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Understanding Web Accessibility: Diverse Perspectives and Definitions

Explore how individuals from various backgrounds perceive web accessibility, from inclusive design to user considerations and legal responsibilities.

adrian-carter
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Understanding Web Accessibility: Diverse Perspectives and Definitions

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  1. What does ‘accessibility’ mean? Alistair Garrison Accessinmind Limited

  2. Different things to different people... • When talking about the World Wide Web, the term ‘accessibility’ means different things to different people. • It depends on: • Who you are; • What you do; • What you use; • Your environment; and • Your society.

  3. A blind user… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Access to certain banks, home shopping, news, dictionaries, travel agents, etc… • But, only those which: • work with my screen-reader (assistive technology); • provide additional information to cover the fact that I cannot take in purely visual information.”

  4. A blind user… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Access to certain banks, home shopping, news, dictionaries, travel agents, etc… • Those which: • work with my assistive technology; • provide additional information to cover the fact that I cannot take in purely visual information.” “Technical Accessibility”

  5. A user with epilepsy… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Confidence that a web page does not contain harmful flashing content.”

  6. A user with epilepsy… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Confidence, that a web page does not contain harmful flashing content.” “Health & Safety”

  7. An elderly user… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Being able to increase the text size in a page; • Consistent navigation which allows me to remember my way around; • Provision of a site map or table of contents.”

  8. An elderly user… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Being able to increase the text size; • Remembering my way around; • Provision of a site map or table of contents.” “User considerations”

  9. A non-disabled user… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Less irritating websites – without pop-ups; • Faster loading times; • The possibility to use my PDA to view pages.

  10. A non-disabled user… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Less irritating websites – without pop-ups; • Faster loading times; • The possibility to use my PDA to view pages. “Better User Experience”

  11. Internet Software Developers User Agents, Assistive Technologies, Accessibility evaluation software, etc… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Valid code: as mistakes are removed at the authoring stage. • More time for other things: The time spent ‘correcting’ poor code could be spent on support for new technologies.”

  12. Internet Software Developers User Agents, Assistive Technologies, Accessibility evaluation software, etc… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Valid code: as mistakes are removed at the authoring stage. • More time for other things: The time spent ‘correcting’ poor code could be spent on support for new technologies.” “Valid Code”

  13. A Website Owner… Public Websites, Websites which provide goods and services, etc… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Legal responsibility; • WCAG 1.0; • Possible decision on which level of WCAG 1.0; • Implementing WCAG 1.0; • Staff training; • Maintaining chosen level of accessibility.”

  14. A Website Owner… Public Websites, Websites which provide goods and services, etc… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Accepting the fact that people with disabilities will use the website; • Deciding which level of WCAG 1.0; • Implementing WCAG 1.0 • Staff training; • Maintaining chosen level of accessibility. “Conformance to WCAG 1.0”

  15. Procurement Manager… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Incorporating ‘accessibility’ into all tenders and contracts: • Precise technical specifications; • Evaluation procedures for assessing the ‘accessibility’ of delivered products, either internally or by a third-party.

  16. Procurement Manager… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Incorporating ‘accessibility’ into all tenders and contracts: • Precise technical specifications; • Evaluation procedures for assessing the ‘accessibility’ of delivered products, either internally or by a third-party. “Precise definition of accessibility & an evaluation mechanism”

  17. Web Designer / Developer… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Understanding WCAG 1.0; • Understanding and applying supporting WCAG techniques. • Identifying tools which help me (the developer) to generate WCAG conformant content – minimizing development time. • Making web content which works on different platforms and in different browsers • Evaluating finished content using tools and WAI checklists.”

  18. Web Designer / Developer… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Understanding WCAG 1.0; • Understanding and applying supporting WCAG techniques. • Identifying tools which help me (the developer) to generate WCAG conformant content – minimizing development time. • Making web content which works on different platforms and in different browsers • Evaluating finished content using tools and WAI checklists.” “Techniques & Tools”

  19. Lawyer… When defending a client who’s being sued for an “inaccessible” Website, or suing the owner of an “inaccessible” Website. “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Understanding legislation to determine people’s rights and duties; • Seeking independent advice about what is ‘reasonable’ in terms of accessibility. • Using accessibility experts to evaluate whether or not a reasonable level of “accessibility” has been provided;

  20. Lawyer… When defending a client who’s being sued for an “inaccessible” Website, or suing the owner of an “inaccessible” Website. “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Understanding legislation to determine people’s rights and duties; • Seeking independent advice about what is ‘reasonable’ in terms of accessibility. • Using accessibility experts to evaluate whether or not a reasonable level of “accessibility” has been provided; “Independent Expert Advice”

  21. Disability Rights Group “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Equalisation of opportunities; • Universal adoption of standards;

  22. Disability Rights Group “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Equalisation of opportunities; • Universal adoption of standards; “Equalisation of Opportunities”

  23. Politician… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Making a more inclusive society through policy; • Setting standards & benchmarks; • Promoting the widespread adoption and use of guidelines; • Measuring progress and showing visible results.

  24. Politician… “To me ‘Web Accessibility’ means… • Making a more inclusive society through policy; • Setting standards & benchmarks; • Promoting the widespread adoption and use of guidelines; • Measuring progress and showing visible results. “Visible sign of accessibility adoption”

  25. Conformance to WCAG 1.0 Technical accessibility Health & safety User considerations Better user experience Valid code Tools & techniques Precise definition of accessibility & an evaluation mechanism Independent expert advice Equalisation of opportunities Visible signs of accessibility adoption All these things are related…

  26. Conformance to WCAG 1.0 Technical accessibility Health & safety User considerations Better user experience Valid code Tools & techniques Precise definition of accessibility & an evaluation mechanism Independent expert advice Equalisation of opportunities Visible signs of accessibility adoption Through… Adoption of W3C / WAI Recommendations & European e-Accessibility Implementation Policies

  27. Conclusion …as they are all valuable parts of Europe’s strategy for ‘Web Accessibility’. Making, the World Wide Web far more ‘accessible’ for everyone…

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