Web accessibility, or eAccessibility,European Commission, Communication from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament and the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions: eAccessibility , [SEC(2005)1095], published 13 September 2005, accessed 19 November 2021 is the inclusive practice of ensuring there are no barriers that prevent interaction with, or access to, websites on the World Wide Web by people with disabilities, including both physical and mental disabilities. Through the curb cut effect, it also benefits people with situational disabilities and those with socio-economic restrictions on bandwidth and speed. When sites are correctly designed, developed and edited, more users have equal access to information and functionality.
For example, when a site is coded with semantically meaningful HTML, with textual equivalents provided for images and with links named meaningfully, this helps blind users using text-to-speech software and/or text-to-Braille hardware. When text and images are large and/or enlargeable, it is easier for users with poor sight to read and understand the content. When links are underlined (or otherwise differentiated) as well as colored, this ensures that color blind users will be able to notice them. When clickable links and areas are large, this helps users who cannot control a mouse with precision. When pages are not coded in a way that hinders navigation by means of the keyboard alone, or a single switch access device alone, this helps users who cannot use a mouse or even a standard keyboard. When videos are closed captioned, chaptered, or a sign language version is available, deaf and hard-of-hearing users can understand the video. When flashing effects are avoided or made optional, users prone to seizures caused by these effects are not put at risk. Additionally, when content is written in plain language and illustrated with instructional diagrams and animations, users with dyslexia and learning difficulties are better able to understand the content. Accessibility considerations have increasingly been incorporated into website builders such as Wix, Duda, and Webnode, which offer tools to help create more accessible web content. When sites are correctly built and maintained, all of these users can be accommodated without decreasing the usability of the site for non-disabled users.
The needs that web accessibility aims to address include: Visual: Visual impairments including blindness, various common types of low vision and poor eyesight, various types of color blindness; Motor/mobility: e.g. difficulty or inability to use the hands, including tremors, muscle slowness, loss of fine muscle control, etc., due to conditions such as Parkinson's disease, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, stroke; Auditory: Deafness or hearing impairments, including individuals who are hard of hearing; Seizures: Photo epileptic seizures caused by visual strobe or flashing effects. Cognitive and intellectual: Developmental disabilities, learning difficulties (dyslexia, dyscalculia, etc.), and cognitive disabilities (PTSD, Alzheimer's) of various origins, affecting memory, attention, developmental "maturity", problem-solving and logic skills, etc.
Accessibility is not confined to the list above; rather, it extends to anyone who is experiencing any permanent, temporary or situational disability. Situational disability refers to someone who may be experiencing a boundary based on the current experience. For example, a person may be situationally one-handed if they are carrying a baby. Web accessibility should be mindful of users experiencing a wide variety of barriers. According to a 2018 WebAIM global survey of web accessibility practitioners, close to 93% of survey respondents received no formal schooling on web accessibility.
Assistive technologies used for web browsing Individuals living with a disability use assistive technologies such as the following to enable and assist web browsing: Screen reader software, which can read out, using synthesized speech, either selected elements of what is being displayed on the monitor (helpful for users with reading or learning difficulties), or which can read out everything that is happening on the computer (used by blind and vision impaired users). Braille terminals, consisting of a refreshable braille display which renders text as braille characters (usually by means of raising pegs through holes in a flat surface) and either a mainstream keyboard or a braille keyboard. Screen magnification software, which enlarges what is displayed on the computer monitor, making it easier to read for vision impaired users. Speech recognition software that can accept spoken commands to the computer, or turn dictation into grammatically correct text – useful for those who have difficulty using a mouse or a keyboard. Keyboard overlays, which can make typing easier or more accurate for those who have motor control difficulties. Access to subtitled or sign language videos for deaf people.
Guidelines on accessible web design
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
In 1999 the Web Accessibility Initiative, a project by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), published the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines WCAG 1.0.
On 11 December 2008, the WAI released the WCAG 2.0 as a Recommendation. WCAG 2.0 aims to be up to date and more technology neutral. Though web designers can choose either standard to follow, the WCAG 2.0 have been widely accepted as the definitive guidelines on how to create accessible websites. Governments are steadily adopting the WCAG 2.0 as the accessibility standard for their own websites. In 2012, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines were also published as an ISO/IEC standard: "ISO/IEC 40500:2012: Information technology – W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0".ISO: ISO/IEC 40500:2012: Information technology – W3C Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 . In 2018, the WAI released the WCAG 2.1 Recommendation that extends WCAG 2.0.
Criticism of WAI guidelines There has been some criticism of the W3C process, claiming that it does not sufficiently put the user at the heart of the process. There was a formal objection to WCAG's original claim that WCAG 2.0 will address requirements for people with learning disabilities and cognitive limitations headed by Lisa Seeman and signed by 40 organizations and people. In articles such as "WCAG 2.0: The new W3C guidelines evaluated", "To Hell with WCAG 2.0" and "Testability Costs Too Much", the WAI has been criticised for allowing WCAG 1.0 to get increasingly out of step with today's technologies and techniques for creating and consuming web content, for the slow pace of development of WCAG 2.0, for making the new guidelines difficult to navigate and understand, and other argued failings.
Guidelines for different components
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines (ATAG) ATAG contains 28 checkpoints that provide guidance on: producing accessible output that meets standards and guidelines promoting the content author for accessibility-related information providing ways of checking and correcting inaccessible content integrating accessibility in the overall look and feel making the authoring tool itself accessible to people with disabilities
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG)
WCAG 1.0: 14 guidelines that are general principles of accessible design WCAG 2.0: 4 principles that form the foundation for web accessibility; 12 guidelines (untestable) that are goals for which authors should aim; and 65 testable success criteria. The W3C's Techniques for WCAG 2.0 is a list of techniques that support authors to meet the guidelines and success criteria. The techniques are periodically updated whereas the principles, guidelines and success criteria are stable and do not change.
User Agent Accessibility Guidelines (UAAG) UAAG contains a comprehensive set of checkpoints that cover: access to all content user control over how content is rendered user control over the user interface standard programming interfaces
Web accessibility legislation Because of the growth in internet usage and its growing importance in everyday life, countries around the world are addressing digital access issues through legislation. One approach is to protect access to websites for people with disabilities by using existing human or civil rights legislation. Some countries, like the U.S., protect access for people with disabilities through the technology procurement process. It is common for nations to support and adopt the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 by referring to the guidelines in their legislation. Compliance with web accessibility guidelines is a legal requirement primarily in North America, Europe, parts of South America and parts of Asia.
Argentina Law 26.653 on Accessibility to Information on Web Pages. Approved by the National Congress of Argentina on November 3, 2010. It specifies in its Article 1 that both the National State and its decentralized organisms or those companies that are related in any way with public services or goods, must respect the rules and requirements on accessibility in the design of their web pages. The objective is to facilitate access to contents to all persons with disabilities, in order to guarantee equal opportunities in relation to access to information and to avoid discrimination.
In addition, by Decree 656/2019 the regulation of the aforementioned Law No. 26,653 is approved and it is reported that the authority in charge of its application will be the ONTI, "" (National Office of Information Technologies). This agency is in charge of assisting and/or advising the individuals and legal entities reached by this Law; in addition to disseminating, approving/updating and also controlling the fulfillment of the accessibility standards and requirements of the web pages; among other functions.
Australia In 2000, an Australian blind man won a $20,000 court case against the Sydney Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (SOCOG). This was the first successful case under Disability Discrimination Act 1992 because SOCOG had failed to make their official website, Sydney Olympic Games, adequately accessible to blind users. The Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (HREOC) also published World Wide Web Access: Disability Discrimination Act Advisory Notes. All Governments in Australia also have policies and guidelines that require accessible public websites.
Brazil In Brazil, the federal government published a paper with guidelines for accessibility on 18 January 2005, for public reviewing. On 14 December 2005, the second version was published, including suggestions made to the first version of the paper. On 7 May 2007, the accessibility guidelines of the paper became compulsory to all federal websites. The current version of the paper, which follows the WCAG 2.0 guidelines, is named , for (Electronic Government Accessibility Model), and is maintained by Brazilian Ministry of Planning, Budget, and Management.
The paper can be viewed and downloaded at its official website.
Canada In 2011, the Government of Canada began phasing in the implementation of a new set of web standards that are aimed at ensuring government websites are accessible, usable, interoperable and optimized for mobile devices. These standards replace Common Look and Feel 2.0 (CLF 2.0) Standards for the Internet.