A couple weeks ago we talked about the little things that make your site look professional (Checking your spelling, keeping it up to date, having easy to find contact info) Well, today, we want to go a little further.
There is a lot of buzz around the web about pending legislation for making 508 compliance mandatory for all US-based websites. We have to say that we are happy about that. What this means is that sites will be forced to be accessible to screen readers and other assistive devices. (My mom is a special education teacher, so making sites accessible is quite important to me.)
This goes beyond W3C compliance, although that is a good place to start. What exactly do you need? Alt tags and longdesc for images and elements that have no readable text. A text file alternative for imbedded flash. A good meta description and client side image maps. Row and column headers in your tables. Javascript should not change the meaning of the text presented in the HTML.
All of these are good practices, but it is time to start making them mandatory in all of the coding that you do. It is simple code changes that will save your clients money.
From the 508 web site:
§ 1194.22 Web-based intranet and internet information and applications.
(a) A text equivalent for every non-text element shall be provided (e.g., via “alt”, “longdesc”, or in element content).
(b) Equivalent alternatives for any multimedia presentation shall be synchronized with the presentation.
(c) Web pages shall be designed so that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup.
(d) Documents shall be organized so they are readable without requiring an associated style sheet.
(e) Redundant text links shall be provided for each active region of a server-side image map.
(f) Client-side image maps shall be provided instead of server-side image maps except where the regions cannot be defined with an available geometric shape.
(g) Row and column headers shall be identified for data tables.
(h) Markup shall be used to associate data cells and header cells for data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers.
(i) Frames shall be titled with text that facilitates frame identification and navigation.
(j) Pages shall be designed to avoid causing the screen to flicker with a frequency greater than 2 Hz and lower than 55 Hz.
(k) A text-only page, with equivalent information or functionality, shall be provided to make a web site comply with the provisions of this part, when compliance cannot be accomplished in any other way. The content of the text-only page shall be updated whenever the primary page changes.
(l) When pages utilize scripting languages to display content, or to create interface elements, the information provided by the script shall be identified with functional text that can be read by assistive technology.
(m) When a web page requires that an applet, plug-in or other application be present on the client system to interpret page content, the page must provide a link to a plug-in or applet that complies with §1194.21(a) through (l).
(n) When electronic forms are designed to be completed on-line, the form shall allow people using assistive technology to access the information, field elements, and functionality required for completion and submission of the form, including all directions and cues.
(o) A method shall be provided that permits users to skip repetitive navigation links.
(p) When a timed response is required, the user shall be alerted and given sufficient time to indicate more time is required.
Hopefully the web starts to be a more accessible place. If you are political, please support the legislation requiring all US based websites to be 508 compliant!
(image credit kodomut)
