#13611
Sometimes technological progress backfires, and the 'better' technology turns out to be worse for users. The Web is no stranger to this problem, and has experienced many innovations that would have been best avoided. Examples include frames, changing the color of browser scrollbars, and scrolling text. Another example of harmful Web technology comes with the increasing use of style sheets, which let web designers specify the exact size of text down to the pixel. Unfortunately, many designers are using this ability, leading to reduced readability of an increasing number of websites.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2002). Design>Accessibility>Web Design>Typography
#22943
If you are serious about getting your web site accessible, you need to get the right tools for the job. Can Lift for Dreamweaver deliver the goods?
Accessify (2003). Articles>Reviews>Accessibility>Web Design
#29658
Making Accessibility Part of Your Web Site Management Routine 
Making accessible design part of your Web site management routine is not simple. Habit, practicalities, and even your Web publishing software seem to work against you, making it easy to skip important aspects of accessible design. This paper attempts to outline a framework for including accessible design in your Web publishing routine. Accessible design is the result the interaction of seven design aspects and two management processes. The design aspects are standards, structure, alternative texts, labeling, timing, linearity, and usability. The management processes are site design and page design. Developing a workflow that incorporates the seven aspects into the two processes, dealing with each aspect appropriately within each process, is our objective.
Ells, Rick. STC Proceedings (2005). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#24861
Making Accessible Forms, Part 1
Learn how to make your online forms accessible in this HTML form tutorial
Moss, Trenton. Webcredible (2004). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#25131
Making Accessible Forms, Part 2
Learn more on how to make your online forms accessible in part 2 of this HTML form tutorial
Moss, Trenton. Webcredible (2005). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#27670
Making Ajax Work with Screen Readers
The accessibility community is understandably concerned about the accessibility of client-side scripting, in particular using Asynchronous JavaScript and XML (Ajax) to produce Rich Internet Applications. Steve Faulkner of Vision Australia and founder member of the Web Accessibility Tools Consortium (WAT-C) and myself on behalf of The Paciello Group (TPG) have collaborated in an effort to come up with techniques to make Ajax and other client-side scripting techniques accessible to assistive technology.
Lemon, Gez and Steve Faulkner. Juicy Studio (2006). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Ajax
#23091
Making the Web Friendlier for Lower-Literacy Users
Describes techniques for improving the experience of lower-literacy Internet users that do not violate the principles of Web design for other users.
Summers, Kathryn. Intercom (2004). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Writing
#22716
Manchester United: Top of the Web Accessibility League?
Manchester United have got a separate accessible website for blind and disabled site visitors. This is not what web accessibility is about.
Moss, Trenton. Webcredible (2004). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#31913
Middle-Aged Users' Declining Web Performance
Between the ages of 25 and 60, people's ability to use websites declines by 0.8% per year — mostly because they spend more time per page, but also because of navigation difficulties.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2008). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Elderly
#19202
Mit Blindenschrift und Computer ins Internet
Auf seiner Homepage beschreibt Matthias Hänel, wie Blinde das Internet benutzen und welche technischen Mittel dafür existieren.
Haenel, Matthias. Matthias-Haenel.de. (German) Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#27551
Is there a way to display text-based data on a map, keeping it accessible, useful and visually attractive? Yes: using an accessible CSS-based map in which the underlying map data is separated from the visual layout.
Duffey, Seth. List Apart, A (2006). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>CSS
#25801
More Than Screen Deep: Toward Every-Citizen Interfaces to the Nation's Information Infrastructure
The spread of information systems and, in particular, information infrastructure throughout the economy and social fabric raises questions about the technology's ease of use by different people, from those with limited technical know-how to those with various disabilities to the so-called power users who push for higher performance on many dimensions.
National Academies Press (1997). Books>Web Design>Accessibility>Government
#26144
National Policies for Government Web Writers
Every country has its own requirements for public sector web sites. Legislation and policies vary greatly, and express an attitude. I base my Quality Web Content workshops for government web content writers on the policy of the country concerned. Some countries consider that an accessible site requires accessible writing. Others don't.
McAlpine, Rachel. Quality Web Content (2004). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Writing
#26850
New Heuristics for Understanding Older Adults as Web Users 
This article reports on a study performed for AARP on the needs of older Web users. It defines a model of older users that includes four dimensions (age, ability, aptitude, and attitude). It defines 20 heuristics, as well as personas and tasks for reviewing Web sites, and a methodology for doing persona-based, task-based heuristic review that would allow us to evaluate many sites in a relatively short time in a highly realistic way. Finally, it reports the results of an analysis of 50 Web sites for general audiences that include older adults, using that methodology.
Chisnell, Dana E., Janice C. 'Ginny' Redish and Amy Lee. Technical Communication Online (2006). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility>Elderly
#21032
A February 2003 Harris Poll indicates that nearly half of those over age fifty in the United States—approximately 36 million adults—are online. While international statistics vary; the implication is clear: Designing usable Web sites that serve the needs and preferences of older adults will be a requirement, not a nicety, for the future.
Mazur, Beth and Amy Lee. Intercom (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Elderly
#30557
One Reason Why Section 508 Isn't Working
The article underscores one of the key weaknesses in Section 508 today: the lack of self-regulation and commitment to Section 508 by federal agencies. Since Section 508 was released in June 2001, the primary enforcement focus has been on industry's role and responsibility. The pervasive thinking was that compliance could be better achieved by ensuring that industry designed, developed, and delivered accessible electronic and information technology for agency procurement. And there seems to be merit to this way of thinking. But if federal contracting and procurement officers do not include the 508 requirements as part of their procurement request documentation, industry has no motivation to invest money and resources required to enhance their products for accessibility.
Paciello, Mike. Paciello Group, The (2007). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Section 508
#18741
Optimización de Páginas Web Para Su Impresión
Los usuarios odian leer en pantalla, por lo que muchas veces preferirán imprimir los documentos web para que su lectura les resulte menos tediosa. En este trabajo comentaré tres posibles técnicas de optimización para la correcta impresión de documentos web, indicando las ventajas e inconvenientes de cada una.
Hassan Montero, Yusef. Nosolousabilidad.com (2003). (Spanish) Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Bandwidth
#27419
Photosensitive epilepsy is a form of epilepsy that is triggered by visual stimuli, such as flickering or high contrast oscillating patterns, and it's believed that around 3% to 5% of people with epilepsy are susceptible to photosensitive material. Photosensitive epilepsy is usually triggered where the flicker rate is between 16Hz to 25Hz, although it's not uncommon for seizures to be triggered by flicker rates between 3Hz to 60Hz. The condition most commonly effects children, and is usually developed between the ages of 9 and 15 years, and most prevalent in females.
Lemon, Gez. Juicy Studio (2006). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Cognitive Psychology
#27664
Ce livre répond à deux questions. La première question est Pourquoi je dois rendre mon site web plus accessible ? Si vous n'avez pas de sites web, ce livre n'est pas pour vous. La seconde question est Comment puis-je rendre mon site web plus accessible ? Si vous n'êtes pas convaincu par la première réponse, vous ne serez pas interessé par la seconde.
Pilgrim, Mark. Dive Into Accessibility (2002). (French) Books>Web Design>Accessibility
#19187
Automated tools can make our jobs significantly easier, more thorough, and more cost effective. But, they are only the first necessary step in addressing accessibility-removing the barriers. We must now address the special condition of usability related to handicapped users and accept that user-based evaluation is the only true test of success.
Killam, Bill and Bill Holland. Usability Interface (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#29279
Practical Plans for Accessible Architectures
Accessible design requires a deeper understanding of context. It's about providing alternative routes to information, whether that route is a different sense (seeing or hearing), a different mode, (using a tab key or a mouse), or a different journey (using an A to Z site index instead of main navigation). However, accessibility is much easier to achieve when the right foundations are put in place as prerequisites during site planning and strategy.
Forman, Frances. Boxes and Arrows (2007). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#27855
Forms are a pain. You can make them pretty, make them accessible, or go a little crazy trying to achieve both. Nick Rigby offers a happy solution.
Rigby, Nick. List Apart, A (2006). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Forms
#26848
Print and Online Resources about Web Accessibility: An Annotated Bibliography
This annotated bibliography discusses over 120 print and online resources related to Web accessibility. It lists and describes resources that offer practical advice on how to implement accessibility, particularly in relation to the WCAG 1.0 and Section 508 standards. It also summarizes the findings of empirical studies that have examined Web site accessibility via automated tests, such as Bobby, and studies that have gauged user performance with assistive technologies, such as screen readers. The bibliography lists forums for discussing accessibility with other practitioners and researchers, and it cites sources for news and events related to accessibility. The bibliography concludes with a short discussion of trends in accessibility research.
Mackiewicz, Jo M. Technical Communication Online (2006). Resources>Bibliographies>Accessibility>Web Design
#26100
The Problem with Automated Accessibility Testing Tools
Automated accessibility testing tools can be useful, but there are a number of disadvantages with relying on them.
Moss, Trenton. Webcredible (2005). Design>Web Design>Accessibility
#19036
Once the information on a web page has been made, strictly speaking, accessible to assistive technologies, the question then becomes whether or not that site is 'easy-to-use' for people with impairments. It is not always enough to retrofit accessibility features to a pre-existing site that was designed without considering the needs of these users.
Frontend Infocentre (2001). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Usability
