Web Accessibility

Accessibility is the word used to describe how to make Web Pages accessible to people with disabilities. In some cases the law requires Web Pages to be Accessible, such as the US Government's Section 508. But the guidelines for Accessibility also provide an excellent way of evaluating the overall design of Web Pages and Web Sites. For more information, see the Page Sample on Web Accessibility.

Types of Disabilities  |  Good Design  |  These Web Pages  |  The Program

Types of Disabilities

It is estimated that 1 out of 5 people using the Internet have some form of disability including the ones shown below.

• Unable to use a Keyboard or Mouse ( carpal tunnel )
• Color Blind
• Photosensitive Epilepsy
• Tunnel Vision
• Hearing Impaired
• Difficulty Reading or Comprehending Text
• Blind or partially Blind

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Good Design

The design checks for optimum Accessibility are also good guidelines for the design of Web Pages in general. Some considerations are included in the list below.

• Make content understandable.
• Web Pages should be comprehensible as text only.
• Provide clear and consistent Navigation.
• Do not use Images for text.
• Do not rely on color alone.
• Do not rely on specific hardware such as a Mouse.
• Avoid proprietary elements that require plugins.

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These Web Pages

These Web Pages have been designed using the following Accessibility features.

• They have a linear design that may be read from top to bottom.
• Images have alternate text for use by assistive technologies.
• The Tab Key may be used to progress logically through the Links.
• When a Link has the Focus, its appearance will change in most Browsers.
• The top of many pages include the Navigation buttons described below.
• Links may be selected using Alt Key combinations in most Browsers
  ( not Opera ).
• Pages may be printed in Portrait Orientation with standard margins.
• When printed using the Internet Explorer, Mozilla, or Opera Browser, there will be logical page breaks.

To access one of the Links available from the Navigation Buttons shown below, either Click it or hold down the Alt Key and press the number shown. To activate the selected Link for Internet Explorer, press the Enter Key. For Machintosh, the Alt Key is the Control Key.

	Alt+8	Return to the Previous Screen.
	Alt+9	Return to a Home Page.
	Alt+0	Proceed to the Next Page in a series.

When a Web Page starts with "CONTENTS," select the beginning of the list of Links by pressing Alt+Z. When a Web Page has a series of Links, such as this one, the first Link may be selected by pressing Alt+1, the second Link may be selected using Alt+2, etc.

    Alt+1 = Go to "Types of Disabilities"
    Alt+2 = Go to "Good Design"
    Alt+3 = Go to "These Web Pages"

Technical Note: When tabbing through the Links, some Links are invisible. These Links are skip over Links for use with assistive technology.

Types of Disabilities  |  Good Design  |  These Web Pages  |  The Program

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The Program

The documentation for Able Web Editor uses the same accessibility features as these Web Pages. The list below shows additional accessiblity features.

• All of the program's documentation is Web Pages.
• Any Web Page in Able Web Editor may be displayed in Internet Explorer and used with Assistive Technology such as Jaws or Read Please.
• All program features are accessible from the keyboard, a Mouse is optional.
• The Tab Key may be used to progress logically through the program controls.
• Program controls can be selected using a Ctrl or Alt Key combination.
• When a function has the Focus, it is identified in the Dialog Box as shown below.

In the example shown above of the Working Folder Dialog Box, the option to "Select a Folder" can be achieved by Clicking the Mouse, by pressing Alt+S, or by pressing the Tab Key until the list of Folders has the Focus. When the Focus is on the list of Folders, the box at the top displays "Select a Folder." As different functions of the Dialog Box are selected, the information in this box changes.

See also our VPAT.

W3C's Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG)

Able Web Editor has been designed to conform to the W3C's Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines with one exception: Checkpoint 4.1 "Check for and inform the author of accessibility problems."

Able Web Editor does not address this Checkpoint because a primary goal of the program is to allow the creation and editing of Web Pages using a variety of Client-Side and Server-Side Scripting languages. Any form of automated Source File correction would therefore be unwieldy, prone to errors, and require frequent updates as the standards and languages change.

The best way to test for "accessibility problems" is to use the online resources.
  See "Able's": Other Resources >> Related Web Sites >> Web Accessibility.

Types of Disabilities  |  Good Design  |  These Web Pages  |  The Program

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