BOOK REVIEW: Constructing Accessible Web Sites

As mentioned at today's meeting.  Andrew

BOOK REVIEW: Constructing Accessible Web Sites

This book addresses a pressing need in the increasingly complex world of the
Web: accessibility. From 15 to 30% of the general population has some
functional limitation when using technology products. Nearly 10% of Internet
users have a disability of some kind. That's tens of millions of people in
the US and hundreds of
millions of people worldwide. Seniors are joining the online throng in
droves.  All these numbers mean that addressing Web site accessibility
issues is no longer an option, it's a necessity.

But accessibility is not just about following standards and adding ALT tags.
Everybody has the right to information on the Web, regardless of disability,
location, language, or any other factor. This "access for all" viewpoint
requires a different approach than the last-minute band-aid accessibility
we've seen in the past.
This book shows you how to integrate accessibility into your design process
to improve your bottom line. As Vint Cerf said last time, "The Internet is
for Everybody."

This book is a team effort, written by a cast of eight experts, including
Bob Regan of Macromedia. Regan, Senior Product Manager for Accessibility,
talks about the new accessibility features of Flash MX, which was just
released recently. Each author addresses topics in their areas of expertise.
Glasshaus has got the formula
down now, hire a bunch of experts, and crank out a book in record time.

Everything from legal issues, assistive technology, accessible content,
navigation, and data input to testing for Section 508 compliance are covered
in this 415 page book. The authors rate Web development tools for compliance
with the W3C's ATAG guidelines on a star system. While Dreamweaver MX,
Frontpage, Golive, and BBEdit have improved, they still have a ways to go.

The authors show you how to separate content from presentation with CSS, and
test your code for standards and accessibility compliance. You'll learn how
to assess and repair accessibility problems on your site with free
evaluation and fix-up tools. Finally, the book closes with an in-depth
chapter on US Web accessibility law.

Recommended.

Constructing Accessible Web Sites
By Jim Thatcher, et al.
Glasshaus, $49.99
ISBN: 1-904151-00-0

From: http://www.webreference.com/new/020502.html

BTW - purchase from Amazon via ICDRI and they benefit
http://www.icdri.org/constructing_accessible_web_site.htm

Received on Monday, 6 May 2002 15:52:36 UTC