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Make Your Web site More Accessible

Posted November 1, 2006 By Caroling Lee |

Web Accessibility. What is it and why should I care?

Web accessibility is how well a user with a disability is able to access your Web site and perform the same tasks as another user. For example, blind or low-vision users require special tools called ‘screen readers’ that recite the information on a web page so they can listen to the content.

Four reasons^[1] accessibility matters:

750 million people worldwide have disabilities
baby boomers (seniors) will soon be the most populous age group
these users represent $1 trillion in aggregate annual income
Federal mandates are making accessibility an industry standard and best business practice

This month, the TradeMark team competed in the Accessibility Internet Rally (AIR) for the 5th year, so we thought it would be good to share some simple things you can do to make your Web site more accessible (or ask your Web developer to do).

Image/ Graphic Descriptions – Add ‘alt attributes’ to any images or graphics on the site. For example, if you have a photo on your site, right click and modify the properties of that image with a descriptive phrase – something that would describe the image to someone who might not be able to see it. Same for graphics and logos.
Page Titles – make sure each page in your Web site has an appropriate title (this is the text that displays at the top of your browser bar). For example, on our site at www.trademarkmedia.com, the title is ‘Austin Web Design – TradeMark Media – trademarkmedia.com’. Using keywords in the page title is also helpful for Search Engine Optimization.
Spell check – this seems basic, but misspelled words make it difficult for users who require screen reader tools. Your Web site is like your resume; it should be accurate and reflect your professionalism and credibility.
Link Check – are there any broken links on your site? Check all of them manually to be sure.
Navigation – is it consistent on all pages? Some sites have multiple forms of navigation: the main navigation, footer navigation, sub navigation, etc. Be sure that these patterns are consistent on all pages so that users are familiar with where to find things no matter what page they are visiting.
Site Map – it helps when users can access a page that lists every page on the site.
Contact Info – some sites only provide a contact form so be sure to provide contact info that is spelled out on the page in text.
Skip to Navigation/Skip to Content – these are two links that are part of the code, but not visible on the page. When using a screen reader, these links are very helpful to blind and low-vision users. Ask your developer about adding these links.
Contrast/Text Size – squint and step back from the screen, can you see or read the content on your Web site? Would you be able to navigate the information on the page? What happens when a user tries to increase the size of the text (using your browser functions)? The best contrast is black text on a white background – but that’s a bit extreme, just consider some of these variables when looking at the current color palette of your web site.
Last Updated Info – since users with disabilities rely entirely on content, visual cues that communicate design and style (or lack of) are not apparent to them. Adding some info about when the site was last updated will let the users know how fresh the content is and how reliable it is.

Making your site accessible doesn’t have to be a huge technical undertaking. Just a few simple changes can make a world of difference to your users and to your business.

[1]http://knowbility.org/airslides/index.htm; 2003

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