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Common Accessibility Issues

Research conducted by AbilityNet, a charity which aims to make computer technology more accessible to disabled users, polled 100 users with disabilities to establish which public-facing sites were viewed as the most accessible.  There are a number of typical complaints made by disabled users.  If these problems are addressed, websites are reaching the largest audience possible:

What are the most common accessiblity issues?

	Text size cannot be enlarged.  Headings and links must have this functionality as a minimum requirement.
	Absence of or incomplete text labels explaining images.  This complicates navigation around a site.
	Actual text is replaced with pictures of text thus making enlargement impossible or disenabling contrasts of colour.
	Confusing adverts or features that move around the page can be disorientating.
	Overuse of Flash causes problems for users who may be visually impaired; cannot use a mouse or use speech recognition output or voice recognition software.
	Exclusive use of Flash technology hinders the ability of search engines to identify key terms.  Websites must aim to be content driven thus aiding the search engine optimisation process;
	Special browsers for the visually impaired or older browsers are unable to fully access sites totally reliant on JavaScript.  Shopping baskets for example, may not successfully operate for these particular users.