Relevance of Web Accessibility
The Web provides an unprecedented opportunity for people with disabilities to:
- news, information, commerce, entertainment,
- classroom education, distance learning,
- job searching, workplace interaction,
- civic participation, government services
Access to information has been recognized as human right by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD)
People with Disabilities
Web accessibility is about people with different abilities, including older people:
- Auditory - deaf, hard of hearing, ...
- Cognitive - dyslexia, intellectual, ...
- Neurological - seizures, sclerosis, ...
- Physical - missing limbs, paralysis, ...
- Speech - talking slowly, not talking, ...
- Visual - blind, partial sight, color, ...
Web Accessibility Barriers
Examples of barriers on the Web include:
- Images, videos, audio with no alternative text
- Layout and font do not expand and shrink well
- Forms and controls can not be used by keyboard
- Inconsistent and/or overly complex navigation
- Script events are device and browser dependent
- User control, natural language, ...
Accessibility is for Everyone
Web accessibility benefits many users:
- Low literacy or computer skills
- Temporal functional limitations
- Situation or external influence
- Limited bandwidth connectivity
- Legacy hardware and software
- Mobile and ambient technologies
Up to 65% benefit from accessibility (Microsoft, 2005)
Accessibility Benefits Businesses
Web accessibility has business benefits:
- Increase audience reach and market share
- Increase search engine ranking (SEO)
- More usability and customer satisfaction
- Reduce maintenance and redesign costs
- Improve the access for mobile Web users
- Increase server and bandwidth efficiency
- Support older and newer technologies
Steps for Implementation
- Understand the basic requirements
- Assess your current situation
- Set realistic goals and targets
- Assign roles and responsibilities
- Validate progress with real users
