I had the opportunity today to listen to a very good presentation on accessibility and how websites can be made more accessible. The key word here is 'can'. Indeed you can and should make your website more accessible for two simple reasons. First of these is a no-brainer, accessibility means just that, making your pages accessible to a wider audience. Secondly however, most of the techniques and tricks used to increase accessibility are also best practice:
- Table-less layouts - better for screen readers but also helps separate content from layout
- Clear and meaningful 'alt' and 'title' tags - a must for screen readers but also provide useful tooltips
- Correct use of HTML headings - good semantics = better structure = better accessibility
- and so on
I always thought of accessibility from a visually impaired person's perspective. However, after today's presentation, I've come to realise that vision is not even half the story. Cognative disabilities, motor disabilities as well as hearing impediments must also be considered when working on improving your website's accessibility. Providing adequate space between elements is something I often overlook but is vital to someone with motor disabilities. Flashing colours, animations, tickers, sudden sounds can all prove to be too much for persons that have trouble concentrating. And its not just a case of providing a text only version of your page. Most people still want to enjoy the whole experience of the website, they just want more control over the page. Providing functionality to stop tickers or turning off sounds doesn't take much and goes a long way to improving the user experience.
I also had the opportunity to see some clips of people with various disabilities speaking about their experiences and wanting to smash the computer out of frustration. This was a real eye opener for me. Speaking to such people and having them test your website is now in my opinion invaluable in getting the right feedback about the experience your website provides.
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