Web Design for the Disabled
What is web accessibility?
The term web accessibility is used to describe the degree to which a web site is usable by as many people as possible without modification.
Web site visitors with physical disabilities are the main subject of this article. Other kinds of disabilities and devices will also be mentioned, because considering one accessibility issue often automatically helps solving an other.
Many users operate computers in a different way than the average web user or designer. And it is not possible to guess the users abilities and environment reliably. Maybe they are not able to see, hear or move their hands normally. Maybe they are temporarily disabled (for example a broken arm) or they are not able to use a keyboard or mouse (for example motor disability, defective or malfunctioning hardware). Some people use a text-only screen, a small screen, or a slow Internet connection. Others do not speak or understand the used language fluently. Web site visitors sometimes are in an unusual situation where their eyes, ears, or hands are busy or interfered with, for example driving a car, on the phone or working in a loud environment. The group of users with early browser versions, entirely different browsers, a voice browser, or different operating systems is growing. Or maybe the visitor just wants to use their system in a different way, for example lean back and read large text or display web sites black and white to prevent the boss from realizing that they are surfing the web.