1. Access for all Why it’s important to make accessibility an integral part of your website design Donna Smillie Best Practice Officer (Accessible Websites) Royal National Institute of the Blind Goss Interactive Seminar April 2003

2. The Web - designed for access “The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.” Tim Berners-Lee W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web

3. Disabled people in the UK 8.5 million people with a disability (Source: Office of National Statistics) 2 million people with sight problems (Source: RNIB)

4. Users may not be able to.....see what’s on the screen..hear audio files or video sound tracks..use a mouse / use a keyboard..read easily or quickly, or cope with blinking or scrolling text..understand complex pages..use browser dependent plug-ins or scripts e.g. Flash, Java applets, JavaScript

5. What users can do Adjust PC settings –screen resolution, system font size Adjust browser settings –font size, text & background colours ‘Access technology’ / ‘Assistive technology’ –speech input –virtual keyboard & nudge switch –screen magnification –synthetic speech output / braille display

6. More about access technology RNIB website - http://www.rnib.org.uk –Fact sheets –Local agencies database –Regional resource centres –Suppliers AbilityNet website - http://www.abilitynet.org.uk –Info about access technology –Fact sheets –Suppliers

7. The WAI guidelines Web Content Accessibility Guidelines http://www.w3.org/TR/WAI-WEBCONTENT –Published by the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI), part of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) –Comprehensive guidance on accessible design, with examples and suggested techniques –Useful list of accessibility checkpoints for use when designing / checking pages for accessibility

8. Standards & Guidelines WAI Web Content Accessibility Guidelines –‘A’, ‘AA’, ‘AAA’ Bobby RNIB ‘See it Right’ UK Government guidelines e-Europe initiative Section 508 (USA)

9. The current trend in UK & Europe e-Europe - Commitment to accessibility –http://europa.eu.int/information_society/ topics/citizens/accessibility/ (single URL, no spaces) UK Government - Guidelines for government websites includes section on accessibility –http://www.e-envoy.gov.uk (Resources - Guidelines) Disability Discrimination Act 1995 - Code of practice for section 3 (Provision of Goods & Services) now includes a website as an example –http://www.disability.gov.uk/dda/

10. Key issues Layout & design Flash, scripts, mutimedia Text, contrast & colour Images & graphics Links Forms

11. Old Abbey National site...

12. …without graphics - no content!

13. New Abbey National site...

14. …without graphics - much better...

15. …and the text resizes too

16. Sites designed for accessibility... Are quicker and easier for everyone to use Are more likely to work on new and emerging technologies as well as with access technology Reach the largest possible audience Contribute to creating a positive image Help to demonstrate a commitment to avoiding discrimination against people with disabilities

17. Some useful tools Vischeck - online colour blindness simulator –http://www.vischeck.com Lynx - free text browser –http://lynx.browser.org Bobby - check your pages re WAI guidelines –http://bobby.watchfire.com/bobby/ Access Adobe - accessing PDF documents –http://access.adobe.com

18. Further information... Campaign for Good Web Design http://www.rnib.org.uk/digital/ Accessible Web Design: hints for designing accessible websites http://www.rnib.org.uk/digital/hints.htm ‘See it Right’ Accessible Website logo scheme http://www.rnib.org.uk/digital/siraccess/ (All have links to useful information elsewhere on the Web)

19. RNIB consultancy RNIB ‘See it Right’ Web Consultancy Practical advice on accessible web design Website audits & logo scheme Talks and seminars For more information: Telephone :+44 (020) 7391 2178 Email :webaccess@rnib.org.uk