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Accessibility and the Web: Part 1 – The Accessibility Imperative

Mon, July 16th, 2007 by David Fielding | 1 comment

What does your Web site sound like?

Seems like an odd question about a primarily visual medium, but to a person with a visual disability, how your Web site "sounds" may determine how that person is able to navigate and access your Web content. Disabilities vary widely from visual, audible and physical to cognitive and neurological. But you can guarantee that a certain percentage of your Web visitors have a disability of some kind which may affect their ability to use your Web site.

It was around 1999, when I first became acutely aware of disabilities and the Web, and the imperative of accessible Web design. We were working at the time on a project the Columbia Lighthouse for the Blind developing a small online bookstore (selling mostly books on tape.)  Since CLB also did computer training for visually impaired persons, I thought it might be a good idea to stop by their office and see how a non-sighted person uses the Web. I had used screen readers and screen magnifiers a handful of times out of curiosity but it's hard to understand the barriers to computer technology faced by a non-sighted person without actually watching (and listening) firsthand.  

Bobby, my tester, was a friendly and gracious guy with a big smile. He sat down and started going through his normal computer routine. What I witnessed made me understand how naïve I was. I wanted to observe the difficulty faced by a non-sighted person using the Web but what I discovered was that there were about 5 barriers Bobby had to get past before he even got to actual Web content. Put aside the fact that he has to go through the same morning routines as I before actually getting to the office, all without the benefit of sight.

The first barrier, or challenge, was the computer itself... the keyboard and monitor... the mouse (oops, no mouse). Speakers are an obvious essential when using an audible screen reader (the appropriately named, JAWS).

The second was the operating system (Windows 98). Getting through all of the Windows startup messages and dialog boxes takes some time because the screen reader has to read each of them out loud while Bobby tabs through and enters the necessary login info to get onto the network.

The third challenge is to find the Web browser application which he had conveniently placed as a shortcut on his desktop (along with a myriad of other shortcuts that make his virtual desktop a bit cluttered).

The fourth challenge is navigating the Windows Internet Explorer Web browser using primarily the tab and arrow keys and some keyboard shortcuts built into JAWS, in order to open a web page.

The fifth challenge was the way in which the screen reader interpreted HTML. Since JAWS wasn't primarily developed for Web browsers, it had only rudimentary methods for navigating a Web page. JAWS reads a Web page by reading the HTML markup from top to bottom, skipping most of the markup code and reading the text in-between. The only non-linear navigation provided by JAWS was a method for cycling through links and form elements.

The final challenge was the Web page itself. Each page Bobby visited, he would have to cycle through about 20 navigational links and menus before getting to the body of the Web page. He did all this with that same broad smile on his face. He probably didn't notice the look of frustration on mine.

In that single hour with Bobby I became acutely aware of the challenges faced by a non-sighted person, and anyone with a disability, might experience when adapting to computer technology. I also realized how enabling computer technology could be for persons with disabilities and the imperative in making sure that these technologies are accessible to everyone.

Since that time, Web accessibility has come a long way. In my next post on accessibility, I'll talk more about how people with disabilities use the Web, the guidelines developed by the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, Section 508 of the Americans with Disability Act, and new methods for developing Web sites to make Web content more accessible. If you have the opportunity, please take the time to respond to a few questions on your company or organization's Web site.

Has your company or organization discussed Web Accessibility and Section 508 of the ADA as it relates to your Web site?

Is your Web site compliant with Section 508?

Are you aware of the W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines and Priority Levels?

What priority level of the WCAG have you established as your standard?

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