Did you know that American’s with Disability have the same spending power as those without disabilities? Check the video archives at the www.ada.gov website for resources about this topic.
Did you know that there are roughly 50 millions of Americans with disabilities as of today? With the advent of the latest developments in technology it has made it more attractive to them to visit the internet to search for products and services. That’s the reason why website accessibility is becoming a very important element and features of the website design for both businesses and government agencies.
Watch this interesting video..
Internet Access For The Blind (CBS News)
I found an article from www.techrepublic.com website written by Nicole Bremer Nash, which I think is very helpful and relevant for the increasing popularity of this subject.
To check your website for accessibility, use the accessibility checklist published by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (1194.22 Web-based intranet and internet information and applications):
- Every image, video file, audio file, plug-in, etc. has an alt tag
- Complex graphics are accompanied by detailed text descriptions
- The alt descriptions describe the purpose of the objects
- If an image is also used as a link, make sure the alt tag describes the graphic and the link destination
- Decorative graphics with no other function have empty alt descriptions (alt= “”)
- Add captions to videos
- Add audio descriptions
- Create text transcript
- Create a link to the video rather than embedding it into web pages
- Add a link to the media player download
- Add an additional link to the text transcript
- The page should provide alternative links to the Image Map
- The <area> tags must contain an alt attribute
- Data tables have the column and row headers appropriately identified (using the <th> tag)
- Tables used strictly for layout purposes do NOT have header rows or columns
- Table cells are associated with the appropriate headers (e.g. with the id, headers, scope and/or axis HTML attributes)
- Make sure the page does not contain repeatedly flashing images
- Check to make sure the page does not contain a strobe effect
- A link is provided to a disability-accessible page where the plug-in can be downloaded
- All Java applets, scripts and plug-ins (including Acrobat PDF files and PowerPoint files, etc.) and the content within them are accessible to assistive technologies, or else an alternative means of accessing equivalent content is provided
- When form controls are text input fields use the LABEL element
- When text is not available use the title attribute
- Include any special instructions within field labels
- Make sure that form fields are in a logical tab order
- Include a ‘Skip Navigation’ button to help those using text readers
(Courtesy U.S. Department of Health and Human Services) To learn more about what questions to ask your website designer about federal ADA accessibility requirements for website design click this link to learn more
