Web Accessibility: Creating Pages More People Can Access

Alice Anderson
Technology Accessibility Program
Learning Technology and Distance Education
Division of Information Technology
University of Wisconsin-Madison

The internet is capable of reaching the largest mass media audience in history, surpassing radio
and television. It is estimated that internet usage doubles every 6 months, Computer Industry
Almanac at: http://www.c-I-a.com/ Every 24 hours the Web increases by more than 3.2 million
new pages. As powerful and far reaching as the internet is, many people are not able to access
it because of situational or functional limitations.

A functional limitation refers to disabilities. At present, there are nearly 54 million people in
the United States alone, with some form of disability or functional limitation, The
Accessible Future, National Council on Disability at:
http://www.ncd.gov/newsroom/publications/accessiblefuture.html The National Center for
Education Statistics Report (NCES 1999-046), estimates there were four hundred and thirty
thousand students with disabilities enrolled in US institutions of higher education during the
1997-1998 school year. The U.S. Bureau of the Census estimates that 50% of the population
65 years of age has some form of disability, and by age 75; it is estimated that 70% will acquire
a disability. Everyone has the potential to develop disabilities. If we live long enough, the odds
increase that we'll develop one or more temporary or permanent disability.

Situational limitations will prevent others from gaining access to many web pages. Working in
a noisy environment, eyes occupied on another task (driving a vehicle), reading difficulties or
cannot read at all, are conditions that limit accessing the web. Limitations and barriers also
include older browsers, slow modems, Kiosks, PDA's and WebTV. A poorly designed web
page may be the largest single barrier to access.

Creating accessible web sites that follow the principles of universal design provide the
maximum potential audience by allowing more Web users to access your site. Accessible
sites allow users to access, regardless of browser used, resolution settings, eyesight, color
blindness, physical challenge or mobility limitations, sensory or cognitive challenges. Those
who use screen readers, have low literacy levels or English as a second language and those
using future technologies (palm pilots, cell phones, etc.) will also be able to access your site
when it is designed for accessibility using the principles of universal design; "The design of
products and environments to be usable by all people, to the greatest extent possible, without
the need for adaptation or specialized design." See:
http://www.design.ncsu.edu:8120/cud/univ_design/princ_overview.htm Although these
principles apply to all sorts of developments, they are especially relevant to the delivery of
information via the World Wide Web. Experts in a wide variety of professions developed
these principles. Essentially, developers should adhere to these principles wherever possible
as it is difficult, if not impossible, to predict which specific disabilities or impairments for
which one should otherwise design (e.g. learning disabilities, visual impairments, hearing
impairments, mental illnesses, mobility/orthopedic impairments, speech impairments and so
on.) When web pages are designed to be more usable by as many people as possible at little
or no extra cost, more than people with disabilities benefit. In other words, why not simply
design with universal design principles in mind and deviate from those conventions only
when absolutely necessary and defensible?

By designing accessibility into a web site, everyone can benefit, not just people with
disabilities. The web is transforming society, and the search engines are an important part
of the process. Search engine robots can find your sites when images on web pages have a
text equivalent. Older technologies can find you.

The current trend in web site design is to assume that the web site will be accessed via a
typical home or work computer with high resolution full color display, keyboard, sound
and pointing devise. This scenario will be challenged as new technologies are increasingly
adopted to access the World Wide Web.

How to get started? Turn off images on your browser. Turn your mouse upside down; Use
the tab keys to navigate the links on your page. Test your pages using a variety of browsers,
including text only browsers. Find a group of computer users with various disabilities who
use adaptive technology. Have them surf your pages and share their experience. Study
accessible design principles so that you can make a skilled judgment about your own pages.
Validate/check your pages using one of the many tools available. See:
http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/ltde/access/web-design.htm

More information on web accessibility and universal design:

Technology Accessibility Program
http://wiscinfo.doit.wisc.edu/ltde/access/

WebAIM (Web Accessibility in Mind)
http://www.webaim.org

Trace Research and Development Center
http://trace.wisc.ed