People with Disabilities Use the Web" is developed by the Education and Outreach Working Group (EOWG), which is part of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI). For more information about the working group, see the EOWG page.
Opportunities for review and comment on this and other WAI documents in progress are announced on the WAI home page, WAI highlights RSS feed, and WAI Interest Group mailing list.
Opportunities for contributing to WAI work are introduced in Participating in WAI.