Web Accessibility
Web site accessibility is a key issue for many organisations. Unfortunately, most web sites are not made fully accessible, which means that people who need something extra in order for them to fully participate in the web site experience, miss out all together.
The Blue Cube has been producing web accessible sites for many years.
The adoption of a consistent set of international technical standards the World Wide Web Consortiumís (W3C) and the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) has driven more rapid progress on web accessibility, and made the design and development of more accessible web sites more efficient.
Web site accessibility means making a web site accessible to everyone – not just those who are able bodied in every way as is often the case. For example, blind people can enjoy a web site if thought has been given to their experience. They can use text-to-speech software that can read the plain text on a page. However, when an image is encountered, if it has no alt tag describing the image, the software cannot do more than say the file name, which may not be descriptive of the image.
Most browsers also have an option to make the text larger. However, if the web page has not been coded in such a way that makes this possible, it cannot be done. This means that people with poor eyesight who could easily read large text may not be able to read a small size of text easily. Again, this is simply a matter of proper planning to get it right from the outset.
Thought needs to be given at the planning stage to every possible individual who may visit the page. Coding the page so that links are red and not underlined, for example, may confuse colour-blind persons who have difficulty with red and green colours. People who use the World Wide Web regularly know that links should be blue and underlined. This avoids confusion. It is easily recognised and it means better accessibility for all.
Some people have difficulty holding and controlling a computer mouse. This may seem a simple action for most of us, but for those who can’t manipulate things easily it means they have difficulty navigating a typical web page. However, web pages can be coded so that navigation can be done by the keyboard alone. It doesn’t affect those who can use a mouse, but it means that those who can’t can also enjoy the web page experience.
Components that include content, text, images, sounds, code or mark-up that defines structure and presentation can all be presented in a way that includes everyone. That is what web accessibility is all about. The World Wide Web Consortiumís (W3C) and the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), drives the progress on web accessibility. The Blue Cube keeps up to date with all progress and best practices in this respect, and that means we can pass on the benefits to you, advising you accordingly.
