Web Accessibility

What is Web Accessibility?

Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the Web, and benefits people without disabilities. More specifically, it means that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with the Web, as well as contribute to the Web.

Web accessibility also benefits people without disabilities. For example, a key principle of Web accessibility is designing Web sites and software that are flexible to meet different user needs, preferences, and situations. 

Web accessibility encompasses all disabilities that affect access to the Web, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, and neurological disabilities. The document "How People with Disabilities Use the Web" describes how different disabilities affect Web use and includes use scenarios.

Making Your Website Accessible

Making a Web site accessible can be simple or complex, depending on many factors such as the type of content, the size and complexity of the site, and the development tools and environment.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) develops international standards and is an excellent website source for making the web accessible, flexible, and usable for all.

Checking for Web Accessibility

When assessing web accessibility there are a number of "checks" that can take place, whether human or automated.  The following is an outline from WebAIM, leading to explanations of human checks, as well as using the Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool (WAVE).

  1. Human Checks
    1. Use a checklist
    2. Disable styles and linearize tables
    3. Check alternative text
    4. Verify color and contrast
    5. Test content scaling
    6. Check keyboard accessibility
    7. Evaluate form accessibility and usability
    8. Test with a screen reader
    9. Valid HTML and CSS
  2. Testing with WAVE
    1. About WAVE
    2. Using WAVE
    3. WAVE Icons
    4. Report Views