Hawaii State Department of Education
The web is all about greater access to information. "Accessibility" is about making sure your
web site is accessible to those with disabilities. |
Getting motivated...
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 require that state and local governments insure that their web sites are accessible to people with disabilities. For a good introduction, see
- Introduction: Accessibility of State and Local Government Websites to People with Disabilities (U.S. Department of Justice)
Understanding the goal...
Instead of creating its own standards, the ADA web site (above) refers us to established Federal and industry standards:
- Section 508 guide
... the authoritative source
- Web Content Accessibility resources developed by the Web Accessibility Initiative. See also: Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
In the details there are some differences, but they both have the same goal.
What does this mean practically speaking?
According to one university, the most common problems are...
- Images without alternative text, also known as alt tags
- Lack of alternative text for image map hot-spots
- Uncaptioned audio or video
- Lack of alternative information for users who cannot access frames or scripts
- Tables that are difficult to decipher when ‘linearized’ by a screen reader
- Websites with poor color contrast
Here are some hints on how to correct problems:
- Access Board (Section 508) guide for web developers
- ADA Website Accessibility Checklist
- Section 508 Self-Evaluation (U.S. Dept of Justice) .. with hints for correcting problems
* Also see: free or commercial programs
Getting to Work...
Options...
- Use a checklist... take your pick)
- The web guy's checklist
- ADA Checklist
- Illinois State Univ Checklist... with hints for correcting problems
- Use one of the free or commercial programs* to scan your pages. Some scan one page at a time; others a whole web site.
- Questions Answered by the Experts ... advice addressing some of the common, important, and/or interesting issues involving Section 508, Section 255, and the universal design of technology.
© Hawaii State Department of Education, P.O. Box 2360, Honolulu, HI 96804; Physical address: 1390 Miller St, Honolulu, HI 96813; phone: 808-586-3230; fax: 808-586-3234. All rights reserved. For problems/questions concerning this web site, please email the webmaster. Links to other web sites should not be considered an endorsement. DOE is not responsible for the content of external web sites.