Overview of the Web Accessibility Initiative
This presentation covers:
- What is Web accessibility?
- Why is Web accessibility important for people with and without
disabilities?
- What is the World Wide Web Consortium doing to address Web accessibility?
- What resources are available to help make Web sites and Web applications
accessible?
- What actions are useful in promoting Web accessibility?
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Comments are welcome at wai-eo-editors@w3.org.
By Judy Brewer
and Participants of the
Education and Outreach Working Group.
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What is Web Accessibility?
Web accessibility means access to the Web by
everyone, regardless of disability.
Web accessibility includes:
- Web sites and applications that
- people with disabilities can perceive, understand, navigate, and
interact with
- Web browsers and media players that
- can be used effectively by people with disabilities
- work well with assistive technologies that some people with
disabilities use to access the Web
- Web authoring tools, and evolving Web technologies that
- support production of accessible Web content and Web sites
- can be used effectively by people with disabilities
Why is Web Accessibility an Issue?
There are several reasons why Web accessibility is important:
- Use of the Web is spreading rapidly into all areas of society.
- There are barriers on the Web for many types of disabilities.
- Millions of people have disabilities that affect access to the Web.
- Some Web sites are required to be accessible.
- Web accessibility also has carry-over benefits for other users.
The next slides explore these reasons in more detail.
Impact of the Web on People with Disabilities
The Web is becoming a key resource for:
- News, information, commerce, entertainment
- Classroom education, distance learning
- Job searching, workplace interaction
- Civic participation, government services
It is displacing traditional sources of information and interaction:
- Schools, libraries, print materials, discourse of the workplace
- Some of the traditional resources were accessible, some not.
An accessible Web means unprecedented access to information for people
with disabilities.
Web Accessibility is a Cross-Disability Issue
Examples of design requirements for people with different kinds of
disabilities include:
- Visual
- described graphics or video
- well marked-up tables or frames
- keyboard support, screen reader compatibility
- Hearing
- captioning for audio, supplemental illustration
- Physical, speech
- keyboard or single-switch support
- alternatives for speech input on voice portals
- Cognitive, neurological
- consistent navigation, appropriate language level
- illustration, no flickering or strobing design
Web Accessibility is a Marketplace Issue
At least 10% of the population in most countries has disabilities:
- Visual, auditory, physical, speech, cognitive, and neurological
disabilities can all affect access to the Web.
Average age of population in many countries is increasing.
- Aging sometimes results in combinations of accessibility issues.
- Vision and hearing changes, changes in dexterity and memory
Few organizations can afford to deliberately miss this market sector.
Accessibility Contributes to Universal Design (Design for All)
Accessible Web design contributes to better design for other users:
- Multi-modality (support for visual, auditory, tactile access) benefits
users of mobile phones with small display screens, Web-TV, kiosks.
- Multi-modality increases usability of Web sites in different situations.
- low bandwidth (images slow to download)
- noisy environments (difficult to hear the audio)
- screen-glare (difficult to see the screen)
- driving ("busy" eyes and hands)
- Redundant text/audio/video can support different learning styles, low literacy levels, second-language access.
- Style sheets can support more efficient page transmission and site maintenance.
Captioning of audio files supports better machine indexing of content and faster searching of content.
Web Accessibility is Sometimes a Requirement
Some governments require accessibility of specific kinds of Web
sites:
- Often required for government Web sites first
- Sometimes for educational or commercial sites
- Provinces, states, municipalities may have requirements.
- Corporations and non-governmental organizations sometimes set own
requirements.
Information on requirements in different countries is available at Policies Relating to Web
Accessibility.
W3C Plays Leading Role in Development of Web Technologies
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C):
The W3C:
W3C Hosts the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI)
The Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI):
- Coordinates with all the other domains of the W3C
- Operates internationally in all three host sites of W3C
WAI is sponsored by a variety
of government and industry supporters of accessibility:
WAI Uses a Partnership Approach
Many organizations from around the world participate in some part of WAI
work, including:
- Industry
- Disability organizations
- Accessibility research centers
- Government
- Schools and universities
WAI enables representatives from these different constituencies to:
- Work together at the design stage of key Web technologies
- Develop accessibility solutions by consensus under W3C Process
This process includes:
- Collaborative development in W3C working groups
- Extensive opportunities for public comment
Five Complementary Strategies for WAI Work
Because Web accessibility is a problem on many levels, WAI has five levels of
work:
- Ensure that Web technologies support accessibility
- Develop guidelines for accessibility
- Improve tools to evaluate and repair Web accessibility
- Conduct education and outreach
- Coordinate research and development
The next slides explore these five areas of work.
1. Ensure that Web Technologies Support Accessibility
The Protocols and Formats Working
Group:
- Ensures that W3C technologies support Web accessibility
- Reviews W3C specifications
- usually at Last Call Working Draft stage
- many technical experts from W3C working groups participate
- Produces requirements statements and review comments
- Is developing the XML Accessibility
Guidelines (XAG)
2. Develop Guidelines for Accessibility
Guidelines play a critical
role in making the Web accessible by explaining:
- How to create accessible Web sites
- How to design software that supports production of accessible Web sites
- How to design accessible browsers or authoring tools
- How to design XML applications that support accessibility
WAI has four different guidelines to address these different needs:
Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines
1.0:
- Were developed by the Web Content
Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (WCAG WG)
- Became a W3C Recommendation 5 May 1999
- Explain how to make accessible Web sites
- Contain general guidelines
- Have three priority levels of normative checkpoints
- Have extensive supporting resources (see next slide)
The WCAG WG
is currently developing an advanced
version, WCAG 2.0. However, WCAG 1.0:
- Remains the stable and referenceable version
- Will remain so for the foreseeable future
Supporting Resources for WCAG 1.0
There are extensive implementation support resources for WCAG 1.0,
including:
Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines
The Authoring Tool Accessibility Guidelines
1.0:
- Were developed by the Authoring Tool
Accessibility Guidelines Working Group (AUWG)
- Became a W3C Recommendation 3 February 2000
- Address software used to build Web sites, including:
- WYSIWYG editors
- conversion tools (word processors, presentation software)
- tools that dynamically generate Web pages from databases
- image editors, site management tools
- Address issues, including
- creation of valid content
- strategies for prompting, alerting, help, validation
- accessibility of the user interface
The AUWG is
currently working on an advanced version,
ATAG 2.0.
Supporting Resources for ATAG 1.0
Implementation support resources for
ATAG 1.0 include:
User Agent Accessibility Guidelines
The User Agent Accessibility
Guidelines 1.0 (UAAG 1.0):
- Were developed by the User Agent Accessibility Guidelines Working Group
(UAWG)
- Became a W3C Recommendation on 17 December 2002
- Address applications, including
- browsers
- multimedia players
- and their interoperability with assistive technologies
- Address issues, including
- accessibility of the user interface
- rendering of accessibility information
- user control of the software
- Contain general guidelines
- Have three priority levels of normative checkpoints
- Have extensive supporting resources (see next slide)
Supporting Resources for UAAG 1.0
There are extensive implementation
support resources for UAAG 1.0:
3. Improve Tools to Evaluate and Repair Web Accessibility
The Evaluation and Repair Tools
Working Group:
4. Conduct Education and Outreach
The Education and Outreach Working
Group:
- Develops resources and strategies to promote Web accessibility
Education and outreach materials include:
5. Coordinate Research and Development
The Research and Development Interest
Group:
- Holds teleconference seminars on different topics in Web R&D, such as
- Identifies potential research topics and posts them for public interest
Participation Opportunities in WAI
WAI Working and
Interest groups:
- Operate under W3C process
- Work via e-mail lists, the Web, telephone, and face-to-face meetings
- Include representatives from
- W3C Member organizations
- Invited Experts
- industry
- disability organizations
- accessibility research
- government
- schools and universities
- Have varying articipation requirements, including expertise and commitment level
- Welcome comments on draft documents
- Most WAI groups have publicly viewable mailing lists.
General discussion about Web accessibility takes place in the WAI Interest
Group.
Action Steps to Consider