Working to 508: Web Page and Interface Design for Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)  

This scenario–based progression targets designers and developers who are interested in learning about assessment for web page design for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). It introduces the topic by providing a background on web page design for individuals with special needs (varying physical and sensory abilities). Then, it presents basic concepts for developing accessible web pages, raises awareness of the need to comply with the ADA, Section 508, and provides resources for further investigation. Emphasis will be given to interactive discussion that centers on assessment questions to consider for concurrent, accessible and user–centered design approaches for web pages.

Reece, Gloria A. STC Proceedings (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Section 508

Working with Others: Accessibility and User Research

After personally observing users with disabilities interacting with websites in unexpected ways, I have come to believe strongly in the value of user research--and to suspect that we really don't know quite as much about real-world accessibility as we think we do.

Boscarol, Maurizio. List Apart, A (2006). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>User Centered Design

World Wide Access: Accessible Web Design

This video presentation shows how to make web pages accessible to people with disabilities. It is particularly useful for self-instruction or group training for people who design and support websites and/or teach web design classes. The accompanying publication provides details and resources on this topic. The presentation is open-captioned and audio-described to assure access to the content for viewers who are deaf or blind, respectively.

University of Washington-Seattle (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Video

Writing a Good Accessibility Statement

Accessibility statements are an ideal place to empower visitors to your website. Most accessibility statements are too technical, and don't necessarily address the needs of the visitor. Those that do address the needs of visitors often have the information lost in a myriad of other information that is unlikely to be understood by the average visitor to the website. What should and shouldn't be included in an accessibility statement?

Lemon, Gez. Juicy Studio (2006). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Writing

Writing Effective ALT Text for Images

Simply inserting ALT text isn't necessarily enough to ensure accessible images - the text must also be effectively written. Find out how to achieve this...

Moss, Trenton. Webcredible (2005). Design>Web Design>Accessibility

XHTML Accessibility Tips

The library is committed to serving the entire public, and that means striving to ensure that all pages of our site are accessible to the greatest possible number of people and devices (including audio browsers, Braille readers, and other specialized browsing environments).

New York Public Library (2004). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>XHTML

XML Accessibility Guidelines

This document provides guidelines for designing Extensible Markup Language (XML) applications that lower barriers to Web accessibility for people with disabilities (visual, hearing, physical, cognitive, and neurological). XML, used to design applications such as XHTML, SMIL, and SVG, provides no intrinsic guarantee of the accessibility of those applications. This document explains how to include features in XML applications that promote accessibility.

W3C (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>XML

XML and Accessibility

XML (eXtensible Markup Language) is a meta-syntax, used to create new languages. It can be seen as a simplification of SGML (Standard Generalized Markup Language), designed to promote a wider acceptance in Web markets, but serving the same functionality of extensibility and new language design. XML is therefore not to be seen as a replacement of HTML, but as a new building layer, usage examples of which are: XHTML (for general HyperText content). Furthermore, it is important to understand that XML is not only a User Interface technology (like HTML), but can and is often used in protocol communication, to serialize and encode data to be sent from one machine to another.

Franklin, Tom. TechDis (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>XML

Zoom Layouts

A zoom layout uses CSS (cascading stylesheets) to automatically reformat a page so it's easier for a low-vision user to read. Multiple columns become single columns, navigation gets simplified and put at the top, fonts become bigger, and (usually) colours are set to light on dark.

Clark, Joe. JoeClark.org (2005). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Typography

AJAX Accessibility for Websites

Discover the accessibility problems caused by AJAX and how it can be used to enhance web accessibility.

Simard, Brigitte. Webcredible (2008). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Ajax

Ten Common Errors When Implementing Accessibility

Web developers often make the same errors as each other when implementing accessibility - find out what these are and how to avoid making these mistakes.

Moss, Trenton. Webcredible (2008). Design>Web Design>Accessibility

Understanding Disability Issues When Designing Web Sites

When you design or modify Web sites to allow access to people with disabilities, you make the Web accessible. New Web sites and applications, however, are introducing new problems and barriers. There are complex graphics and multimedia applications that assistive technology simply has not solved. One solution to these new problems is to put accessibility in the hands of the Web developer and content author. Creating a Web site that is accessible by people with disabilities is relatively easy as long as the Web developer and author follow some basic guidelines.

IBM (2007). Design>Web Design>Accessibility