Keep checking for relevant laws
Web site accessibility for users with special needs is a hot political issue. Keep checking for the latest legal developments, and whether accessibility is important for your target users.
Written by Philip Chalmers who is based in the Medway area of Kent, England, United Kingdom.
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What does "accessibility" mean?
Keep checking for relevant laws |
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In computer and Web terminology, "accessibility" means helping people with physical disadvantages to use your web site or software.
In practice most discussion focuses on visual disabilities:
But some countries have legislation which also requires provision for users with difficulties in hearing and / or in hand movements.
Check out actual and proposed law in the countries where the pages are developed and in the countries where the servers containing these pages are located.
Legal requirements regarding accessibility are subject to change, and the entire subject is complex.
Use the search engines every few months to keep abreast of developments - you should get decent results by typing in the search box "web accessibility" and the names of the relevant countries - or "web accessibility law" and the names of the countries if you specifically want to check the legal aspects.
The
Australian Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission gives a good
example of what legislation may require (the page takes a while to load).
Note the wide range of types of organisation / activity covered, including e-commerce and
entertainment.
Unfortunately there does not seem to be a similar one-stop summary for the United Kingdom.
If your site falls within the scope of current accessibility legislation or legislation expected in the near future you have little choice - you must comply.
Otherwise know your target users, for example:
This is a large topic and needs a course in its own right. “Dive Into Accessibility” contains a very good list of tips, with explanations.
In the meantime, for each topic and each example presented in this tutorial, ask yourself "How easily could someone with a visual difficulty use this?"
If you want further information, try the articles and links in Usable Web's Accessibility section.
