May 2001

Design Your Web Pages for Everyone

When the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) launched the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), Tim Berners-Lee, director of the W3C and inventor of the Web, stated, "As we move towards a highly connected world, it is critical that the Web be usable by anyone, regardless of individual capabilities and disabilities." WAI created the "Web Content Accessibility Guidelines."

Although not required by law, many organizations are beginning to recommend (some, even mandate) that their Web pages follow the WAI Accessibility Guidelines. UNL does not mandate that Web authors follow the Guidelines; however, by following the Guidelines, you not only make your information easily accessible to a person with a disability, you also help someone who has an early version of a browser, a slow connection, or someone who may not speak or understand English fluently.

The Guidelines serve as a checklist for Web authors. Each item, or checkpoint, within the checklist is assigned a priority level based on its impact on accessibility. Within priority levels, checkpoints are grouped by general content functions and specialized functions: image maps, tables, frames, applets and scripts, multimedia, and forms. Follow the selected, general checkpoints listed below to have well-designed Web pages for everyone.

Selected Priority 1 Checkpoints

Priority 1 checkpoints must be satisfied, otherwise, one or more groups will find it impossible to access information in the document.

• Provide a text equivalent for every non-text element. The simplest of all accessibility attributes — the ALT (alternative) text attribute to the HTML element IMG (image) — is missing on many Web pages. Turn off the image loading in your Web browser, spend some time surfing the Web, and you will see how frustrating the experience is. See Figure 1.
• Ensure that all information conveyed with color is also available without color. For example, to convey structure, make sure information is available through other style effects (e.g., a font effect, header size). Also, when asking for input from users, do not write "Please select an item from those listed in green."
• If you use style sheets, organize documents so they may be read without style sheets.
• Use the clearest and simplest language appropriate for a site's content.
• If, after your best efforts to meet all Priority 1 checkpoints, you cannot create an accessible page, provide a link to a second version that uses W3C technologies. Update this second page as often as your original page.

Selected Priority 2 Checkpoints

Next, Priority 2 checkpoints should be satisfied, otherwise, one or more groups will find it difficult to access information in the document.

• Ensure that foreground and background color combinations provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having color deficits or when viewed on a black and white screen. NOTE: All studies have shown that black on white is best for readability.
• Use relative rather than absolute units in markup language attribute values and style sheet property values. For example, if you change the font size, use the + or – values, not the absolute values, like 12 point.
• Do not use quotation markup for formatting effects such as indentation.
• Use header elements (H1, H2, etc.) to convey document structure and use them according to specification.
• Mark up lists and list items properly.
• Explain links as clearly as possible and do not change the current window without informing the user.
• Ensure that dynamic content is accessible or provide an alternative presentation or page.
• Provide information about the general layout of the site (e.g., a site map or table of contents).
• Use navigation mechanisms in a consistent manner.

Selected Priority 3 Checkpoints

Finally, Priority 3 checkpoints may be addressed, otherwise, one or more groups will find it somewhat difficult to access information in the document.

• Until user agents (including assistive technologies) render adjacent links distinctly, include non-link, printable characters (surrounded by spaces) between adjacent links.
• Supplement text with graphic or auditory presentations where they will facilitate comprehension of the page.
• Create a style of presentation that is consistent across pages.

Don't Stop Here

1. Learn more about accessibility issues and coding.
   1. Land Grant Training Alliance online self-study course: Web Site Accessibility. Covers how to create, modify, and check your web pages to make them "universally accessible." [2006: This website is no longer available.]
   2. WebReview.com's series of articles from the book, WEB Accessibility for People with Disabilities, by Michael G. Paciello. Covers issues and advanced coding samples. The last article in the series, published April 27, 2001 provides a link to previous articles.
   3. If interested in making your site friendly to older users, consider the "Making Your Web Site Senior Friendly" checklist recently developed by the National Library of Medicine and the National Institute on Aging. NOTE: The checklist is presented in a PDF file so you will need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed.
2. Print out the "Checklist of Checkpoints for Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0" for the complete list of checkpoints. Using the online version gives you links to explanations of the checkpoints. Follow these checkpoints when you revise and create new pages.
3. Check your current pages for accessibility by using the Bobby evaluation tool. This web-based tool analyzes Web pages for their accessibility to people with disabilities. Other evaluation and repair tools are available from the WAI Resource page.

~ Pam Peters

CIT Information is published by Communications and Information Technology - Computing section, Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Newsletter articles may be copied and distributed for nonprofit, educational purposes only and the source must be acknowledged. Direct all correspondence to the editor, Pamela K. Peters (E-mail: pkpeters@unlnotes.unl.edu; Phone: 402/472-5630; FAX: 402/472-5639).

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