Having accessible web content is important to many people for several reasons. It’s necessary to understand why and how to create accessible web pages to improve everyone’s experience online.
Accessibility Matters
Video Transcript
If you were browsing the internet and came across this video, would you be able to tell me what it was about? Probably not, right? But for people with a visual impairment content like this can be really hard to view.
Now let’s add some images. It’s a little bit easier to understand isn’t it? We know that we’re on the Boise State campus, we know that it’s morning and that frost is on the ground and we know that the campus is pretty much deserted except for a few stragglers. For people with an auditory or visual impairment, accessing the Internet can be a lot like what you just went through. In a day and age where the Internet is becoming more and more important to our daily lives, people with disabilities seem to be getting left out. Our businesses are required to be wheelchair accessible, television stations have to run closed captioning for people with hearing disabilities,
News Anchor: “…less food industry. I’m Carl Azuz we’re starting….”
But what about the Internet? How do we solve this problem? The answer lies within web accessibility.
In a small building on the fringes of Boise State’s campus, the web accessibility team works with Web administrators to make the Boise State website more accessible for people with disabilities. The team scans the website constantly for errors and website administrators make sure the images have alternative text in order for screen readers to read them for blind people and that videos have closed captioning for people with hearing disabilities. Those in the deaf community say that this makes all the difference.
Allison Gonzalez, Educational Access Center: “Web accessibility is important to all people, especially those people who are deaf or hard of hearing. Educational content is one thing all students should have access to regardless of disabilities.”
As more and more university classes gear towards programs that encourage online education, such as blackboard or power school, Gonzales says that parents like herself with deaf children have more and more concerns.
Gonzalez: “I know here at Boise State that web accessibility is a top priority for us. I know some of the other colleges, C of I for example, it’s also a priority for them but if you don’t know, if you don’t have somebody working on your campus who knows how to make it accessible it can be a real challenge.”
As we continue to gear toward an online world, our world must continue to change for those with disabilities.
Creating Accessible Web Content
There are multiple aspects that go into creating accessible web content, but with practice, it is simple.
Get Familiar with Guidelines
Content creators should get familiar with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, or WCAG. They set the standards for web accessibility.
Accessibility Conformance Levels
| Good | Better | Best |
|---|---|---|
| A | AA | AAA |
Websites are categorized by how well they meet these standards, shown by what A-level they get.
Principles
Typically, standards are added by software developers to the platforms themselves. But sometimes, more are added by the content creator. These standards are sectioned into four principles:
- Perceivable
- Operable
- Understandable
- Robust
As a content creator, you must make sure that anyone of any ability can access your work. Following guidelines and understanding the principles will tremendously help you in this process.