Keys

Web without Barriers:
Designing Accessible Websites

Shadi Abou-Zahra, W3C/WAI
http://www.w3.org/People/shadi/

(alternate presentation format available)

World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

"Leading the Web to its full potential"

Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)

WAI develops strategies, guidelines, resources to make the Web accessible:

People with Disabilities

Web accessibility is people with disabilities:

Access and Opportunities

Video: Computer Access: In Our Own Words (University of Washington)

Web Accessibility Barriers

Examples of barriers on the Web include:

Example of Barriers

Video: Accessibility: Screen Readers and the Web, Part 3 (University of Washington)

Relevance of Web Accessibility

The Web has become an essential medium for:

Access to information has been recognized as human right by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)

Accessibility for Everyone

Web accessibility benefits many users:

Up to 65% benefit from accessibility (Microsoft, 2005)

Benefits of Web Accessibility

Web accessibility has business benefits:

Scope of Web Accessibility

Web accessibility is supported by several key components:

Components of Web Accessibility

Essential Components of Web Accessibility

Example of Accessibility

specific example for alternative text on images which is a requirements by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0. Web developers provide text alternatives for the images using authoring tools. The HTML specification provides a mechanism to supplement images with such text. Finally, this redundant coding is used by browsers and assistive technology to convey the information to the end users according to their preferences, for example visually, through voice synthesis, or in form of text.

WAI Accessibility Guidelines

W3C Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) develops and maintains:

Accessible Websites

Example: Before and After Demo (BAD)

Web Accessibility Evaluation

Some quick steps to evaluate your website:

Example of Checking

Example 1: BAD: Inaccessible Home Page

Example 2: BAD: Accessible Home Page

Thank You

Shadi Abou-Zahra, W3C/WAI
Activity Lead, WAI International Program Office
http://www.w3.org/People/shadi/