Website Accessibility

Recently introduced legislation and some high-profile legal cases, are increasing the profile of website accessibility. It's easy to design and build a site which is accessible in basic terms. But producing a truly usable site which supports many different user groups in achieving common goals demands more serious consideration of user needs and requirements in the early stage of development.

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

Tim Berners-Lee

In November 1999 the National Federation of the Blind lodged a landmark lawsuit against AOL. The suit claimed AOL violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act by failing to provide access for the disabled to its site.

In an out of court agreement, NFB have agreed to hold the lawsuit for 12 months, by which time AOL must:

• Adopt a company-wide policy incorporating guidelines for making AOL sites accessible to the blind and others with disabilities.
• Make the next version of its software accessible to the blind. AOL 6.0 is scheduled for release this autumn.
• Ensure that other future AOL products are accessible to the blind.

Meanwhile, the Sydney 2000 Olympics organizers (SOCOG) have been ordered to make changes to their website http://www.olympics.com/eng/ before the Olympics start after a complaint against the site by a blind user was upheld by The Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunities Commission. It found that SOCOG had breached the Disability Discrimination Act and has ordered it to use 'ALT text' on all images and image map links on its site. SOCOG claims that they are facing a cost of over $2 million and a timescale of 12 months to make these changes.

8% of the U.S. population has visual, learning, cognitive, auditory or physical dexterity disabilities severe enough to affect their ability to access the Web. These people use the web for the same reasons as everyone else - email, news, sports results, research, work.

Recently introduced legislation and some high-profile legal cases, like the above, are increasing the profile of website accessibility. As the stories above demonstrate, E-commerce organisations and government bodies can no longer afford to be complacent about the issues surrounding accessibility.

Some typical causes of accessibility issues Images missing ALT tags, which are an essential alternative for those using many 'assistive technologies' (see below for more on these accessibility aids). Image maps, especially those demanding accurate mouse work which may be difficult for users with mobility problems such as arthritis. Poor link titles or description of what's behind it, e.g. "Click Here", which require a visual 'context' to be understandable. Tablular presentation of information, such as using columns to present text in newspaper-like layouts. These and other HTML 'workarounds' tend to focus on the visual look on the screen rather than the logic of the code, with repercussions for those using audio browsers.

How do 'assistive technologies' work?

Screen readers are an example of an assistive technology - they allows blind users to interact with a computer by providing audio feedback to commands entered through the keyboard, or by voice recognition. Imagine trying to navigate a website entirely by phone - you are on one end of the line, issuing instructions to a friend who is at the other end. Your friend reads aloud the contents of their browser screen and you have to create a mental model of the site's navigation system and interactivity, make decisions and tell them what to do. As an added complication, imagine your friend is not familiar with column layouts and insists on reading from left to right indiscriminately. This may give you some idea of how screen reader users can have difficulties with many common web design models.

Accessibility is a usability issue which is growing in profile. Increased awareness of the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative http://www.w3.org/WAI web accessibility guidelines, new legislation (and probably more lawsuits) will increase demand for accessible websites and online applications.

It's easy to design and build a site which is accessible in basic terms. But producing a truly usable site which supports many different user groups in achieving common goals demands more serious consideration of user needs and requirements in the early stage of development.