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

The Disability Discrimination Act states that service providers must not discriminate against disabled people. A website is regarded as a service and therefore falls under this law. Some organisations are changing their websites, but many are seemingly not making the adjustments. Disabled people don't access their website, they say, so why should they care?

Moss, Trenton. Webcredible (2004). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>United Kingdom

The Benefits of an Accessible Website - Part 2: the Business Case

The Disability Discrimination Act states that service providers must not discriminate against disabled people. A website is regarded as a service and therefore falls under this law. Some organisations are changing their websites, but many are seemingly not making the adjustments. Disabled people don't access their website, they say, so why should they care? There are, however, two very good reasons as to why businesses should start taking these issues seriously: an accessible website will make you more money; an accessible website will save you money.

Moss, Trenton. Webcredible (2004). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>United Kingdom

Benefits of Using a Professional to Write User Documentation

Studies have shown organisations value the following benefits: overall organisation, the sales team, and documentation meets the customer's requirements.

Cherryleaf (2003). Articles>Writing>Professionalism>Documentation

The Best Machine

Several weeks ago, a supercilious colleague informed me that spell checkers and grammar checkers had rendered editors and proofreaders obsolete. When I attempted to explain that electronic grammar and spelling checkers are not reliable because they yield false negatives and false positives, she disagreed strongly. I went on to further explain that language is more complex than any computer can fathom, and that until artificial intelligence truly arrives, the best grammar checking program will continue to live between our ears. I am sorry to say that my colleague arrogantly declared that I was mistaken. I wrote the verse below in her honor.

Kasper, Rosa. MetroVoice (2002). Articles>Language>Word Processing

Best Practices in Online Captioning

Use of online video has grown faster than the use of accessibility in online video. Though bandwidth costs for video files can still be high compared to ordinary text-and-graphics Web pages, it is nonetheless easy to digitize video and post it online. It's easier to broadcast your video to the world via the Internet than it is to get the same video on television. Online multimedia are a useful and valid new medium of communication - for most people.

Clark, Joe. JoeClark.org (2004). Design>Accessibility>Multimedia>Video

Beyond Accessibility: Treating Users with Disabilities as People

With current Web design practices, users without disabilities experience three times higher usability than users who are blind or have low vision. Usability guidelines can substantially improve the matter by making websites and intranets support task performance for users with disabilities.

Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2001). Design>Accessibility>Web Design>Universal Usability

Beyond Guidelines: Advanced Accessibility Techniques

Find out how to go beyond the W3C accessibility guidelines and offer a truly accessible web experience.

Moss, Trenton. Webcredible (2006). Design>Web Design>Accessibility

Beyond Office Document Formats

One possible outcome: Microsoft Office gains support for the OASIS OpenDocument format, either from Microsoft or from the open source community. Another outcome: Microsoft tweaks its Office XML licensing to conform to the definition of openness that governments are rightly insisting on.

Udell, Jon. InfoWorld (2005). Articles>Word Processing>Standards

Big, Stark and Chunky

Research shows that low-vision people need dramatically different web design. CSS lets you give them what they need.

Clark, Joe. List Apart, A (2005). Design>Web Design>Accessibility

Blind and Low Vision Users

When we come to accessibility of web design, we will say that accessible web design is a sign of good web design. A lot of the information on the Web is not accessible to people with disabilities because of poor design. While many web site managers and developers accommodate various browser constraints, most of them do not realize that they are developing sites that people with disabilities have difficulty in navigating, or in many cases, cannot navigate at all.

Hung, Edward. Universal Usability. Design>Usability>Accessibility>Visual Rhetoric

The Blind Leading the Blind: Theorizing a Web for the Visually Impaired  

An examination of government websites (those required to adhere to Section 508) revealed no common practices or themes.

Moore, Jessica and Joseph Matthews. IAsummit (2004). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Section 508

The Blind Leading the Enlightened

Having read, with interest, the recent articles about the virtues (or otherwise) of Microsoft Word as a tool for producing technical documents we feel the real issue is not how to create technical documents using Microsoft Word, but rather what tool best suits the task. We suggest that the selection of the most appropriate tool be instigated by those enlightened people -- the Technical Publications people -- and not the business managers with little knowledge of the specialist needs of Technical Publications.

Munro, Christine. TC-FORUM (1998). Articles>Word Processing>Software

Blind to Users' Needs

Making the web accessible by disabled people doesn't necessarily make it usable. Does simplicity always make for ideal usability - or are there instances where an innovative website might be difficult to use, but also hold usability dividends for users prepared to meet the technology halfway?

Starr, Sandy. Spiked Online (2002). Articles>Web Design>Accessibility

Breaking the Word Processor Curve

When you first switch to Writer, this claim that Writer beats Word may seem hard to swallow. And no wonder; you're too busy learning the new menus to get beyond the fact that everything's only half-familiar. And if you're an unsophisticated user who has yet to learn (to steal the title of Robin Williams' book) that the PC is not a typewriter, you might never notice. However, if you're an advanced user for whom style, structured text and long documents are all part of word processing, then the claim soon becomes self-evident.

Byfield, Bruce. Linux Journal (2003). Articles>Word Processing>Software>OpenOffice

Bridging Usability and Aesthetic Design of Wheelchairs

A wheelchair provides transportation for the disabled, independence and self-sufficiency to someone who would otherwise be completely dependent on others. But is functionality the only aspect of a wheelchair worth contemplation? Should we not evaluate the design aesthetic of wheelchairs to the same extent that we analyze the design of other useful and purposeful objects?

Fields, Betsy. Usability Interface (2003). Design>Usability>Accessibility

Build Accessible Online Forms

Ask anyone who has had to fix a Website that's littered with accessibility howlers, and top-most in their list of problems encountered will be forms, closely followed by tables. These two topics always seem to present the most difficulties, but they needn't be a problem. For the most part, forms are a problem because the extra accessibility tags are simply not known to the Web designer -- after all, it looks right, it seems to work... what's the problem? Only by switching off the monitor and using a screen-reader can our oblivious Web developer understand the issues.

Lloyd, Ian. SitePoint (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Forms

Building a Barrier-Free Web

Architects call the concept of making choices that work best for the greatest number of people 'barrier-free design.' While no Web site—or building, for that matter—can be equally accessible to everyone, the intellectual shift from thinking of accessibility as an add-on can be liberating. There are plenty of good reasons for constructing your sites with as few barriers as possible.

Kuchinskas, Susan. New Architect (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility

Building Accessible Tables

CSS and XHTML have given tables a pretty rough ride in recent times. Of course, this is the fault of just about all web developers who have at some point in their career used them for laying out page elements. This article is not about using tables for layout. It is about how to use tables to display information in an accessible manner.

Roberts, Tim. evolt (2002). Design>Web Design>Accessibility

Building Accessible Websites: Serialization

Designers assume accessibility means a boring site, a myth borne out by oldschool accessibility advocates, whose hostility to visual appeal is barely suppressed. Neither camp has its head screwed on right. It's not either/or; it's both/and.

Clark, Joe. JoeClark.org (2002). Books>Web Design>Accessibility

The Business Case for Web Accessibility

Makes the business case for catering to the widest audience possible. Identifies groups of people who have problems accessing the web, and explains how building web sites they are able to use can positively impact your bottom line.

Budd, Andy. Blogography (2004). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Business Case

Can Color-Blind Users See Your Site?

Information that will help you to create more readable Web sites.

Hess, Robert. Microsoft (2000). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Color

Can Expanding Targets Make Object Selection Easier for Older Adults?

Given the proliferation of computers and rapidly aging demographic trends, there is a critical need for user interface designs that accommodate older adults. It is known that many adults in this age group experience declines in cognitive, sensory, and/or motor capacities that may interfere with their ability to interact effectively with current user interfaces. Motor behavior slows with age. Compared to younger adults, older adults take longer to complete the same movement, and their movements are more variable, less smooth, and less coordinated (Seidler & Stelmach, 1996). The loss of fine motor skills makes it difficult for older adults to position cursors on computer screens, particularly when interacting with small objects (Chaparro, et al., 1999; Walker et al., 1996). This can lead to greater frustration and possibly increased risk of cumulative trauma due to prolonged periods of time in awkward postures. This article describes one of a series of studies designed to explore alternative interaction techniques to make object selection easier for older mouse users.

Bohan, Michael and Deborah Scarlett. Usability News (2003). Design>Web Design>Accessibility>Elderly

Can the Computer Improve your Writing Style?  

We have spell checkers. We have grammar checkers. What we really need is a style checker.

Cohen, Gerald. STC Proceedings (2000). Articles>Writing>Editing>Word Processing