Accessibility is about ensuring that something

is equally available to everyone...

Accessibility goes a bit further. It is about

making it equally accessible, but by the means

that each person needs to access it.

Stairs might be equally available, but can all

people use stairs? No! Some people need

ramps. Stairs are not “accessible.”

People want to access your website, but

maybe they can’t see it, or hear your video, or

lack the motor skills to navigate the busy page

with tons of closely grouped links.

… should you choose to accept it, is to do your

best to make your site as accessible as

possible to every person regardless of their

physical capabilities.

Don’t make it an afterthought:

● Over 6.6 million Americans are estimated

to have some type of visual impairment

(nfb.org)

● 1 in 8 people in the United States aged 12

years or older have hearing loss in both

ears. (nih.gov)

Thanks to WebAim.org who surveyed over

1,400 people with visual impairment and

provided their data. The next few slides use

it.

● Nearly 22% of respondents believed that the

web has become less accessible in the last

year.

● Nearly 42% believe that web accessibility

has stayed about the same over the last

year.

● And only 37% believe it has improved.

When asked whether assistive technology

needed to improve or the websites

themselves, 81.3% of respondents said

websites need to improve!

When asked what they believed the reasons

were for an inaccessible web, respondents

thought:

● Lack of awareness: 39.6%

● Lack of skills from developers: 27.4%

● Fear of affects on site: 24.5%

● Lack of budget: 8.5%

How do people with visual impairment

navigate your website?

● Page headings: 65.6%

● Search features: 15.2%

● Page links: 9.8%

● Read through the pages: 6.7%

Are you surprised by this? People with

impairments believe that the internet is

inaccessible due to lack of awareness, and

they believe it is the job of website owners to

fix it.

Make your website more accessible, make the

internet a better place, and serve your

customers! Here are some tips:

Easy Wins:

● Use “alt” text on images.

● Limit usage of PDFs

● Properly associate labels to form fields.

● Use text, not pictures containing text.

● Provide video transcripts.

● Choose high contrasting colors.

If you’re having trouble reading this, imagine

what someone with visual impairment goes

through.

There are many ways you can make a site

more accessible. Here are some resources:

● W3C Tips: http://bit.ly/W3CAccess

● HowTo PDF:

http://bit.ly/MakeAccessBetter

● Color Blind Simulator: http://bit.ly/Coblis

● Find me on LinkedIn: http://bit.ly/HiKris