Honestly... is your site Accessible?
22/03/06 02:10 PM
I’ve just read a good article over at Simon Kitson’s website about web accessibility, asking is your site really accessible? Read it yourselves but basically it’s asking how can we really know if the sites we build are fully accessible without asking disabled web users to test them for us?
I have downloaded screen readers such as JAWS, text-only browsers like LYNX, even applications that simulate colour blindness like Vischeck – apparently 1 in 20 people have some sort of colour vision deficiency so it makes sense to build sites that can be used by that quite huge number of people. But really, it needs a person with Deuteranope, Protanope or Tritanope to test it properly. Know anyone? Nor do I. Do you have a braille printer so you can test your stylesheet? Me either.
I don’t know any physically disabled people who cannot use a mouse either, so tabindexes and access keys are still only really tested by me.
In his article Simon stated:
What we as designers now need is somewhere online to congregate with disabled users who are willing to test websites, ideally without cost, to the benefit of all of us. Does such a place exist? Or is that the next challenge?
I couldn’t agree more. Does anyone know of one?
commenting closed for this article
On Thursday March 23, 2006,
trovster said:
Developers can only do so much, such as implement best-practices and carry out automated tests.
Budgets and clients rarely allow for complex user-testing. But the idea of a service where tests by disabled users can be carried out on sites and feedback left, sounds like a great idea.
On Thursday March 23, 2006,
kitsimons said:
Even if a client had the budget, you’d have to work overtime to convince them of it’s worth.
The unfortunate reality is that an average client either doesn’t care, doesn’t understand, or both.
That said, does anyone know any good resources or articles that deal with “selling” the benefits of accessibility to clients?