Over the past decade the Internet has grown beyond many peoples expectations and has changed the way we access information in almost every aspect of many peoples lives. It has become a serious route to market for businesses around the world, has proven it's worth and is here to stay. Yet in the UK people with disabilities make up 10% of this important market and for the most part have had to deal with a technology that makes it difficult if not impossible to fulfil it's potential. This is however all about to change.
The technology of the web has historically been the main barrier to users with disabilities, as the web has developed so has that technology and it is now possible to open up access to this important 10% of the population and combined with a growing moral obligation, business need and more stringent legal requirements this is something that everyone in any way connected to the online environment needs to be aware of.
It's not just about blind people
The common assumption is that accessibility is just about providing access to the blind. It is about much more than that, we must consider those with motor deficiencies or cognitive disabilities as well as a much wider range of visual imparements. These can range from colour blindness which occurs in many forms, to people who require reading glasses.
Motor deficiencies
Users with motor deficiencies may be unable to use a mouse or similar pointing device. Try navigating around a website using only the keyboard and you should realise just how difficult this can be. We therefore need to consider the layout out of our information and the level of 'necessary' interaction that relies on a mouse. Those with cognitive disabilities which includes Dsylexia, may have problems recognising or remembering information. This forces us to consider the architecture of pages and in simplifying and streamlining this we arrive at a result that improves the experience for all.
Access for the blind
The most common method of accessing webpages for visually impared people is to use a screen reader. This is a piece of software that runs alongside other programs and in the case of a webpage will read out the page word by word. This is a time consuming process, techniques that most people take for granted such as scanning page information, visual recognisation of content blocks and 'interactive' navigation are simply lost in the process. Of course if page content does not flow in a natural rythm if can become extremely easy to get lost. So we must think about how and where we place our information, the key here is to use structural markup that puts the page into a logical order and uses formatting such as headings and paragraphs. It's all about context and ensuring it is built in and then tested using a standard screen reader. When structural markup and CSS are used together it is possible to provide this and build appealing sites.
But is it worth it for such a small minority
This is entirely beside the point. The people within these groups have as much right to access the information as we do and with the tools available this is something we can and must do. But if you really need convincing there is a legal requirement too.
Your legal requirement
The issue of accessibility on the web is relatively new and is still developing in a legal respect
The applicable law in the UK is the DDA of 1995, according to which, from 2004, "service providers may have to consider making permanent physical adjustments to their premises". How this applies to the Web is something that generally gets decided in the courts. There have already been precedent-setting cases in the USA and Australia. In 2000, a blind person successfully sued the Sydney Olympic organisers for AUS$20,000 (£8,257) for providing an inaccessible site.
Soon enough cases like this will come to the UK. By taking notice of the government e-Envoy's guidelines, which include Web Accessibility Initiative(WAI) AA conformance, we will not have to make the assumption that it won't happen to us.
Accessible does not mean expensive and un-appealing
Many people say they feel accessible sites are un-appealing and 'not for them', this simply doesn't have to be the case. It's about graphic design working with accessibility so it's not just about programmers and coders, picking up the skills. With tools like CSS it's possible to create absolutely anything you require, but accessibility is relatively new, meaning that most accessible sites are produced by specialists and lobbying bodies who as a rule tend not to be interested in the graphic design aspect. As more sites conform to the standards it will become apparent just what can be done.
And it doesn't have to be expensive either. The assumption is that it takes longer to build accessible sites. No. It's about leaning the skills, once they are in place site builds need be no slower and in most cases can be quicker. The seperation of content and layout that the techniques provide give developers the power to implement changes quickly and efficiently and can make backend coding simpler by reducing code weight.
Advanced media
So where does this leave us with technologies such as Flash? It's certainly something to consider, but it's not necessarily an obsticle. Traditional all-Flash sites are more than likely to be shortcoming in terms of accessibility, but just as with HTML based sites its about learning the skils and the right approach. We can create sites that use 'sections' of flash with suitable fall back solutions around more standard content. But accessibility is not something the Flash world is un-aware of, the latest generation of Flash and Flash tools provide accessibility features that make accessible Flash sites a thing of today and they are still improving. The trick is to find the right balance.
And here's the sweetener
Building a site that's accessible doesnt just give you more manageable pages, generally requiring less bandwidth, or an increased reachable audience. It's not just about legal requirements and improving budgets, or sites that are better structured and therefore easier to use and more likely to retain visitors.
The most recognised 'fringe benefit' is with search engines. Think about it, engines like 'Google' are blind programs. When they meet a page that's easier for them to interpret, the page scores more highly and as accessibility is all about more logical and interpretable pages, you can guess what happens next.
Accessible sites are here, they are feasable and beneficial. Build it in from the ground up, expend a little extra thought from the start and the web will be a better place.
Last updated 21 May 2004