Techshare

Hidden barriers to accessibility - Techshare 2007 presentation

Summary: Techshare 2007 presentation

• Avoid the hidden barriers to accessibility – produce truly inclusive websites
• Objectives of presentation
• Outcomes for audience

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Avoid the hidden barriers to accessibility – produce truly inclusive websites

Bim Egan, Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB)

A rapidly growing number of web designers, developers and authors are aware of accessibility as an issue on the web, and try to ensure that their websites are accessible.

Unfortunately, it's possible to build in 'too much' accessibility, overusing certain accessibility features and techniques. This often happens because of an incomplete understanding of how people with various disabilities actually access web pages and websites. Inappropriate use of accessibility features can also create problems for people with mobility and cognitive difficulties, whose needs may not even have been considered.

This presentation illustrates the most significant of these issues, discusses the problems that can be caused by these hidden barriers, and outlines best practice in these areas.

Objectives of presentation

• Raise awareness of issues that can arise, even in conformant websites.
• Highlight the need to avoid techniques that, in trying to help one disabled user group, create barriers for others.
• To provide guidance on how to avoid creating hidden barriers.

Outcomes for audience

• Avoid costly design errors and produce more inclusive websites.

Prior knowledge of topic assumed: Low
Contains advanced technical content: No

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Content author: techshare@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 08/04/2008 18:38