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Making technology accessible by everyone, Part 4

By Linda Musthaler
Network World Technology Executive Newsletter, 10/14/02

Since June 2001, U.S. Federal government agencies have been required by law to make their Web sites accessible to people with disabilities. Although the law only applies to government agencies, most Global 2000 companies have followed suit, as have many smaller companies and organizations.

Why? Well, first of all, if a company wants to conduct e-business with a government agency, its Web site must be compliant with the law. Second, presenting an accessible Web site opens a company's market up to the more than 54 million Americans (and to hundreds of millions of people outside the U.S.) with disabilities. Third, it's the right thing to do.

What makes a Web site accessible to people with disabilities? Mostly, it means allowing persons with some type of impairment to make full use of the Web site, despite the inability or limited ability to read on-screen text, view or hear multimedia images or videos, distinguish colors, maneuver through common navigation routines, or conduct other common Web routines. For example, if your site includes video images, you should embed closed captioning into the video so that hearing-impaired viewers can understand the video content. Further, the content of your site should be compatible with assistive technology, such as a screen reader or text magnifier.

If your Web site wasn't originally designed with accessibility in mind, it will take some time and money to bring it up to government standards for accessibility. Many companies in this position have simply chosen to incorporate the new requirements into a redesign of their Web site, rather than retrofit an existing site.

Lou Hutchinson, president and CEO of Crunchy Technologies, a provider of accessible software products and custom applications, says that companies are using the new accessibility requirements as a catalyst for setting corporate development standards. " We're seeing many companies adopting a new process for developing Web sites and Web-based applications. "

Hutchinson describes the three-fold process. " First, they are educating their people about the need for accessibility, and how to adhere to the standards. Next, they are establishing an enterprise checklist for accessibility. Finally, they are putting in the tools and processes that support the development and testing of accessible applications. " Hutchinson said the considerations for accessibility should be designed in from the start and included in all cycles of the development process. He adds, " It's a misconception that making a Web site or application accessible is expensive or that there is a narrow need for it. This isn't true. It's not just for the severely disabled user, but for the benefit of all users. "

So where do you start in making your Web site compliant? First, get knowledgeable on what the requirements and standards are and train your developers on how to comply. Here are some good sources for the standards and guidelines: The Federal government's Access Board (www.access-board.gov/sec508/guide/1194.22.htm), or visit the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative site (www.w3.org/WAI/).

If you want to take a course related to coding for accessibility, see what's available through Crunchy Technologies' I-Learning Institute (www.crunchytech.com/news/index.html).

Your second step should be to acquire the tools and utilities for developing accessible code. There are numerous tools on the market for this purpose. For example, Crunchy Technologies' PageScreamer enables fast verification and automated correction of Section 508 violations in a single tool. WebABLE lists many additional tools and utilities (www.webable.com/linkspage.html).

Third, test your newly developed Web site with the assistive devices your users may be using (See last week's newsletter.) Large corporations often acquire these devices and test in-house; smaller companies tend to outsource the testing to experts in the field.

Find more information on disability-related Internet resources at WebABLE (www.webable.com/). Visit this site's library for links to online journals, legal information, standards and guidelines, and for great white papers that include case studies.

This concludes my series on IT accessibility. I want to leave you with one important thought: "The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect." - Tim Berners-Lee, W3C director and inventor of the World Wide Web

Linda Musthaler is vice president of Currid & Company. You can write to her at Linda.Musthaler@currid.com