Accessibility

Accessible design is all inclusive design that allows users with disabilities to have access to the same information as average users. It should cater for users that:

• May not be able to see, hear, move, or may not be able to process some types of information easily or at all
• May have difficulty reading or comprehending text
• May not have or be able to use a keyboard or mouse
• May have a text-only screen, a small screen, or a slow Internet connection
• May not speak or understand fluently the language in which the document is written
• May be in a situation where their eyes, ears, or hands are busy or interfered with (e.g., driving to work, working in a loud environment, etc.)
• May have an early version of a browser, a different browser entirely, a voice browser, or a different operating system.

Content developers must consider these different situations during page design. While there are several situations to consider, each accessible design choice generally benefits several disability groups at once and the Web community as a whole. For example, by using style sheets to control font styles and eliminating the FONT element, HTML authors will have more control over their pages, make those pages more accessible to people with low vision, and by sharing the style sheets, will often shorten page download times for all users.

For those with motor neuron disabilities, or even arthritis the mouse is a very difficult input device to use. To assist these users the clickable area of a link should be as big as possible and keyboard shortcuts should be provided. These guidelines will also make the site easier to use for the rest of the user base. For additional information please see the WAI checklist of design pointers for accessible websites.

Interface IQ provides 3 key website accessibility services:

1. Evaluations - testing your products/services with your target users
2. Audits - using W3C metrics from the WAI to benchmark your website, Intranet or extranet against the premiere global accessibility standards: WAI Level A, WAI Level Double-A and WAI Level Triple-A
3. Consultancy & Training.

• While there are some compelling business, moral and technical reasons for implementing accessibility into your website, the primary driver at the moment in the legal mandate from the government, in the form of the DDA. The DRC published the new, revised Code of Practice on rights of access to goods, facilities, services and premises for disabled people on 26 February 2002. This Code of Practice details how the DDA should be interpreted and used
• Complying with the WAI accessibility guidelines will go to show that the company has attempted to make “reasonable adjustments” to make their services accessible to disabled users
• Well coded sites that conform to published standards go a long way to ensuring the accessibility of a site
• As technologies become pervasive and less expensive more people are able to gain access to the Internet and online shopping/transactions will become more important. Being able to do this from the comfort of their home environments is especially useful to the disabled users. Those companies with accessible websites will benefit from increased customer patronage. Companies who provide for their disabled users will benefit from a more positive brand perception

• Disabilities tend to increase with age, for example, serious sight loss is an age-related disability with two-thirds of sight-impaired people being over 60. As these “Silver Surfers” (those around retirement age with time and disposable income) are one of the fastest growing user groups of the Internet it makes good business sense to provide facilities for them to transact online. Already 20% of people aged 50 and over use online shopping sites (Age Concern England, 2000)
• “Accessibility is a competitive advantage,” says Election.com CEO Joe Mohen. “It's an economic opportunity to broaden our mission and differentiate ourselves, and it's solid, logical business that improves the value of our service. It's a good thing to do from a Wall Street perspective.”