Accessibility

Accessibility is a practice by which web designers and developers work to ensure their sites are readily accessible by all people, particularly those with disabilities which might prevent their access to certain sites.

Section 508 Guidelines information can be found in the Standards section. Section 508 refers to that numbered section of the Rehabilitation Act.

Articles and tutorials from around the Web

• Jim Byrne’s Guidelines for Building an Accessible Web Site is a well-done explanation and introduction to the world of creating accessible sites and why, with links to lots more helpful resources.

Sites devoted to accessibility issues and education

• The HTML Writers Guild’s (HWG) Aware Center (Accessible Web Authoring Resources and Education) by the HTML Writers’ Guild is a helpful resource for tips and techniques, classes offered directly through the HWG, and links to resources.
• The WebABLE Library provides dozens of links and articles, white papers, tips, and resources on accessible design, technology, standards, links to online journals, news articles, and more.

The W3C’s links to FAQs, official recommendations, and techniques to create accessible sites

• Refer to the W3C’s Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 for the official recommendations that explain how to make Web content accessible for those with disabilities.
• The W3C’s Fact Sheet for “Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0” is an excellent FAQ and place to start to learn about the W3C Accessibility Guidelines, why they matter, how to implement them, where to find more information, and related.
• The Techniques for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 page is a key section to learn how to implement the Accessibility Guidelines. Learn the core techniques, such as separating structure from content, alternative pages, validation, and browser support. Visit the CSS Techniques for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 for help on how to use CSS effectively to help accessibility, and the HTML Techniques section for help with creating accessible HTML, including how to work with frames, audio, forms, scripts, lists, and more.

Check your pages:

• Check your pages with Cast’s Bobby to help you identify any accessibility problem areas. Run one page at a time via their site or purchase it to run batches.
• Download the Lynx text browser to see how your pages will read with a text-only browser.