#22974
Accessibility of the Internet in Postsecondary Education: Meeting the Challenge
This article explores the many-faceted nuances of the challenge of trying to make Web content accessible in higher education. It includes an analysis of the seriousness of the problems that students face as well as an optimistic vision for the future.
Rowland, Cyndi. WebAIM (2000). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#22939
Accessibility of UK Government Web Sites Investigated
The UK’s first e-Minister, Patricia Hewitt, gave a commitment in February 2001 that all new government websites should be accessible. Two years later, UK government sites are a long way from being accessible.
Accessify (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>United Kingdom
#22946
It pains me to say that pretty much any computer user with a relevant disability ought to be using Windows, not a Mac.
Clark, Joe. Tidbits (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Macintosh
#19221
Accessibility on the Web: A Brief Overview
In order to make your website as accessible as possible, not only to users with disabilities, but also to those with slow connections, or different browsers or operating systems, the best guidelines to follow are those offered by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative.
McCarthy, Dave. TechDis (2001). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#29733
Accessibility or Design Integrity 
This paper presents two sides of a debate over user-controlled text sizing of Web-based documents, and a suggested approach for designing Web sites that support full use of user-controlled text sizing, while maintaining the integrity of a site’s visual design.
Payne, John and Phil Oye. STC Proceedings (2004). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#23594
Accessibility has come a long way. Not only most public places but even many private areas now claim to be 'accessible'. However, this term usually implies that a person in a wheelchair is able to get to the inside of a venue. This is not enough. If I am using a wheelchair, I would like to be completely autonomous and move around freely. I don’t want to have to go along a long dark corridor to use a service lift in order to get to another floor. Although I always appreciate it, I don’t want to have to count on the generosity of passersby to help me open a door or push my wheelchair up a slope. My only wish is to blend in with other people, and enjoy life as much as anyone else.
Vais, Fabien. STC Proceedings (2003). Design>Accessibility>User Centered Design>Universal Usability
#22934
Accessibility Testing on a Budget
How do you find out how your site sounds? Without dipping in to the wallet, here are some suggestions about how you can test your pages.
Accessify (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Visual
#22327
Developers put a lot of effort into ensuring their sites can be viewed in outdated browsers, but all too often ignore newer browsers, or worse still, a whole range of visitors. Accessibility means access to information for all. Information to all, regardless of the device used to view the document, or abilities of the visitor. You're extremely proud of your latest masterpiece. The choice of colours is striking, the layout fits perfectly on your screen, but how does it look on a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)? How does it look to a colour-blind visitor? Does it read correctly using assistive technologies, such as screen reading software? Can a visitor navigate the site without the use of a mouse? Is the site usable when JavaScript and images are switched off in the browser?
Lemon, Gez. Juicy Studio. Design>Web Design>Accessibility>JavaScript
#22941
A collection of tutorials to help web designers understand accessibility issues.
#22473
This page shows the user a view of how people with various visual disabilities would experience a website. Includes colour blindness, Diabetic Retinothopy, Cataracts, Macular degeneration and Glaucoma.
Aylward, Rhona. Alpha Squared (2004). Resources>Web Design>Accessibility
#13545
Accessibility, Web Standards, and Authoring Tools
It's been a long trip, but we’re almost out of the dark. We finally have browsers that offer substantial support for several technologies established by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) and other standards bodies. Designers and developers can use many core features of XHTML and CSS and sometimes DHTML without worrying about the hazards of cross–browser chicanery. As browsers have evolved, it’s become easier to comply with the W3C’s Web Accessibility initiative (WAI) and, in the United States, with the amendments to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1974 (commonly called “Section 508”).
Schmitt, Christopher. List Apart, A (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Standards
#20243
Accessibility: The Politics of Design
Herrell deconstructs the new U.S. accessibility regulations and their implications for web designers everywhere. Part of our ongoing series on accessibility in web design.
Herrell, Alan. List Apart, A (2001). Design>Accessibility>Web Design
#22398
Accessible And Attractive Websites
And, as a result, selling the concept is never all that easy. Sure, you can harp on about all the 'business benefits' (potential increased audienced, reduced bandwidth costs, good PR), but what you really need to be able to do is show that it's possible to do this without compromising on the design. That's often where the problems begin.
Lloyd, Ian. SitePoint (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#20856
Accessible Design for Users With Disabilities
Making the Web more accessible for users with various disabilities is to a great extent a matter of using HTML the way it was intended: to encode meaning rather than appearance. As long as a page is coded for meaning, it is possible for alternative browsers to present that meaning in ways that are optimized for the abilities of individual users and thus facilitate the use of the Web by disabled users.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (1996). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#26154
Accessible Graphs and Charts Online
Most government web writers are knowledgeable about alt-text by now... or at least semi-knowledgeable. But sometimes, alt-text is not enough.
McAlpine, Rachel. Quality Web Content (2004). Design>Accessibility>Web Design>Charts and Graphs
#22957
An Accessible Method of Hiding HTML Content
Though somewhat rare, there are occasions when the accessibility needs of screen reader users appear to be at odds with the needs of visual users. This kind of conflict occurs when Web developers put form elements inside of a data table matrix, when they want to use images as headings instead of text, and in other situations. Adding extra text helps screen reader users, but can complicate the visual layout, thus reducing understandability. One solution is to use CSS to hide the text from sighted users in a way that is still accessible to screen readers. The details of this technique are discussed, along with the technical reasoning behind it.
Bohman, Paul. WebAIM (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#23086
Accessibility is not an especially familiar concept in the computing world. Most of us encounter the idea of accessibility often enough by way of special vehicle parking spaces, ramps, braille signage, beeping crosswalks, and so on. Improving accessibility is more than a courtesy, it is an accepted and vital goal of any advanced society.
Johnson, Duff. PlanetPDF. Design>Document Design>Accessibility>Adobe Acrobat
#22776
How can I generate a Table Header Cell Element (TH) field automatically with Acrobat?
PDFzone (2004). Design>Information Design>Accessibility>Adobe Acrobat
#25503
Sometimes we have to use pop-ups — so we might as well do them right. This article will show you how to make them more accessible and reliable while simplifying their implementation.
Chassot, Caio. List Apart, A (2004). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>CSS
#26648
There is no question that the vast majority of tables on the Web are layout tables, used to structure the visual appearance of the page. Often the structure of tables is remarkably complex, with tables nested in tables as much as seven deep.
Thatcher, Jim. JimThatcher.com (2005). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>HTML
#22965
Accessible Taxes? A Blind Consumer's Experience with the US Tax System
One of the most common, and least enjoyable, experiences of citizens of the United States is that of filing income tax forms. This year, Sachin Pavithran, who is blind, attempted to complete the forms and file them without assistance from sighted friends. Find out whether he was successful or not.
Bohman, Paul, Shane Anderson and Sachin Pavithran. WebAIM (2004). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Government
#28701
Accessible Web 2.0 Applications with WAI-ARIA
Our web applications can suffer from inaccessibility problems due to inherent markup limitations. Martin Kliehm helps us sort through the WAI specs for Accessible Rich Internet Applications (ARIA) to increase usability.
Kliehm, Martin. List Apart, A (2007). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Ajax
#23004
We encourage developers of web pages to consider the full spectrum of visitors to their sites. Listed below are some resources that may be helpful in creating pages that are accessible to everyone, including those who have disabilities.
University of Washington-Seattle (2001). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#22948
Accessible Web Text - Sizing Up the Issues 
Explores the issues surrounding text size; explain what all the fuss is about; and suggest some useful approaches you can adopt to ensure the text on your web pages will be readable to your visitors.
Byrne, Jim. MCU (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#20001
Accessible directory of links and resources to help policymakers and web designers make informed decisions about Web accessibility.
Ogston, Matthew. AccessibleNet (2003). Design>Accessibility>Web Design
