Imagine: You Complete Your Site and Then Discover…. You Forgot Accessibility

Here’s how to handle an emerging requirement for Web design
By Bernard Sherman and Terence de Giere, Human Factors International, Inc.

It’s taken awhile, but webmasters are starting to get the hang of designing Web sites that work for most users. But don’t rest yet: webmasters will soon need to add a completely new set of Web design skills. Increasingly, Web sites will have to accommodate disabled users.

Disabled users? That’s right. Even people with no sight at all can “hear” the Web, through special browsers that read out the code on Web pages. New US regulations require that all Federal sites (and the sites of Federal contractors) work in this format. Other countries are adopting similar rules, and non-government sites are increasingly coming under pressure from users to offer options for the disabled.

You can experience first-hand the problems that face a visually impaired user by trying out a demonstration page at the Human Factors International (HFI) Web site, http://www.humanfactors.com/accessibility/chocolateaudio.asp. As you’ll find, these users are presented with a speech-synthesized reading of the HTML code. What usually dominates is not the content of the site but the scaffolding: “Table. Table row. Table row… indent. Table... row...” Interspersed among minutes of such code are a few bits of the actual content of the site. And whenever there’s a graphic, visually impaired users hear only the word “graphic.”

How can you give these users a more satisfying Web experience? Here are some steps you can take:
1) Visit the “Accessibility” section of the Human Factors International (HFI) Web site for an introduction and orientation to the problem (http://www.humanfactors.com/accessibility/default.asp).

2) Download the freeware called “Bobby” at http://www.cast.org/bobby/. This program, sponsored by such players as IBM, Microsoft, and Sun Microsystems, will analyze your HTML and tell you where it’s inaccessible. The tool is effective for basic accessibility problems. Improved versions are forthcoming for deeper issues of accessibility.

3) Study the World Wide Web Consortium’s Web Accessibility Initiative at http://www.w3.org/WAI/ for the most extensive information on creating Web pages that accommodate accessibility.
HFI’s simple tips for accessibility:
Tip One: Give each graphic an Alt tag that gives a clear description of the image for those who cannot see it. (This step may also improve search-engine placement.)

Tip Two: Use relative font sizes so visually impaired users can bump up the font size on the page. Many elderly users cannot read the small fonts on many Web sites.

Tip Three: Provide detailed text alternates for multimedia content.

Tip Four: Provide server-side equivalents for browser-side scripting ­ special access browsers and screen readers may not support JavaScript, or may not process certain kinds of scripted routines.

Tip Five: Test your Web pages with special browsers ­ audio browsers, text-only browsers, and screen readers.

Tip Six: Provide an accessible version of your site. Some organizations, like NINDS (the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes, http://www.ninds.nih.gov/), now offer two Web sites—one for ordinary users, the other for the disabled. The link to the disabled site is placed at the beginning of the main site, so disabled users can find it quickly. Special technology automatically updates the content on the disabled site whenever the main site is changed.

There’s no reason to complain about the new Web-accessibility regulations. As Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the Web, says, “The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.” A hallmark of civilization is how it uses technology to benefit all people. You can become part of the new standard by raising your own site’s accessibility. New technologies will emerge in coming years to make it easier; but even now, there are plenty of resources available to help you make your sites accessible to any user whatsoever.