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Web Accessibility

Creating accessible websites helps meet legal requirements while broadening your website's audience.

What is Web Accessibility?

Simply put, a website is accessible if any person can reach their desired content.

It sounds simple, but have you ever imagined trying to navigate a website without a mouse? People with visual and physical disablities manage this task everyday.

Through the use of Assistive Technologies, people with disabilities are just as able to reach your website as those without.

If you're interested in learning how people with these disabilites access the web, the short video "Keeping Web Accessibility in Mind" is a great resource. It's aimed for educational institutes, but has great examples of how users with disabilites access the web.

There are several types of disabilities that can affect a person's ability to use your website:

  • Visual Disabilities: Blindness, Low vision, Color blindness
  • Physical Disabilities: Mobility impairment, ALS, MS
  • Cognitive Disabilities: Dyslexia, ADHD, Seizure disorders

Why is Web Accessibility important?

There are several reasons why website accessibility makes sense, but for the sake of brevity, we will focus on only two here: Meeting legal requirements, and broadening your website's potential audience.

Meets Legal Requirements

Did you know, that according to Section 508 guidelines, "a text equivalent for every non-text element shall be provided". This includes all images shown.

Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act is a law that applies to all Federal agencies. Its goal is to make electronic information accessible to people with disabilities.

If you are a Federal agency, you "must give disabled employees and members of the public access to information that is comparable to the access available to others."*

But even if you aren't a Federal agency, you may still be required to meet accessibility guidelines. The retailer Target settled a class-action lawsuit and is to pay $6 million in fines.

By ensuring your website is accessible, you can be certain your website meets its legal requirements.

Improving Search Engine Rankings

Making your website accessible to people with disabilities also makes it easier to access and index by search engines like Google, Yahoo!, MSN, and Bing. The easier it is to use by search engines, the easier it is to find by customers.

Broadens your Website's Potential Audience

Web accessibility benefits everyone, not just disabled people. An accessible website will be easier to use and more adaptable to different environments. A website that is accessible for people with physical disabilities is more likely to function on a mobile phone.

By ensuring your website is accessible, you guarantee that the 15% of users out there with a disability aren't blocked from accessing your product. You also ensure that people with iPhones and other smart phones are able to easily access your information, even with such a small screen.

How can CMS help ensure my website is accessible?

Cibolo Media Services is well-trained in building Section 508 compliant websites. CMS can handle the development and testing of an accessible website. CMS can also retrofit your current website to meet the Section 508 guidelines. Get in touch!

Accessibility Resources

For more information about website accessibility and Section 508, please visit the following links:

* Content from http://www.section508.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=Content&ID=3

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