The Basics of Web Accessibility

We get a lot of questions about web accessibility here at Siteimprove, and I would like to take this opportunity to answer some of them. This is probably more of a review for seasoned accessibility folks, but there’s a growing demand for this kind of introductory information as more web professionals recognize the importance of accessibility.

What is Web Accessibility and why is it important to the success of my website?

Web accessibility refers to the inclusive practice of making websites usable by people of all abilities and disabilities. When sites are correctly designed, developed, and edited, all users can have equal access to information and functionality.

Which standards should I use?

Depending on your location, there may be various sets of accessibility standards that you will need to follow. Fortunately, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has a comprehensive list called the WCAG 2.0 that has been widely adopted, and is the base set of guidelines for most other standards. Below are a few examples of location-specific standards to look at:

What are the benefits of website accessible coding standards?

There are quite a few benefits to coding accessibility into your website that go beyond just meeting the minimum accessibility laws:

Social Responsibility

It’s time to act socially responsible. Accessibility is about allowing people with and without disabilities to have access to the information they want and need. As our population changes, we need to educate the people responsible for generating communication channels to be aware of ALL of our different users.

Efficient Code

Once you’ve developed a clean, accessible code base, you will be amazed at the benefits. Efficient code can help improve:

Website maintenance

Device compatibility

Faster page loading

Search engine optimization (SEO)

What are the “Nuts and Bolts” of web accessibility?

We receive many accessibility questions that are more technical in nature, because the standards can get pretty complex. Some of the most important coding practices are quite simple to control in your different coding environments, for example:

What is Assistive Technology?

When talking about assistive devices to aid visitors with disabilities, the first and sometimes only device that comes to most people’s mind is a screen reader (if you haven’t heard of a screen reader, it’s a tool that reads pages aloud to people with low vision or severe dyslexia). While screen readers are an extremely important assistive device, it’s by no means the only device. Other assistive technologies are used to support a wide range of disabilities. These technologies include:

Screen readers

Windows and Mac Accessibility features

Color contrast analyzers

Toolbars/extensions/plug ins

Mobile devices

When optimizing your website to accommodate users with disabilities, it’s important to understand what kind of issues they may encounter depending on the type of assistive technology they may be using. Read more about assistive technology in this post.