Accessibility Overview

What is Accessibility?

Simply put, accessibility is about designing and coding so that more people can use your web site effectively in more situations. This means people with disabilities as well as people accessing your site from internet-enabled non-PC devices.

There is a fair amount of debate over accessibility, and disagreement about the feasibility and scope of the expectations set forth. Regulations imposed by governmental agencies and legislation, as well as recommendations from the World Wide Web Consortium, can sometimes be vague or confusing. But this much is clear: you should put forth an effort to make your site more accessible.

Why should you make your site more accessible?

It will take some work on your part, so why should you? Aside from being the "right thing to do," there are a few key reasons:

• It's good practice.
• You will become a better coder.
• You are making the way for the future.
• You are obligated to comply with regulations. ( Section 508 )
• You don't have a lot of excuses.

Today you will be shown several key techniques to get you on the right path. With your foundation in HTML, and what you now know about document structure, XHTML, and web standards, you are well on your way to substantially improving your site's accessibility.

Key components of web accessibility

Things to keep in mind

• Specific disabilities and adaptive technologies
• Linearization
• Structure

Strategies & techniques to use

• Simplicity
• Redundancy
• Markup at your disposal

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