XHTML 1.1 - Served as application/xhtml+xml
Website Accessibility
Website Accessibility, what is it?
Website Accessibility is about supporting disabled visitors, but that is not the only reason for making a website accessible. An accessible website can be accessed by people with different web browsers, PDA's, and cell phones.
A common misconception is that by making a website accessible, it will be not as attractive as a website that is not accessible. That is not the case. Accessibility does not need to affect presentation at all!
Tim Berners-Lee
W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web
UsableNet.com
"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
Using semantic, well structured XHTML will take you a long the way towards creating an accessible website. To get an idea of how accessible a page is, try viewing it in a text-based browser like Lynx to see if the content still makes sense. This is far from the only accessibility check you need to do, but it's a good start.
accessibility defined
- Ac-cess-i-bil-i-ty
- providing access
- capable of being reached (accessible by rail); also : being within reach (fashions at accessible prices) b : easy to speak or deal with (accessible people)
- Capable of being influenced : OPEN
- Capable of being used or seen : AVAILABLE
- Capable of being understood or appreciated (the author's most accessible stories) (an accessible film)
- The quality of being accessible, or of admitting approach; receptibility.
For a website to be accessible, its content must be available to everyone, including people with disabilities. Accessible websites ensure:
- Smooth transformation: information and services should be accessible despite physical, sensory or cognitive user disabilities, work constraints or technological barriers
- Understandable and navigable content: content should be presented in a clear and simple manner, and should provide understandable mechanisms to navigate within and between pages.
An accessible website:
- can be perceived
- can be navigated
- can be utilized (with a keyboard or devices other than a mouse)
- can be easily understood (even in attention-poor situations)
Accessibility and usability are closely related, as they both improve satisfaction, effectiveness, and efficiency. But while accessibility is aimed at making the website open to a wider user population, usability is aimed at making the target population of the website happier, with a more efficient and effective website.
Here are great accessibility tips:
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