Web Accessibility Design Guidelines

It's a sad fact that a lot of information on the Web is not directly accessible by people with disabilities.

Why? Because most Web site managers and developers are ignorant of the needs of those people with disabilities who cannot use the Web in the standard way.

Here are some examples of common accessibility design considerations:

  • Include alternative (ALT) text for every image on your site
  • Provide text links in addition to image map links
  • Provide alternatives to multimedia content
  • Make sure colors don't hinder the accessibility of your content (it is often said that 10% of the population suffer with color-blindness)
  • Provide alternatives to Web pages using frames
  • Make sure all text is readable
  • Make sure content is accessible to assistive technology, such as screen readers

Even following these basic guidelines will make your site most accessible than many. There are thousands of sites that use graphics in situations where a paragraph of text would be adequate.

Even if you want to use graphics to illustrate a point, make sure you also supply text for those who cannot (or choose not to) view graphics!