Disability on the Web

While we're talking about disabilities in class, I can't help but think about disability on the Web. Nowadays, it seems everyone and anyone can create and establish his or her own website for whatever purpose. Unfortunately, not everyone is aware or conscious of the basic guidelines to assure his or her website is ADA compliant.

I like to think of "disability" as a constraint, which enables the term to be used more freely and to be considered more seriously across many topics. Everyone has experienced a disability or constraint at some point in his or her life, whether temporary or permanent. And its easy for us to associate these constraints with physical aspects through our daily lives. However, technology and the Web has become a part of our daily lives and I think its important that we learn at least the basics of Web design to assure ADA compliant on the Web.

Listed below are a few basic guidelines to remember to assure your website is ADA compliant:

Guideline 1. Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content.
Provide content that, when presented to the user, conveys essentially the same function or purpose as auditory or visual content.

Guideline 2. Do not rely on color alone.
Ensure that text and graphics are understandable when viewed without color.

Guideline 3. Use markup and style sheets and do so properly.
Mark up documents with the proper structural elements. Control presentation with style sheets rather than with presentation elements and attributes.

Guideline 4. Clarify natural language usage.
Use markup that facilitates pronunciation or interpretation of abbreviated or foreign text.

Guideline 5. Create tables that transform gracefully.
Ensure that tables have necessary markup to be transformed by accessible browsers and other user agents.

Guideline 6. Ensure that pages featuring new technologies transform gracefully.
Ensure that pages are accessible even when newer technologies are not supported or are turned off.

Guideline 7. Ensure user control of time-sensitive content changes.
Ensure that moving, blinking, scrolling, or auto-updating objects or pages may be paused or stopped.

Guideline 8. Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces.
Ensure that the user interface follows principles of accessible design: device-independent access to functionality, keyboard operability, self-voicing, etc.

Guideline 9. Design for device-independence.
Use features that enable activation of page elements via a variety of input devices.

Guideline 10. Use interim solutions.
Use interim accessibility solutions so that assistive technologies and older browsers will operate correctly.


If you're interested in more information about this topic or have any questions about these guidelines, please feel free to contact me and I would happy to help. Thanks for helping to make the Web more ADA compliant.