By Eddy R.
7-06-00

Developing Web sites is a complicated process. Several factors such as Layout, Design, Navigation, Content, and Information Architecture, must be considered to come up with a product that is both accessible and usable.

Accessibility

In October 1997, the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), launched the Web Accessibility Initiative with only one goal in mind - to make the Web more accessible for people with disabilities.

Up until a few years ago, Web developers used to design their web documents pretty much the way they wanted to, that is with no regard as to who would or wouldn't be able to access their work. Graphics were unlabeled, tables and frames were poorly marked-up, video was undescribed, screen reader compatibility as well as captioning for audio lacked, text had no visual signposts, consistent navigation structure didn't exist, documents were presented in a complex manner, etc. These factors, presented a barrier to people with different kinds of disabilities. Granted, today there are still many web developers who develop their sites without taking into account that group in their target audience with disabilities - ever seen images without ALT attributes?

Why should I take Accessibility into account when developing my site? - you might ask. There are several reasons why Web accessibility is important and why you should seriously consider it when designing web documents. For instance, the use of the Web is spreading rapidly not just into one, but into all areas of society. Millions of people access the web every day for the first time - this should be incentive enough to design web accessible documents, if not, it might help to know that the Government is also taking Web accessibility into account.

Accessibility not only refers to the ability of individuals with disabilities to access electronic information, but also to individuals with older modems, earlier versions of browsers, old hardware and software, and slow Internet connections that should have equal access to such information. So, why design accessible web documents? Because it makes sense to do it. Designing with accessibility in mind has carry-over benefits. Think of it this way; there more accessible your work is to others, the more usable it'll become!

Usability

Accessibility and Usability are closely related to one another.

Usability really refers to how easy to use a Web site is. This involves designing sites with the following characteristics: Consistent navigation, content that is easy to find, content that is easy to index - therefore contributing to faster searches, resources linked to one another in a manner that they make sense to the target audience, etc. Factors like these make a web site usable.

Why design with Usability in mind? Simple; the more usable your work is, the more popular and highly acclaimed among your target audience it will be.

Remember, developing Web documents with Accessibility and Usability in mind can result in you getting the right kind of attention as professional Web Developer, your organization looking good to its clientele, and most important of all, a happy audience.