Accessibility is a general term used to describe the degree to which a product (e.g., device, service, environment) is accessible by as many people as possible, and the ventures to produce accessible products and services. Accessibility is often used to focus on people with disabilities and their right of access to entities, often through use of assistive technology.
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Any large audience for a Web site will include users who have physical challenges to accessing your content. Designing for accessibility means that you should be developing Web pages that will remain accessible despite any physical, sensory, and cognitive disabilities, work constraints, or technological barriers. Most mainstream Web sites are so heavily image- and media-intensive that they are not suitable for adaptive devices such as screen readers, voice browsers, and braille translators. Many of the guidelines necessary for developing accessible content naturally lend themselves to creating good design.
Sklar, Joel. Indus (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
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Does the research suggest that there are differences in younger and older users? What can we do to enable older adults to interact with our Web sites at the same level as younger adults?
Bailey, Robert. Web Usability (2001). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Elderly
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Designing for Users With Cognitive Disabilities
Users with cognitive disabilities interact with technology in different forms. Designers need to understand the deficits of users with cognitive disabilities in order to design materials that are accessible to those users. This paper provides an overview and analysis of the current state of service to those with cognitive disabilities, and makes practical suggestions on design issues, as well as suggesting further areas for research.
Kolatch, Erica. Universal Usability (2000). Design>Usability>Accessibility
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Designing More Usable Documents
This section of Designing a More Usable World is dedicated to cooperative efforts linked toward creating more usable documents for all. A number of interrelated efforts and projects are listed below.
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Designing More Usable Web Sites
This section of Designing a More Usable World is dedicated to cooperative efforts linked toward building a more usable Web for all. At the present time, there are a number of interlocking and interrelated efforts.
University of Wisconsin (2001). Resources>Usability>Accessibility>Web Design
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Designing Pages Accessible to Limited Textual Comprehension Users
Many pages relating to web accessibility address the needs of web users who have sensory limitations -- the classic example of accessible web authoring is the proper use of the ALT attribute of the IMG (image) tag to provide a textual equivalent that benefits, among others, web users with visual impairments. Similarly, keyboard-accessible techniques can open up the World Wide Web to users who are unable to use a mouse or other 'traditional' input device due to motor or dexterity disabilities.
Bartlett, Kynn. Kynn (1999). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
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Designing Universally Accessible WWW Resources for People with Disabilities
This course is designed for web content developers to learn about the disability access issues faced by people with disabilities in using the web and how web resources can be designed to improve accessibility. The course provides a foundation on how people with disabilities access information on the web using mainstream browsers and specialized assistive technologies like speech renderings. Participants will learn about the two main standards for web accessibility, the W3C Web Content Accessibility Standards and the Section 508 requirements for web materials. The strengths and weaknesses of different evaluation and repair tools will be presented to help participants understand how to use the available tools to evaluate and repair their web resources. Participants will learn about common HTML accessibility problems, and HTML and CSS techniques that can be used to improve accessibility. Captioning of multimedia materials is also covered for Microsoft Media Player, Real Player and Quicktime, and the accessibility of non-W3C technologies like PDF and Flash will also be discussed.
University of Illinois (2002). Academic>Courses>Accessibility>Web Design
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Designing Your Web Site for the Blind
Yet those of us who are fully sighted forget that as we make the Web our main information vehicle, we may be cutting out millions of customers or potential customers. And these millions (5 to 10 million in the U.S. alone, by some estimates) have every moral and legal right to have access to that information.
Ball, Guy. Boston Broadside (2001). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Visual
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Determining the Best Online Font for Older Adults
Studies examining the legibility of fonts on computer screens have almost exclusively investigated young to middle aged adults. However, because of many age-related factors affecting reading, one should be fairly cautious in generalizing these findings to older adults. In light of this, this study sought to examine this population by studying the legibility, reading time, as well as the general font preference for two types of serif and sans serif fonts at 12- and 14-point sizes on computer screens.
Bernard, Michael, Corrina Liao and Melissa Mills. Usability News (2001). Design>Typography>Accessibility>Elderly
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Developing Sites for Users with Cognitive Disabilities and Learning Difficulties 
This article examines the types of problems visitors may encounter when using the web, with insightful and practical suggestions on how to develop websites that are inclusive for people with cognitive impairments and learning difficulties.
Hudson, Roger, Russ Weakley and Peter Firminger. Juicy Studio (2004). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
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Digital Divide: The Three Stages
The 'digital divide' refers to the fact that certain parts of the population have substantially better opportunities to benefit from the new economy than other parts of the population. Most commentators view this in purely economic terms. However, two other types of divide will have much greater impact in the years to come.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2006). Articles>Usability>Accessibility>Online
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Disability Access To Virtual Learning Environments
The purpose of this study by Staffordshire University was to identify problems encountered by disabled students in using Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) and to identify solutions where possible, making the appropriate recommendations to improve accessibility. The work done in compiling the report was underpinned by Staffordshire University’s commitment to, and contributes to the development of, a learning and teaching strategy called “Building a Learning Community [1]” (which is detailed in this report).
Stiles, Mark J. TechDis (2003). Academic>Accessibility>Education>Online
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Disability Discrimination Act: An Update for 2005
Many organisations are confused and concerned about the latest requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act (DDA), which came into effect on 1st October 2004. Failure to make reasonable adjustments may mean that organisations are discriminating against disabled people. Yet what does 'reasonable adjustments' mean and what exactly do organisations need to put in place?
System Concepts (2005). Articles>Accessibility>Legal>United Kingdom
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Setting legal standards for making websites 'accessible' to all won't help web designers, or users.
Perks, Martyn. Spiked Online (2004). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability
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Dive Into Accessibility: 30 Days to a More Accessible Web Site
This book answers two questions. The first question is 'Why should I make my web site more accessible?' If you do not have a web site, this book is not for you. The second question is 'How can I make my web site more accessible?' If you are not convinced by the first answer, you will not be interested in the second.
Pilgrim, Mark. Dive Into Accessibility (2002). Books>Web Design>Accessibility
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Do Accessible Web Sites Have to be Boring?
All too often, designers think that accessibility means boring. Forget about text-only versions. Be true to your design instincts. Find out why accessible Web sites can be just as exciting as any of the cutting edge sites out there. Or if you prefer, go ahead and make it boring. Either way, the site can be accessible. It's all up to you
WebAIM (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
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Draft 2 of Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
It's time to take a look at the working draft of WCAG 2.0. You'll see a fresh approach to a formidable challenge.
McAlpine, Rachel. Quality Web Content (2005). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Standards
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Review of the DRC's report into web accessibility.
Moss, Trenton. Webcredible (2004). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>United Kingdom
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A write-up of the first briefing from the DRC about a forthcoming formal investigation into the accessibility of 1,000 web sites in the UK.
Accessify (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>United Kingdom
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DVDs can carry up to eight audio tracks. It is theoretically possible to provide main audio and dubbing in three languages and audio description in all four languages. In practice, all anybody's asking for is an audio description track in the main language of the audio.
Clark, Joe. JoeClark.org (2001). Articles>Accessibility>Multimedia>DVD
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Dyslexia, Technology and E-Learning
It is perhaps unfortunate that enabling technologies do not come with an 'ability warning', as they generally require the user to already have acquired a certain level of IT skills, in a similar way that online courses require users to have a certain level of prior IT knowledge. Accessing a computer and making the most of e-learning materials requires support at both the curriculum and technological levels, and some students find it easier to work with computers than others. Dyslexic students are no different, and often have the added cognitive load of having to use enabling technologies to access these materials, examples being text to speech facilities, magnification, changes in desktop settings and various methods to help with the input of text. These added technologies can be liberating, but only if they have been chosen with the specific requirements of that particular student in mind, and the student has gained adequate skills to make the most of the technologies' attributes.
Draffan, E.A. TechDis (2003). Academic>Accessibility>Education>Online
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A Dyslexic Perspective on e-Content Accessibility
This paper gives the web developer an insight into the issues of web accessibility for users with Dyslexia (and/or other specific learning difficulties). This paper covers the four main areas of accessibility: presentation, content, structure and navigation. The material covered by this paper forms part of TechDis wider range of research into usability and accessibility issues of electronic educational content.
Rainger, Peter. TechDis (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
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E-Banking: Quando il Servizio non è Accessibile 
La zona di confine tra normalità e disabilità è una delle più permeabili, soprattutto quando, come oggi, l'invecchiamento crescente della popolazione è messo a dura prova da una continua rincorsa ad apprendere e padroneggiare sempre nuove tecnologie di accesso ai servizi. L'e-book di Patrizia Bertini e Marco Trevisan non arriva per caso nell'Anno del Disabile. È frutto di un interesse di lunga data e di un sistematico lavoro di ricerca per rendere visibili e quindi superabili le barriere più insidiose, quelle dell'informazione. In particolare, quelle barriere che continuano a impedire l'accesso di tutti ai servizi bancari automatizzati (ATM/Bancomat) e ai servizi in rete (e-banking).
Bertini, Patrizia and M. Trevisan. Apogeonline (2003). (Italian) Books>Usability>Accessibility>eBooks
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E-Shop Accessibility: From Theory to Reality
This article will explain how it is possible to apply WCAG 1.0 (and also how to comply with the future WCAG 2.0 and ISO 9241-151) to create an accessible e-shop shopping-cart and backend management system, analyzing the problems and the proposed solutions.
Lemon, Gez. Juicy Studio (2007). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>E Commerce
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Good alt text can be a useful tool for enhancing the web interface. It provides supporting information, helping users gain an understanding of the structure web pages and an insight into the behaviour of key controls and interactive elements. 'ALT' is a HTML tag. It adds a short line of text to an image, usually for descriptive purposes. If you are using a mouse and you 'hover” the pointer over an image on a web page, you will notice that a short line of text appears - this is the alt text. You should also see the alt text if you switch off the images on your browser - the images have been replaced by 'placeholders” and the same short line of text which appeared when you hovered the mouse over the image.
Quinn, Anthony. Frontend Infocentre (2001). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
