Website Usability

8 Tips to make your site accessible

Nowadays, it is a common knowledge among web masters and web specialists that the web accessibility issue is a key matter in order to gain more traffic. At the same time, this is also a matter of common sense that anyone should care about. Note that accessibility is different from usability! While usability stands for the interface ease of use and for the content's readability, the accessibility refers more to the ability of a site to be used by as many people as possible.

Why is accessibility important?

Broadly speaking, web sites have to cater for all tastes and needs. There are different kinds of internet users besides "normal" ones, which a site should be addressed to:

• persons with eye disabilities
• people who owe downgraded computer configurations
• people who use different internet browsers

On top of that, web content should also be more available to all users regardless of the user agent they have (computer browser, mobile phone or voice browser) or of the external factors that affect the environment (too much light or noise). Another reason why site accessibility is worth considering is the rapidity of finding information in which everybody is interested.

Language is a problem that must be taken into account: users from anywhere might visit your site and might not fully understand the language of your site.

But, maybe the most important explanation of the importance of accessibility is the fact that it lowers costs and brings profit. Subsequently, why not bother finding out ways to make your site more accessible?

• Validate HTML documents beforehand!
  Using HTML is certainly one of the most important features which should be considered with the view to increase your site accessibility. But the matter is not as simple as it may appear: much attention is needed, taking into consideration the fact that there are different types of browsers, some older and some newer, providing different ways of validating HTML. In order to be sure about your HTML text, you could use specialized programs like: W3C HTML Validator or WDG HTML Validator enabling you to correct the possible "spelling" errors that you didn't notice. Beware of the many programs claiming they can validate HTML


• Draw attention wisely!
  On the other hand, when you think of using HTML, do not employ it only in an aesthetic purpose; the emphasis should be laid on the structure and on the content, rather than the presentation itself. For instance, when you use bold, you should always use it in order to highlight a statement, an idea, a problem, not only for catching the eye. For strong emphasis, use EM or STRONG elements.


• ALT as a textual option
  With reference to the images, when using IMG and AREA, you should also provide ALT as an alternative; its purpose is functional, rather than descriptive. Nevertheless, should you want a decorative image, use ALT="", which is indicative of the absence of image content.


• Do not replace text with images
  Choosing to replace text with images usually reduces web site design accessibility. By and large, text is more flexible providing users the possibility to choose font. Consequently, not doing so may result in a poor image quality on some hardware configurations.


• Color suggestions
  1. Be sure to specify all color attributes; they are sure to provide accessibility for a good website! The risks of not specifying them all involve inaccessibility on the part of the users whose browser colors might not match those specified by the author. Specifying a hexadecimal triplet in the <#rrggbb> or <#RRGGBB> forms is almost of vital importance on the grounds of the fact that older browsers might not support color names.
  2. At the same time, authors should be sensible when choosing a color for the text, meaning that it should be easy to read on the screen; in this respect, the color of the text should obviously be in contrast with that on the background.
  3. It is highly recommended that the visited and the not visited links shouldn't be the same color, due to the users' potential confusion.
  To find out more about this issue read our article: Choosing the Right Colors for Your Web Site


• Use relative FONT sizes
  When talking about HTML, one cannot fail to mention FONT, which is another accessibility issue with websites. FONT should rather be avoided - this is certainly a strong tip to improve site accessibility. Make sure that you let the user the possibility to change font size! Relative FONT sizes are preferable.
  Again, FONT is another aspect related to the form of the website. So, do not try only to draw attention without having reasonable content!


• Do not rely on JAVA scripts
  Some browsers do not provide support for Java scripts; therefore sometimes it would be better if you didn't use it. Nonetheless, Java scripts are usually known as factors to increase accessibility, providing helpful hints to users.
  
  The main suggestions regarding this matter are:
  1. To ensure the Java scripts accessibility.
  2. To offer a non-Java alternative.


• Organize your Page
  • Ensure that you have a relevant content structure, for a better understanding.
  • When giving links, it is advisable that you mention the entire link lest the visitors be confused regarding its destination.
  • CSS might be a good idea in order to emphasize textual links; providing more visual impact on the user.
  • The presence of a site map, a search box or a site logo are hints indicative of an accessible website.
  • Testing your site on real users in advance is a good way to analyze its accessibility and to foresee to some extent future site traffic.
  The bottom line is to keep the content simple, clear and easy to scan.

• website traffic
• ease of finding information
• rapidity of getting what you search for
• higher engine ranking
• preventing risk of legal action on the part of the people with special needs
• better server performance
• better website reach
• faster download times
• website PR increase
• avoidance of bandwidth bottlenecks

• Validate HTML documents beforehand
• Catch the eye with ideas not with layout
• Provide ALT as a textual option
• Use contrastive colors
• Avoid images of text
• Relative fonts are better
• Offer non-Java alternative
• Keep content simple, clear and easy to scan