Accessibility Guide

Precis

There have been several scare stories of organisations facing litigation due to lack of accessibility on their websites.  The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) guidelines however have been criticised for being overly complex and difficult to implement. This, combined with the lack of practical experience and knowledge in this emerging area, means there is a lot of confusion about whether to implement accessibility guidelines, which ones to implement and how to do this on a practical level in a business environment. The following guide outlines the major issues companies need to address before considering which accessibility issues they face.

What matters?

The legal case:

The duties on service providers under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 are as follows:

• Since 2 December 1996, it has been unlawful for service providers to treat disabled people less favourably for a reason related to their disability.
• In 2002 the Disability Rights Commission confirmed that this law applied equally to online services - organisations must make ‘reasonable adjustments’ to ensure that online services are not denied to those with disabilities.

The business case:

Website accessibility is often discussed in terms of people with sight problems, and in the UK, RNIB has done much to raise awareness of the need for online business operations to comply with the legislation.  With the charity’s figures showing that there are around two million people with sight problems in the UK, it clearly makes sound commercial sense for businesses to provide online services that cater for this substantial number.

However designing a truly accessible website involves consideration of more than the visually impaired.  There are many other kinds of difficulties that can affect someone’s ability to use a website, such as difficulties with hand-eye co-ordination.  A design process that considers these problems means that appropriate steps can be taken to ensure that as many of the UK’s 8.5 million disabled (OFT) as possible are able to enjoy the benefits of online goods and services.

An accessible website:

• Ensures that goods and services are available to the largest customer base possible
• Enhances brand reputation
• Confirms a company’s commitment to providing a socially inclusive service

The moral case:

A major flaw in the creative process of website development that affects a website’s level of accessibility is a lack of what’s known as 'inclusive design'. Designers and developers need to realise that users may be operating in contexts very different from their own. They may not be able to see, hear, move, or may not be able to process some types of information easily or at all.

• They may have difficulty reading or comprehending text
• They may not have or be able to use a keyboard or mouse
• They may have a text-only screen, a small screen, or a slow internet connection
• They may not speak or understand fluently the language in which the document is written
• They may be in a situation where their eyes, ears, or hands are busy or interfered with (e.g. driving to work, working in a loud environment, etc.)
• They may have an early version of a browser, a different browser entirely, a voice browser, or a different operating system

For more information please see the WAI checklist of design pointers for accessible websites.

Technology – need to know:

The Web Accessibility Initiative has set up a series of guidelines to ensure website developers can use standard languages to create sites that are accessible. These include HTML, CSS, XML, SMIL, SVG, and DOM.

Barriers exist when these technologies lack features needed by users with visual, hearing, physical, or cognitive disabilities.

HTML, SYMM, and SVG Working Groups include features that promote the separation of structure and style, improved navigation, extended descriptions of complex graphics such as charts and diagrams, captions for multimedia, and device-independent user interface descriptions (e.g., to enable interaction with a page through mouse, keyboard, or voice input).

Web Content Accessibility Guidelines; User Agent Accessibility Guidelines; Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines.

Accreditation:

There are a number of 'seals of approval' such as Bobby, WAI which are self-assessed and maintained.

The RNIB's See It Right logo is the only independent award is which is assessed by the RNIB. The value of the See it Right award is that the verification is much more vigorous as it is done by an independent body.

The Usability Company is offering a series of one-day accessibility training courses for managers web developers and media owners. To book your place please follow the link.