That's one definition of accessibility in an online context. A simpler definition might be: A web site that everyone can use. That's a touch simplistic and idealistic, but it gets closer to what accessibility truly is.Accessibility in the context of a Web site is the degree to which that Web site is usable by people with disabilities. Web pages often have access issues for the following groups of people:
- Visually impaired people using screen readers
- Hearing impaired people using browsers with no sound
- Physically impaired people
- Color blind people (About.com, "Definition: accessibility")
There are a lot of resources out there devoted to helping web designers make their sites more accessible. The University of Minnesota, for example, has a long list of resources and tools related to accessibility. It's pretty overwhelming. About.com also has several articles about accessibility.
There's a simpler method, though, and while it's not 100% foolproof, it will get you fairly close to an accessible website. It is this: Use common sense and well-formed HTML code.
"But," you protest, "what about access keys, and alt text, and all those other things they talk about?" Remember what I said about well-formed HTML code. Images are required to have alt attributes in order for a page to validate. (Pages will still validate with blank alt attributes, though. That's where using common sense comes in: does the page still make sense without the image and without any alt text?)
Access keys (alt+[key]) are slightly different, as they are not required in valid HTML code. It also doesn't always make sense to use them. Using too many on a page can be overwhelming for a user. You also have to be careful not to use keystroke combinations that are already used for browser menus or other similar functions.
The WAVE report for the main page of Wikipedia reveals the access keys that are in use there. By my count, there are 14 different access keys, which make varying degrees of sense. Alt-F might make sense if the search field were labeled "Find articles", but it is not. Alt-U for "Upload file" does make sense, but Alt-K for "Related changes"? Another problem with using Alt-F to get to the search field is that that combination is used in nearly every Windows program to access the File menu. Firefox gets around this by adding Shift to the access key combination (Alt-Shift-F), but Safari overrides the default (Alt-F always brings up the search field).
Wikipedia does do something right, though. If you disable styles on the page, the navigation drops down to the bottom of the page. This makes it easier for people with text-only browsers or screen readers to get to the content.
Another important aspect is the color scheme. If you're planning on designing a Christmas website with red text on a green background, remember that about 5-7% of people suffer from red-green color blindness, or protanopia/deuteranopia, which would make it extremely difficult or even impossible for them to even see that there's text there. Tritanopia is another type of color blindness that affects a person's ability to see blue. One of my friends in college suffered from monochromacy and could only see shades of gray. When choosing colors, you might try using a graphics editor to convert them to grayscale and see if there is enough contrast there even without any "real" coloration.
Finally, organizing content in a way that makes sense is probably the most important step towards accessibility. Remember, you're not designing just for someone with a disability. You're designing for everyone.
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