Access for allAccess for all

Why it’s important to make accessibility an integral part of your website design

Donna SmillieBest Practice Officer (Accessible Websites)

Royal National Institute of the Blind

Goss Interactive SeminarApril 2003

The Web - designed for access

“The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.”

Tim Berners-LeeW3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web

Disabled people in the UK

8.5 million people with a disability(Source: Office of National Statistics)

2 million people with sight problems(Source: RNIB)

Users may not be able to...

..see what’s on the screen ..hear audio files or video sound tracks ..use a mouse / use a keyboard ..read easily or quickly, or cope with blinking or

scrolling text ..understand complex pages ..use browser dependent plug-ins or scripts

e.g. Flash, Java applets, JavaScript

What users can do

Adjust PC settings– screen resolution, system font size

Adjust browser settings– font size, text & background colours

‘Access technology’ / ‘Assistive technology’– speech input– virtual keyboard & nudge switch– screen magnification– synthetic speech output / braille display

More about access technology

RNIB website - http://www.rnib.org.uk– Fact sheets– Local agencies database– Regional resource centres– Suppliers

AbilityNet website - http://www.abilitynet.org.uk– Info about access technology– Fact sheets– Suppliers

The WAI guidelines

Web Content Accessibility Guidelineshttp://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT

– Published by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), part of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C)

– Comprehensive guidance on accessible design, with examples and suggested techniques

– Useful list of accessibility checkpoints for use when designing / checking pages for accessibility

Standards & Guidelines

WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines– ‘A’, ‘AA’, ‘AAA’

BobbyRNIB ‘See it Right’UK Government guidelinese-Europe initiativeSection 508 (USA)

The current trend in UK & Europe

e-Europe - Commitment to accessibility– http://europa.eu.int/information_society/

topics/citizens/accessibility/ (single URL, no spaces)

UK Government - Guidelines for government websites includes section on accessibility– http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk (Resources - Guidelines)

Disability Discrimination Act 1995 - Code of practice for section 3 (Provision of Goods & Services) now includes a website as an example– http://www.disability.gov.uk/dda/

Key issues

Layout & design

Flash, scripts, mutimedia

Text, contrast & colour

Images & graphics

Links

Forms

Old Abbey National site...

…without graphics - no content!

New Abbey National site...

…without graphics - much better...

…and the text resizes too

Sites designed for accessibility...

Are quicker and easier for everyone to use

Are more likely to work on new and emerging technologies as well as with access technology

Reach the largest possible audience

Contribute to creating a positive image

Help to demonstrate a commitment to avoiding discrimination against people with disabilities

Some useful tools

Vischeck - online colour blindness simulator– http://www.vischeck.com

Lynx - free text browser– http://lynx.browser.org

Bobby - check your pages re WAI guidelines– http://bobby.watchfire.com/bobby/

Access Adobe - accessing PDF documents– http://access.adobe.com

Further information...

Campaign for Good Web Designhttp://www.rnib.org.uk/digital/

Accessible Web Design: hints for designing accessible websiteshttp://www.rnib.org.uk/digital/hints.htm

‘See it Right’ Accessible Website logo schemehttp://www.rnib.org.uk/digital/siraccess/

(All have links to useful information elsewhere on the Web)

RNIB consultancy

RNIB ‘See it Right’ Web Consultancy

Practical advice on accessible web design

Website audits & logo scheme

Talks and seminars

For more information:

Telephone : +44 (020) 7391 2178Email : webaccess@rnib.org.uk