|
In the context of web site design, Accessibility is a measure of how easy it is to access, read, and understand the content of a web site. Accessibility is complicated by the fact that a web site is not a published piece of work so much as a living document that can be interpreted in different ways by different browsers and on different platforms. Web sites are not a print medium, although they are most often read in a visual manner; there are many different ways a web page can be experienced, such as via a speech browser or via an indexing robot. A web page is a combination of textual information, which is interpreted appropriately by a browser and linked to files of various types, such as graphics, movie clips and sound files.
On a more day-to-day level, Accessibility means designing sites that do not hinder visitors with physical disabilities or cause them unnecessary problems resulting from their disability. This will give consideration to visual (e.g. color blindness and total blindness), aural and physical disabilities.
Accessibility is not just about ensuring that disabled people can access information, although this is important and may be a legal requirement. It is about ensuring that the wide variety of users and devices can all gain access to information, thereby maximizing the potential audience and making users experience the pages the way they choose to. There is a real and growing need for Accessibility, it brings benefits for both the information provider and the information consumer.
Since different browsers with different capabilities can interpret a web page differently, and since the language of a web page (html), is constantly evolving, Accessibility must be considered to make a page usable by as many people as possible. We have the keys to graceful degradation, standards compliance, fast loading, and intelligent organization in making your web site accessible.
|
