Creating Accessible Data Tables

This article demonstrates how to code accessible data tables in (X)HTML, enabling visually impaired users who employ assistive technologies to interpret the table data. Two views of a tabular data table are presented and discussed.

Palinkas, Frank M. Opera (2008). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Standards

XHTML Voice in Style

This article builds upon topics in the XHTML Voice by Example article. A knowledge of CSS is also assumed.

Axelsson, Jonny. Opera (2008). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Voice

Getting to Know Voice

From a different world than the traditional browsing world comes a range of techniques that allows a developer to code for speech behaviours much easier than previously possible. Opera has early support for this. W3C is working on standards for combining speech and the ordinary graphical user interface.

Axelsson, Jonny. Opera (2008). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Voice

Stop Using Ajax!

We got things like browser wars, browser-specific DHTML, and table-based layouts. These were things that got in the way of the original vision, because people wanted rich content when the technology wasn’t ready. And now it’s happening again.

Opera (2008). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Ajax

Grid Design Basics: Grids for Web Page Layouts

Since tables were co-opted for layout purposes, columns have become key to many Web design layouts, and this thinking continued when CSS took over from tables (at least in the minds of savvy designers) for Web-page presentation. However, other fields of layout design don’t think in arbitrary columns, they work with grids, and these form the basis for the structure of page designs. This article will provide the lowdown on grid design for Web pages.

Grannell, Craig. Opera (2008). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>CSS

How to Add Voice Interactivity to Your Site

This tutorial aims to help you add voice interactivity to your site, with minimal code changes and maximal browser compatibility. Along the way, examples will be provided, and at the end, you will be able to test a fully working, real World, voice-enabled site. This tutorial describes the use of a reusable VoiceXML form. Because the voice capability is included in the browser, you do not need to write your own speech recognition engine or speech synthesizer. This is a great advantage to you and to your Web application users.

Sucan, Mihai. Opera (2008). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Voice

Captions for Video with Flash CS3 (Part Two)

In this article, we’re going to look at a method of captioning a Flash video file: embedding the XML directly into the FLV file. In very simple terms, the XML document will contain the cue points for the captions. When one of those cue points is reached, the caption appears over the video.

Green, Tom. Digital Web Magazine (2007). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Flash

Captions for Video with Flash CS3

In the exercise that follows, and in the second part of this series, we are going to add captions, using both methods, to the same video. For those passionate about web standards, the first method involves the use of Timed Text captions. If you go this route, you need to follow the standard laid out by the W3C. There is a lot to it but, in a nutshell, it requires you to create a specific type of XML document using the required tags.

Green, Tom. Digital Web Magazine (2007). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Flash

Understanding Disabilities when Designing a Website

This article will explain some simple techniques which, if incorporated into the design of a website, will enhance its accessibility and usability for people who have a vision, hearing, physical, cognitive, or learning disability.

Tomlinson, Leona. Digital Web Magazine (2008). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability

Developing a Web Accessibility Business Case for Your Organization: Overview

There are initial costs for organizations implementing Web accessibility; however, the initial costs are often offset by a full return on investment. In order to be willing to invest the initial costs, many organizations need to understand the social, technical, and financial benefits of Web accessibility and the expectations of the returns throughout the organization.

Arch, Andrew and Chuck Letourneau. W3C (2005). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Business Case

Introduction to Web Accessibility

Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the Web. More specifically, Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web, and that they can contribute to the Web. Web accessibility also benefits others, including older people with changing abilities due to aging.

Lawton Henry, Shawn. W3C (2005). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility

Ten Accessibility Blunders of the Big Players

More and more countries have passed laws stating that Websites must be accessible to blind and disabled people. With this kind of legal pressure, and the many benefits of accessibility, the big players on the Web must surely have accessible Websites, right?

Moss, Trenton. Sitepoint (2004). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Case Studies

Ten Reasons Clients Don't Care About Accessibility

Working as an accessibility consultant in an IT company is a very frustrating job right now. Highly publicized lawsuits and deep-rooted accessibility myths leave us with a lot to explain when the final product does not really help visitors. Our clients simply don’t care about accessibility as much as we’d like them to, and there are several reasons for that.

Heilmann, Christian. Digital Web Magazine (2005). Articles>Consulting>Accessibility>Web Design

Accessibility as Part of The Search Engine Marketing Strategy

In traditional marketing you're looking to define your targeted audience for your business or organisation. In Internet marketing things work in the same way. Unfortunately, with the growing popularity of the Internet in the past years and with the growing number of people building sites, a certain part of the online audience has been overlooked.

Big Mouth Media (2004). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Search Engine Optimization

Accessibility Is Just Another Language

Although typically we think of accessibility in terms of visual, hearing, dexterity, cognitive disabilities and so on, this concept of disability is very limiting in terms of the need for accessible technology. More than 50 million Americans have some sort of disability, and the numbers are increasing as the population ages. Tens of millions of people in the European Union (EU) and half a million worldwide have a disability. Disability knows no boundaries, languages or borders.

Broin, Ultan Ó. Multilingual (2004). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility

Accessibility Issues Make a Difference

You often read advice from industry experts along the lines of "using tags as they were meant to be used" and limiting your use of advanced programming techniques in order to make your site accessible.

Claiborne, Scottie. Web Pro News (2004). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility

Accessibility Tips for Website Construction

This paper provides ten key tips to help improve the accessibility of any website, or intranet. It's not intended to be an introduction to web accessibility.

Kennedy, Patrick. Step Two (2006). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility

Accessible By Design

The demand for accessible sites is growing, but web workers, like you, are often unclear how to make sites more accessible. Designing an accessible site isn't necessarily harder, but it involves unique limitations that make you approach design from a different perspective.

Pavka, Anitra. Digital Web Magazine (2002). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility

Assessing Assessments: The Inequality of Electronic Testing

Computer and Internet based tests are used for a variety of purposes. From entering education or employment, to improving basic learning, people everywhere are taking electronically formatted tests. With the advancement of testing from traditional paper-based tests to technologically advanced electronic tests, people reap the benefits of easier access to tests, faster response times, and greater reliability and validity of tests. However, persons with disabilities are being left out of the picture and out of many typically-administered tests.

Lyman, Michael, Cyndi Rowland and Paul Bohman. WebAIM (2006). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Assessment

Attitudes to Web Accessibility

During the summer of 2003, we ran an online questionnaire, conducted interviews and carried out a literature review on Web accessibility. One hundred and seventeen respondents participated and they included designers, information officers and accessibility advocates. This initial set of results are intended to encourage debate on the subject.

Knight, John. Usability News (2003). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Surveys

The Benefits of an Accessible Website, Part 1: Increase in Reach

Some organisations are making accessibility improvements to their websites, but many are seemingly not making the accessibility adjustments. Disabled people don't access their website, they say, so why should they care?

Moss, Trenton. uiGarden (2005). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility

The Benefits of an Accessible Website, Part 2: The Business Case

Some organisations are making accessibility improvements to their websites, but many are seemingly not making the accessibility adjustments. Disabled people don't access their website, they say, so why should they care?

Moss, Trenton. uiGarden (2005). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Business Case

Building a Barrier-Free Web

Perhaps you're not legally required to make your site friendly to disabled users, but it's still good business.

Kuchinskas, Susan. Dr. Dobb's (2002). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility

Captcha Usability Revisited: Google Inaccessible to Blind People

An online petition is being circulated to all Internet users for the purpose of collecting signatures showing support for Google to make its word verification scheme accessible to the blind and visually impaired.

Rønn-Jensen, Jesper. Just Add Water (2006). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Security

Constructing a POUR Website - Putting People at the Center of the Process

Web developers can create Web sites that are possible for people with disabilities to access, but only with great difficulty. The technical standards are important, but they may be insufficient on their own. Developers need to learn when and how to go beyond the technical standards when necessary.

Bohman, Paul. WebAIM (2005). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility