Web Design Discussion - Accessibility

Accessibility

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Forum Name: Web Design Discussion
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URL: https://forums.webwiz.net/forum_posts.asp?TID=17605
Printed Date: 29 March 2026 at 10:24am
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Topic: Accessibility

Posted By: seanlail
Subject: Accessibility
Date Posted: 21 December 2005 at 7:09pm

I was wondering what everyone's thoughts where on accessibility and WC3.

When designing / developing a site, do you use the WC3 validators?

I ask as I had an interview for a job within the government health sector (their website) and they kept on going on about "accessibility" and "you have to develop for the visually impaired".

My thoughts were that their site looked terrible (really really amatuerish in it's design) but they said it was as they developed it with only accessibility in mind.

W H Y ? ? ?

Ok, I get that they've got to enable their disabled or visually impaired users to freely use their website, but it just looks disgusting.

Their menu system was also confusing, which left me asking how that was "accessible"...

Anyways, I'm feeling kind of annoyed and irritated at the moment.

Any of you have similar experiences???

What would you say if someone told you to design like this???

Replies:

Posted By: dfrancis
Date Posted: 21 December 2005 at 8:24pm

In working with the US Government, I have found that there are requirements (Laws) that dictate that all govnt websites be accessible to people with disabilities. The US law is Section 508, from their website:

In 1998, Congress amended the Rehabilitation Act to require Federal agencies to make their electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities. Inaccessible technology interferes with an individual's ability to obtain and use information quickly and easily. Section 508 was enacted to eliminate barriers in information technology, to make available new opportunities for people with disabilities, and to encourage development of technologies that will help achieve these goals. The law applies to all Federal agencies when they develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology. Under Section 508 (29 U.S.C. � 794d), agencies must give disabled employees and members of the public access to information that is comparable to the access available to others. It is recommended that you review the laws and regulations listed below to further your understanding about Section 508 and how you can support implementation.

http://www.section508.gov/ - http://www.section508.gov/

Here's a little tidbit from an old man who has been developing Government and non-government websites since 1995, if you seek to make your sites WAI valid, you will be pleasantly surprised with your search engine rankings. Accessibility standards lend beautifully with "machine readable" sites and that my friend is one of the many keys to search engine friendliness.

So to answer your question... YES, I do my best to validate my sites.

http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/ - http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/
http://feedvalidator.org/ - http://feedvalidator.org/

http://validator.w3.org/ - http://validator.w3.org/

http://www.contentquality.com/ - http://www.contentquality.com/ (508 validator)

Posted By: seanlail
Date Posted: 21 December 2005 at 10:04pm

Hey man,

Thanks for the reply, will look into and read up on all this stuff.

Another question though:

With all these restrictions, can one still make a website look good?

As I posted originally, the site I saw was so amateurish in visual design that it left me feeling nothing for the company or their business.

Do you know of any examples of sites that use these accessibility rules and still have interesting / worthwhile visuals?

Posted By: dpyers
Date Posted: 22 December 2005 at 1:46pm

I always validate. I sell professional services and it's hard to explain to a customer why your site is invalid. Same applies if you do web development for any organization as a professional. Sooner or later someone tells the org that their site is invalid and they start questioning your capabilities.

You can go a long way towards accessibility just by asking yourself, "how would I know this if I couldn't see the picture"? The Lynx browser will become your friend.

Use alt and title attributes for images that actually explain something other than "img0073.jpg". Avoid javascript like the plague - especially for menues. Both techniques will almost guarentee highe SE placement by themselves.

Finally, remember that the primary business functionality targeted by many sites is not visual appeal. Make their business goals your own and you'll produce servicable wesites for them. Impose your goals on the site at the expense of theirs and the site will be useless to them.

-------------

Lead me not into temptation... I know the short cut, follow me.

Posted By: dfrancis
Date Posted: 22 December 2005 at 3:46pm

seanlail wrote:

Hey man,

Thanks for the reply, will look into and read up on all this stuff.

Another question though:

With all these restrictions, can one still make a website look good?

As I posted originally, the site I saw was so amateurish in visual design that it left me feeling nothing for the company or their business.

Do you know of any examples of sites that use these accessibility rules and still have interesting / worthwhile visuals?

Here is one: http://www.yourgeminihomes.com/ - http://www.yourgeminihomes.com/

It passes HTML, CSS and section 508. (Home page only as I am still building the site and her management system.)

http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fyourgeminihomes.com%2F&charset=%28detect+automatically%29&doctype=Inline&verbose=1 - http://validator.w3.org/check?uri=http%3A%2F%2Fyourgeminihomes.com%2F&charset=%28detect+automati cally%29&doctype=Inline&verbose=1
http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/validator?profile=css2&warning=2&uri=http%3A//yourgeminihomes.com/ - http://jigsaw.w3.org/css-validator/validator?profile=css2&warning=2&uri=http%3A//yourgeminih omes.com/
http://www.contentquality.com/mynewtester/cynthia.exe?rptmode=-1&url1=http%3A//yourgeminihomes.com/ - http://www.contentquality.com/mynewtester/cynthia.exe?rptmode=-1&url1=http%3A//yourgeminihomes.c om/

SEO notes: gemini homes no quotes

Google = top 5

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=gemini+homes - http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=gemini+homes

Yahoo = # 3

http://myweb2.search.yahoo.com/search?p=gemini+homes&sm=Yahoo%21+Search&fr=FP-tab-web-t&toggle=1&cop=&ei=UTF-8 - http://myweb2.search.yahoo.com/search?p=gemini+homes&sm=Yahoo%21+Search&fr=FP-tab-web-t& toggle=1&cop=&ei=UTF-8

MSN = #3

http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=gemini+homes&FORM=MSNH&srch_type=0 - http://search.msn.com/results.aspx?q=gemini+homes&FORM=MSNH&srch_type=0

AOL = #3

http://search.aol.com/aolcom/search?encquery=881f840953ec63084615630382c0510b&invocationType=aolcomsearch&ie=UTF-8 - http://search.aol.com/aolcom/search?encquery=881f840953ec63084615630382c0510b&invocationType=aol comsearch&ie=UTF-8

A9 = #3

http://a9.com/gemini%20homes - http://a9.com/gemini%20homes

Posted By: seanlail
Date Posted: 22 December 2005 at 4:28pm

Awesome stuff.

Thanks a lot, this is really helpful!!!