The issue of site accessibility need not be the bug bear for all when assessing your existing website or looking at how to design a new one. According to an article in February's Catalogue e-business, designing websites for disabled users should be viewed more as an opportunity to apply common-sense principles, creating a more user-friendly and attractive website as a result.
Accommodating users with physical impairment, learning difficulties, dyslexia, and epilepsy for example, should be more about designing a site that is simple, clear and crisp so all visitors will gain from the experience.
The RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People) provide guidelines on what should be considered when designing a site that is accessible to all. Taking a few of the key principles into consideration:
- Text size - the best size will depend on the layout and interplay with graphics and images - but ensure that flexible and relative sizes are used to enable users to make the best of functions within their preferred browsing software. Bear in mind that screen magnifiers are used by many disabled users and this may impact their ability to complete online forms (where the label text is left-aligned it can be difficult to match the entry information to the correct field, so ensure label text is above the field).
- Use of colour - according to the RNIB's website, there is no ideal font colour - as with text size, design the site enabling the user to define settings that work for them. A good, crisp contrast of colour is enticing to all.
- Ensure ALT text is included with all images - this allows users of speech and Braille readers to access all pages. Avoid writing links by saying “click here” - this tells visitors using screen readers absolutely nothing about other pages on the site and can be immensely irritating. According to the e-business article, users of screen readers will scan a web page similar to sighted users - jumping from headlines, to images, and to links to gain an insight into the general gist of the content. Therefore, it is important to apply the protocol of H1, H2 and H3 tags layout.
- Apply audio and video (with subtitles) links but limit use of flash technology.
Giles Colborne, writing in e-business says:
“By addressing accessibility as a strategic, mainstream issue, you can increase your audience, increase customer satisfaction, and decrease maintenance costs.”
The RNIB website also provides a list of sites that have passed their web accessibility audit via their See it Right directory and gives guidelines to businesses about how to apply for an audit (email: webaccess@mib.org.uk).
BSI British Standards will be publishing its new code of practice - BS 8878 Web accessibility. Building accessibile experiences for disabled people in the summer. Based on PAS 78:2006 Guide to good practice in commissioning accessible websites, the new code will give advice to organisations, from involving disabled people in the development process, to what accessibility testing tools are available, as well as reaffirming requirements as specified in the 2006 documentation. The draft BS 8878 document can still be viewed, and although the date for submitting comments has now expired, the document does have a useful section on what accessibility wording organisations may choose to use in policy statements.
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