Federal regulations adopted in 2002 brought new attention to this issue, since Section 508 requires that Federal agencies have accessible websites. Whether or not this applies to other groups (non-federal agencies that collect federal funding) is a matter of debate, but at the University of Arizona a policy was adopted in mid 2001 supporting making sites accessible. Examples of website accessibility problems and coding to fix these problems can be found at uaweb.arizona.edu/resources/accessibility.shtml.

What are some things done on a site that make it inaccessible?

• Using images without having alternative text (the ALT tag) for each image. This is particularly true if site names and identification are found in graphics, so someone using a screen reader or who has graphics turned off does not know where they are (in web space).
• Having navigation dependent on an imagemap but not providing a text-only alternative page or duplicate text links at the bottom.
• Using colors against each other which do not have a high contrast; or using colors to convey meaning (such as saying: "The publications marked in red are new items."
• Having links which don't convey meaning, particularly the use of "click here" for the link. Although a person seeing a site could see surrounding text explaining the link, persons who are blind and using screen readers will often go through a site's main page by "listening" ONLY to the text indicated as the link. Hearing "click here" is not helpful to such persons.
• Using frames without having a non-frame alternative or which do not have good titles for the frames.
• Conveying data in charts and graphs without providing a text summary.Using forms which not have label attributes (used only by screen readers to associate particular text on the screen with a given form).
• Using scripts or applets which require sight to see the information. Text scrolling in a box is an example, but there are other scripts and applets which require site.

In Lesson 4, I talked about adding alternative text for all images on a site, as well as hot spots on an imagemap and I will discuss problems that PDF files create for blind users in another tip.

If you would like to see a video clip illustrating two simple tests you can do on a site, check out ftp://ag.arizona.edu/dept/ecat/general/accessibility-tips.exe. This is a Camtasia file made a couple years ago (like some of the other videos on the class CDs), but this is an .exe file so it can only be run on a Windows or NT computer or a machine that can run a Windows program. The file is some 18 megabytes in size, so don't try to download this over a slow Internet connection.