Accessibility & Usability
We are committed to ensuring that the websites we produce are accessible and comply with WAI Priority Level II guidelines as recommended by the DDA. We ensure that we always inform clients of choices that may make their sites fail and always do our best to work around these issues and create a solution to keep the website accessible and meet the client's requirements.
Accessibility
- Why the need for accessibility?
It has been a legal requirement for UK websites to be accessible since 1999. Since then all websites have been expected to make 'reasonable adjustments' to ensure their websites accommodate all users regardless of ability or disability. It is estimated that at any one point 20% of online users are disabled in some way. This may be a temporary disability, such as a broken wrist, through to a permanent disability, such as visual impairment. Just because someone is registered as blind, it doesn't mean they can't still see, they may still be able to watch a television, see pictures, but perhaps needs to rely on a screen reader to help them with text on a website. If your website is not developed to respect this possibility then you are stopping this visitor from using your website, potentially losing a customer and every friend and family member that customer knows. Not to mention, they can make a claim against you and you could be liable to pay out compensation and be forced by a court of law to either remove or change your website.
- But XYZ Company down the road has a flashing globe on their website, why can't I?
Just because another company has it on their website doesn't mean it's right! There are unfortunately a higher percentage of non-accessible websites on the web than accessible ones. Plenty of professional designers and developers will still develop websites using methods they learnt in the late 1990s and have not kept their skills up-to-date. Unfortunately whilst these designers and developers are still being paid to create these websites and have no complaints against them then they will continue. We try to make a difference by ensuring that you as a client are aware of the legal requirements you have as a web site owner.
- Are there any benefits? (Besides not being sued!)
Yes! Search engine spiders are programs written and 'sent out' by Search Engines such as Yahoo to read and index your website into their search database. These spiders can be considered blind and deaf as they cannot read the contents of an image or a flash animation at present. Therefore by ensuring your website passes accessibility for the visually impaired and hard of hearing visitors, you ensure that the search engine spider gets the same information. This improves the exposure of your website to the spiders and will often improve the potential ranking and visitors via the search engines. Accessible web sites are also often a lot smaller in file size as the correct markup is used where necessary thus speeding up the delivery of your website to your visitors, and also reducing the bandwidth used on your server, which can mean the difference of a few pounds to a few hundred pounds depending on how many visitors you receive to your website.
For further information on the UK Law and Accessibility please visit the Royal National Institute of Blind People website.
Usability
The usability of a website is important to every visitor, regardless of their ability. The sites we create ensure various accessibility and usability aspects are taken into consideration and are consistently used across the website. These aspects include:
- Navigation Aids
Ensure a consistent navigation throughout the website, and to supply a site map which links to every relevant page on the site. Also to provide a jump menu for accessibility to allow visitors to 'jump' to a particular section on the website.
- Text and Image Links
The use of the title attribute on both text and image links to inform the visitor of where the link may take them, when the anchor text of a link is not sufficient to describe the destination. Also to inform the visitor if a new window may be opening as a result of them selecting the link.
- Keyboard Navigation
To ensure all links are usable with either a mouse or keyboard.
- Content Images
All content images to have alternative text (alt attributes) so that if a visitor may not see the image for whatever reason, there is sufficient alternative text which describes the image for the visitor. Decorative images are not displayed within the markup of the website but by the use of CSS.
- Text Size
The use of relative units, for setting the size of text, which allows the size of text to be easily adjusted by visitors via the View menu in their browser.
- Text and Link Colours
The contrast of colours between text and background are tested to ensure they meet a certain contrast. This is beneficial to a visual user as well as visually impaired and colourblind visitors.
- Abbreviations and Acronyms
Abbreviatins and Acronyms are coded to allow users to check their meanings.
- Forms and Form Controls
Form controls (such as input boxes) have an associated label which identifies the purpose of the control. Users can click on the labels to focus the cursor on the associated form control.
Of course, these are just the more obvious aspects of Usability and will also not always be a requirement on every website. Each website is unique and therefore is accessed on an individual basis and the usability and accessibility aspects required are dealt with and met.