Post 6. Accessibility

            I admit that when I saw the topic of Accessibility, I thought only of people with impaired hearing or vision. I had assumed that most accessibility issues would be solved through the use of a screen reader. I had never actually used a screen reader, but I was familiar with the concept from my working on Web sites through my jobs. I had not really considered other aspects of accessibility, such as the color of text for people with impaired vision or colorblindness. I also had never considered altering text to make it simpler for people with cognitive disabilities. I had not considered the difficulties people with disabilities such as dyslexia encounter when trying to navigate a site.

            The site’s we visited not only detailed the kinds of difficulties and challenges users with disabilities face; they also presented a variety of practical solutions. Of this week’s site visits, the site I found most helpful was Mark Pilgrim’s Dive into Accessibility. I found his method of explaining how certain techniques would be useful to users with different kinds of disabilities. One of the other more useful is making everything on the page searchable. I also enjoyed that he included how these tips could be useful to Google’s search capabilities. I think this aspect shows how making some modifications for accessibility can benefit your site beyond accommodating your audience. These readings were also helpful in pointing out that there is a wide range of people with disabilities that are affected by how you create your web site, though I have to say that the thought of incorporating all of these suggestions seems a little overwhelming. 

Comments

[Alan Brody]

Beka:

I think you struck a critical chord when you said that modifications would improve the website in general. I want to argue that quality code is just that a way to attract visitors.

Alan

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