Comments on: Accessibility is Making Ripples that Everyone Can See http://dev.thekarchergroup.com/archives/8 Design, Markup, Usability, Accessibility Mon, 28 Dec 2009 18:11:44 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Joe Clark’s Accessiblity Research Project - Now Open http://dev.thekarchergroup.com/archives/8/comment-page-1#comment-4742 Joe Clark’s Accessiblity Research Project - Now Open Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:30:47 +0000 http://dev.thekarchergroup.com/archives/8#comment-4742 [...] in the works for 4 years already. I applaud the effort and hope that this will also help snowball the increased attention to accessibility in web [...] [...] in the works for 4 years already. I applaud the effort and hope that this will also help snowball the increased attention to accessibility in web [...]

]]> By: Website Development » Blog Archive » A Little Accessibility Snippet I Found http://dev.thekarchergroup.com/archives/8/comment-page-1#comment-117 Website Development » Blog Archive » A Little Accessibility Snippet I Found Tue, 05 Dec 2006 14:39:11 +0000 http://dev.thekarchergroup.com/archives/8#comment-117 [...] I recently was listening to the podcasts, finally, on the WaSP (The Web Standards Project) website and in the first one listed (created by Accesibility Task Force members Patrick Lauke and Bruce Lawson) they mention as I mentioned in an earlier post, developing for accessibility means that you’re going to get numerous beneficial side effects: [audience comment]: We talked about visual impairments. Who is the biggest blind user on the web? [...] [...] I recently was listening to the podcasts, finally, on the WaSP (The Web Standards Project) website and in the first one listed (created by Accesibility Task Force members Patrick Lauke and Bruce Lawson) they mention as I mentioned in an earlier post, developing for accessibility means that you’re going to get numerous beneficial side effects: [audience comment]: We talked about visual impairments. Who is the biggest blind user on the web? [...]

]]> By: Nate K http://dev.thekarchergroup.com/archives/8/comment-page-1#comment-10 Nate K Tue, 03 Oct 2006 13:02:30 +0000 http://dev.thekarchergroup.com/archives/8#comment-10 Aside from my standard wordpress blog (which will be rebooted here soon), I build all of my sites to be accessible. Accessibility is so much MORE than just a blind person visiting your website (Read the book "Web Accessibility"). The case for target is for larger businesses (and government institutions) - personal sites can be as lame as they want to be. Unfortunately, and since W3C is just a recommendation - there is no one to police this matter. Don't get me wrong - I am all for building accessible websites. However, I have been building accessible sites for quite some time now - and yes, Target helped bring it more exposure - but HOW will sites be regulated from here on out? What will the process be? It's definitely awesome to see you guys moving to accessible websites as well. Too many people shun it and say 'I don't care about that blind person visiting my site' - when, as I said above, it's so much more than that. What about the fact that one of the most important visitors to your website is blind - the search bot. What about users with visual impairments/colorblindness? Is your design friendly to them as they try to navigate and find your links? What about someone who has to use a screen reader? Does your content make sense? Are your alt text values meaningful? Is your presentation separated from your content? What about someone with slow motor skills, is your pop-out menu friendly enough to not blink at them? The list goes on... Aside from the benefits to those with disabilities - building an accessible website keeps your markup clean, gives you great hooks for CSS and the DOM, and increases load times while decreasing bandwith usage. Accessibility should NEVER be an extra (or extra charge), the conscious developer should always work to make sure their site is accessible. See <a href="http://www.456bereastreet.com/archive/200610/false_accessibility_claims_on_public_sector_websites/" rel="nofollow">456bereastreet.com</a> for more information. Aside from my standard wordpress blog (which will be rebooted here soon), I build all of my sites to be accessible. Accessibility is so much MORE than just a blind person visiting your website (Read the book “Web Accessibility”).

The case for target is for larger businesses (and government institutions) – personal sites can be as lame as they want to be. Unfortunately, and since W3C is just a recommendation – there is no one to police this matter. Don’t get me wrong – I am all for building accessible websites. However, I have been building accessible sites for quite some time now – and yes, Target helped bring it more exposure – but HOW will sites be regulated from here on out? What will the process be?

It’s definitely awesome to see you guys moving to accessible websites as well. Too many people shun it and say ‘I don’t care about that blind person visiting my site’ – when, as I said above, it’s so much more than that. What about the fact that one of the most important visitors to your website is blind – the search bot. What about users with visual impairments/colorblindness? Is your design friendly to them as they try to navigate and find your links? What about someone who has to use a screen reader? Does your content make sense? Are your alt text values meaningful? Is your presentation separated from your content? What about someone with slow motor skills, is your pop-out menu friendly enough to not blink at them? The list goes on…

Aside from the benefits to those with disabilities – building an accessible website keeps your markup clean, gives you great hooks for CSS and the DOM, and increases load times while decreasing bandwith usage.

Accessibility should NEVER be an extra (or extra charge), the conscious developer should always work to make sure their site is accessible.

See 456bereastreet.com for more information.

]]>