Accessibility

What is web accessibility?

Accessibility means that the pages on your web site are accessible to any user, not just a sighted user who looks at your pages.

A blind user may access your site with a screen reader or, perhaps, a braille writer. A person with limited mobility may have difficulty or be completely unable to use a mouse. By making your site accessible these users are not locked out of your web site.

This is important for three reasons

  • The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission prohibits discrimination on the basis of disabilities, and it has determined that this prohibition applies to web sites.
  • It makes good business sense to have your site available to as wide a customer base as possible.
  • Search engines are blind, so an accessible site is more likely to rank well with a search engine.

Standards Markup

By utilising web standards it is easier to make a site accessible.

WAI Guidelines

By following the W3C Web Accessibility Initiative guidelines we can produce a site which is likely to be accessible to as many people as possible./