What is Web Accessibility?
Def#1:
Web accessibility means access to the Web by everyone, regardless of
disability whether it be physical, visual, hearing, and cognitive or
neurological disabilities. An accessible Web site allows all users to
access it, regardless of their browser, resolution, settings, or
eyesight.
Def#2:
Most commonly refers to providing access for all people to Web
environments including those people with disabilities. Designing sites
for the way that screen readers, text browsers, and other adaptive
technologies interact with the Web, choosing contrasting colors for
readability, and providing alternative tags for graphics are examples
of making Web sites more accessible.
Def#3:
Accessibility involves two key issues: first, how users with
disabilities access electronic information, and second, how web content
designers and developers enable web pages to function with assistive
devices used by individuals with disabilities.
For the user with a disability, the challenge is to identify tools that
provide the most convenient access to web-based and other electronic
information. For the web content designer/developer, the challenge is
to remove the obstacles that prevent accessibility tools from
functioning effectively. In many cases, these challenges are relatively
simple to overcome, but sometimes the solutions require some additional
thought and effort.
Def#4:
For a website to be accessible, its content must be available to
everyone, including people with disabilities. Accessible websites
ensure:
• Smooth transformation: information and services should be accessible
despite physical, sensory or cognitive user disabilities, work
constraints or technological barriers
• Understandable and navigable content: content should be presented in
a clear and simple manner, and should provide understandable mechanisms
to navigate within and between pages.
An accessible website:
1. can be perceived
2. can be navigated
3. can be utilized (with a keyboard or devices other than a mouse)
4. can be easily understood (even in attention-poor situations)
Accessibility and usability are closely related, as they both improve
satisfaction, effectiveness, and efficiency. But while accessibility is
aimed at making the website open to a wider user population, usability
is aimed at making the target population of the website happier, with a
more efficient and effective website.
Def#5:
Accessible Web design is the process of ensuring that users are able to
use a Web resource—such as a class Web site—without further
modification, regardless of abilities and disabilities.
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