accessibility guidelines
Compliance with the UK Disability Discrimination Act 1995, Part III (DDA) is a major issue for website owners. The following guidelines come from the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), an international body formed purely to advise on best practice.
DB-Status Computer Services Limited will always attempt to adhere to these guidelines when building websites for our clients.
Taken from www.w3c.org:
These guidelines explain how to make Web content accessible to people with disabilities. The guidelines are intended for all Web content developers (page authors and site designers) and for developers of authoring tools. The primary goal of these guidelines is to promote accessibility. However, following them will also make Web content more available to all users, whatever user agent they are using (e.g., desktop browser, voice browser, mobile phone, automobile-based personal computer, etc.) or constraints they may be operating under (e.g., noisy surroundings, under- or over-illuminated rooms, in a hands-free environment, etc.). Following these guidelines will also help people find information on the Web more quickly. These guidelines do not discourage content developers from using images, video, etc., but rather explain how to make multimedia content more accessible to a wide audience.
For those unfamiliar with accessibility issues pertaining to Web page design, consider that many users may be operating in contexts very different from your own:
- They may not be able to see, hear, move, or may not be able to process some types of information easily or at all.
- They may have difficulty reading or comprehending text.
- They may not have or be able to use a keyboard or mouse.
- They may have a text-only screen, a small screen, or a slow Internet connection.
- They may not speak or understand fluently the language in which the document is written.
- They may be in a situation where their eyes, ears, or hands are busy or interfered with (e.g., driving to work, working in a loud environment, etc.).
- They may have an early version of a browser, a different browser entirely, a voice browser, or a different operating system.
In order to advise on best practice to overcome these obstacles, W3C developed three different levels of conformance. These are:
- Conformance Level "A": all Priority 1 checkpoints are satisfied;
- Conformance Level "Double-A": all Priority 1 and 2 checkpoints are satisfied;
- Conformance Level "Triple-A": all Priority 1, 2, and 3 checkpoints are satisfied;
Each checkpoint has a priority level assigned by the Working Group based on the checkpoint's impact on accessibility.
Priority 1 (A)
A Web content developer must satisfy this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it impossible to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint is a basic requirement for some groups to be able to use Web documents.
Priority 2 (Double-A)
A Web content developer should satisfy this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it difficult to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint will remove significant barriers to accessing Web documents.
Priority 3 (Triple-A)
A Web content developer may address this checkpoint. Otherwise, one or more groups will find it somewhat difficult to access information in the document. Satisfying this checkpoint will improve access to Web documents.
On completion, this website conforms to Priority 3, TRIPLE-A guidelines and can therefore carry the Triple-A logo, as shown at the bottom of the page.
(Important : DB-Status Computer Services Limited cannot be held responsible for W3C conformance once a website has been accepted and handed over to the client for self updating).
Pages bearing this logo indicate a claim of conformance by the page author or content provider to conformance level Triple-A of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0, including all Priority 1, Priority 2, and Priority 3 checkpoints defined in the Guidelines. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0 explain how to make Web content accessible to people with disabilities.
Websites carrying Triple-A logos are well respected within the Internet community and beyond, ensuring the site owner receives acknowledgement of this and is held in high regard for ensuring conformance.
DB-Status Computer Services Limited are aware of this fact and therefore justly proud to be associated with companies taking the care and effort to ensure conformance. We always appreciate the standards of our work being showcased, and encourage clients to refer work.
To ensure the code used to build our websites will not soon become obsolete, we also publish only validated XHTML and CSS, depicted by the logos at the bottom of the page.
Further Information
Web accessibility means that people with disabilities can use the Web. More specifically, Web accessibility means that the Web is designed so that people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and interact with it effectively, as well as create and contribute content to the Web.
There are millions of people who have disabilities that affect their use of the Web. Currently most Web sites have accessibility barriers that make it difficult or impossible for many people with disabilities to use the site. However, if Web sites and Web software were made accessible, people with disabilities could use the Web effectively.
Web accessibility addresses all disabilities, including visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, and neurological disabilities. For more information, see the "How People with Disabilities Use the Web" document that describes how different disabilities affect Web use and scenarios of people with disabilities using the Web.
Web accessibility can also benefit organizations and people without disabilities. For example, a key principle of Web accessibility is flexibility to meet different needs, situations, and preferences. Flexibility benefits all people who use the Web, including people without disabilities in different situations (such as a slow connection), people with temporary disabilities (such as a broken arm), and some older people. For more information, see "Developing a Web Accessibility Business Case for Your Organization."
Why Web Accessibility is Important
The Web plays an increasingly important role in education, employment, commerce, government, and recreation. An accessible Web that allows people with disabilities to actively participate in society is essential for equal opportunities in many areas.
The Web offers the possibility of unprecedented access to information and interaction for people with disabilities. For more information, see the Web Accessibility is a Social Issue section of "Developing a Web Accessibility Business Case for Your Organization: Social Factors".
Web accessibility is required by law in some cases. For a list of laws and policies around the world, see "Policies Relating to Web Accessibility."
Making the Web Accessible
Web accessibility depends on several different components of Web development and interaction working together, including Web software (tools) and Web developers (people). The main reason that many sites are not accessible is that Web software does not adequately support accessibility and Web developers are not aware of or do not understand basic accessibility issues.
To help clarify accessibility issues and define accessibility solutions, the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) develops guidelines that are international standards for Web accessibility.
For more information, see "Essential Components of Web Accessibility," which explains how the different components work together and how they are covered in the different WAI guidelines.
Making a Web Site Accessible
The effort required to make a site accessible depends on many factors, including the type of content, the size and complexity of the site, and the development tools and environment.
Many accessibility features are easily implemented when planned from the beginning of a development project or redesign project. However, retrofitting existing sites can require significant effort, especially sites that are not "coded" properly with standard XHTML markup, and sites with certain types of content, such as multimedia.
"Implementation Plan for Web Accessibility" lists basic steps in making an organization's site accessible.
Evaluating Web Accessibility
When developing or redesigning a site, evaluating accessibility early and throughout development can find any accessibility issues early when it is easier to address them, rather than waiting until near the end of development. Simple techniques, such as changing settings in a common browser, can determine if a Web page meets some accessibility guidelines. A comprehensive evaluation to determine if a site effectively meets all accessibility guidelines is much more complex.
"Evaluating Web Sites for Accessibility" includes a section on preliminary review with techniques to quickly assess some of the accessibility issues on a site, and a section on conformance evaluation with general procedures and tips for evaluating conformance to accessibility guidelines.
There are automated tools that help with evaluation; however, no tool alone can determine if a site meets accessibility guidelines. Knowledgeable human evaluation is required to determine if a site is accessible.
For More Information
The WAI Web site provides guidelines and support material to help implement the guidelines, such as "Quick Tips to Make Accessible Web Sites." Other organizations also provide resources to help make the Web accessible.
Notes on Terminology
Web "content" generally refers to the information in a Web page or Web application, including text, images, forms, sounds, and such. More specific definitions are available in the WCAG documents, which are linked from the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Overview.
Web software includes:
- Web browsers, media players, and other "user agents"; for more information, see User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) Overview.
- Authoring tools that creates Web sites; for more information see, Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) Overview.
- Evaluation tools that determine if a Web site meets standards and guidelines; for a list of accessibility evaluation tools, see Evaluation, Repair, and Transformation Tools for Web Content Accessibility.
