A Definition of Web Accessibility
Approximately 20% of the American population has some type of a disability.
Many of these individuals experience barriers when visiting web pages.
The four examples below may help to understand the types of obstacles
that may be encountered by an individual with a disability.
- A professor has recorded his voice describing the characteristics
of a Frank Lloyd Wright home. This recording is available to students
on the web as an audio file. This is an example of an obstacle for any
student that is hard of hearing or deaf as the audio can't be heard.
- The same professor also places photographs of Frank Lloyd Wright homes
on the web page. The photographs are very clear and illustrate visually
the characteristics that make Wright's homes unique. These photographs
are an example of an obstacle for students that are blind or visually
impaired. They are unable to see the unique characteristics in the pictures.
- Another example is the Frank Lloyd Wright web page written in unnecessarily
complicated language, often using technical terms, special phrases and
rare words, thereby creating obstacles to all, and very serious obstacles
to people with cognitive disabilities or limited language skills.
- A last example is a department that offers four different services.
In an effort to provide users of their web site with an overview of
these services, the webmaster has designed an aesthetically pleasing
graphic. To the visual user, this graphic has four distinct regions,
each of which is titled with the name of a service. When the user places
the mouse on a region of the graphic, text is displayed to the right
of the graphic that provides details of this service. Likewise, when
the mouse is moved to a different region of the graphic, the text changes
to represent the service to which the mouse has been moved. These services
are not described anywhere else on the web page and the descriptions
can be accessed only through correct placement of the mouse. This graphic
represents an obstacle for a user that can't utilize the mouse, but
relies on the use of a mouth wand to press keys on the keyboard.
The examples in this section represent only a few potential barriers
that an individual with a disability may encounter on the web. The purpose
of the University's web accessibility policy is to increase the awareness
web designers have towards access barriers and thus, result in web pages
that are free of such obstacles.
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Who Benefits from Web Accessibility?
Curb cuts are a great example of a mandated improvement that most
people benefit from using. Consider who benefits from curb cuts:
bicyclists, joggers, parents pushing their baby in a stroller, an
elderly person that uses a walker. Web accessibility is similar.
An accessible web page will be openly received by: those who use
modems rather than their company's network to access the web, individuals
who use PDA's, people who are legally
blind, folks that speak English as a second language, and numerous
other groups.
Individuals with disabilities that may encounter barriers on the web
may be grouped as follows:
- hard of hearing or deaf
- low vision or blind
- physical/motor disability
- cognitive disability
- temporary disability (broken arm, ear infection, eye injury, etc.)
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Background of Web Accessibility
The Federal Government addresses accessibility at the workplace
in both the American's With Disabilities Act and the Federal Rehabilitation
Act. In brief, both legal documents can be interpreted to apply
towards the use of technology. The government amended the Federal
Rehabilitation Act in 1998. One component of this amendment is Section
508. Section 508 is the basis for the movement towards accessibility
on the web for the United States government. More information is
available about the Federal Government's Section
508 requirements and the amended Rehabilitation Act.
Separate from the work towards accessibility that the government has
produced is the work of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The W3C is
a group dedicated to the evolution of a more usable World Wide Web. The
W3C was created in 1994. Web accessibility has been a major undertaking
of the group. Many of the recommendations that have been made by the W3C
have become the foundation for governments at the country and state level,
as well as academic institutions and private industry.
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